BIAC launches int'l arbitration contest

Bangladesh International Arbitration Centre (BIAC) recently hosted the first international arbitration contest titled 'The City Bank-BIAC Inter University International Arbitration Contest 2021' in the country, says a statement.

Last year, BIAC organised the first ever arbitration contest in the history of Bangladesh only for local universities, which was conducted virtually due to Covid-19.

This year, BIAC is arranging a more broad-based international contest where universities from SAARC region are participating along with leading public and private universities from Bangladesh.

This year, seven leading universities from Bangladesh and SAARC countries are taking part in this contest. They are last year's champion University of Dhaka, Damodaram Sanjivayya National Law University, India; the London College of Legal Studies (LCLS) South, Bhuiyan Academy, Lahore University of Management Sciences, Pakistan; Chittagong University, and Independent University Bangladesh.

Bangladesh International Arbitration Centre (BIAC) is hosting this contest to provide students with a practical knowledge of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) and to give them the opportunity to arbitrate a real case acting as claimant and respondent in a real-life scenario.

Moreover, one of the main objectives of the contest was to involve law students with BIAC's endeavours in the dispute resolution realm in the country and beyond towards easing doing business and accelerating overall economic development of Bangladesh.

Three preliminary sessions of the contest were held through online platform on November 6 and 8. In the first session of preliminary round, international arbitrator from Sri Lanka Shehara Varia, an Attorney at Law of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka and Director of the CCC-ICLP Alternate Dispute Resolution Centre, was the sole arbitrator of the session where London College of Legal Studies (South) won the Session against Damodaram Sanjivayya National Law University, Vishakhapatnam, India.

Dr. Deepak Jindal, Advocate of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, India, and Member of the Governing Council of the International Centre for Alternative Dispute Resolution, was sole arbitrator of the second session where Bhuiyan Academy, Bangladesh, won against Lahore University of Management Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan.

In the third session, Rana Sajjad Ahmad, President of the Centre for international Investment and Commercial Arbitration, Pakistan, was the sole arbitrator where University of Chittagong won against the team of Independent University Bangladesh.

The winning teams will compete in the semifinals to be held online on November 26.

MA Akmall Hossain Azad, Director of BIAC, spoke on all three sessions of the preliminary round.

He said that integrating ADR mechanism with our judicial system will help raise the country's rank in the World Bank's Doing Business Global Index and affirmed that BIAC, now widely considered as the ADR hub of the country, will continue its best efforts to help develop practice of ADR among stakeholders in a more concerted way.

Mahbuba Rahman Runa, General Manager BIAC, the Coordinator and host for the Sessions of the Preliminary Round, welcomed all team members and the tribunals' chairpersons.

She highlighted BIAC's activities, including recent endeavours for university-level students for popularising ADR in order to acclimatise them with the norms, practices and benefits of ADR in resolving commercial disputes and getting benefits in their future career life.

The event was sponsored by the City Bank Ltd. The Bonik Barta is the media partner of this contest.

The finals of this international arbitration contest will be held online in December 2021.