CLDP-BIAC Int'l Commercial Arbitration Programme held

An International Commercial Arbitration Programme, organised by the Commercial Law Development Program (CLDP) in collaboration with Bangladesh International Arbitration Centre (BIAC), was held at a city hotel recently.

The two-day event, held on February 12-13, featured a workshop on 'International Commercial Arbitration: Arbitration Awards and Enforcement' and a consultation session on 'Amendment on Arbitration Act 2001', says a press release.

Grishma Pradhan, Attorney-Advisor (International), Commercial Law Development Program (CLDP), Office of the General Counsel, US Department of Commerce; V Bala, Deputy Head, Shipping and International Trade at Rajah and Tann; and Chong Yee Leong, Deputy Chairman, Board of Directors, Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC), and Co-Head of International Arbitration Practice, Allen & Gledhill; conducted the workshop and consultation session.

In the consultation session, Justice Muhammad Khurshid Alam Sarkar suggested that the mechanism of mandatory security deposit will significantly lessen the number of frivolous challenges to the arbitral awards.

To ensure positive results in the long-run, ADR should be included in university syllabus and BIAC should also offer more courses and trainings on Arbitration, he suggested.

Mahbubur Rahman, Chairman of BIAC, appreciated the workshop conducted under the joint collaboration of BIAC and CLDP and briefly explained the activities and scenario of BIAC.

He emphasised the necessity of institutional arbitration in Bangladesh and called for its further promotion.

In the opening session, Kaiser A Chowdhury, CEO of BIAC, welcomed the experts and participants and applauded the joint collaboration of BIAC-CLDP with the persuasion to popularise ADR in Bangladesh and called for the adoption of the global best practice mechanism.

The workshop was attended by 30 participants representing different law firms, corporate and financial institutions, government, private organisations and BIAC.

At the end, Kaiser A Chowdhury and Grishma Pradhan distributed certificates among the participants.

The consultation session was attended by a distinguished panel of discussants deliberating on the shortcomings in the legal framework of arbitration in Bangladesh and probable solutions to those issues.

Ajmalul Hossain KC, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of Bangladesh, Appellate Division; Mohammad Shahidul Haque, former Senior Secretary Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs Division; Shiekh Humayun Kabir, Joint Secretary, Law and Justice Division; Mohammad Morshed Imtiaz, Chief Research Office, Bangladesh Law Commission; Mohammed Forrukh Rahman, Advocate, Supreme Court of Bangladesh; and Reshad Imam, Advocate, Supreme Court of Bangladesh; BIAC General Manager Mahbuba Rahman Runa and Assistant Counsels Khushnuma Khan and Sal Sabil Chowdhury were present at the session.

In course of deliberations, the discussants identified the shortcomings of the existing Arbitration Act 2001 and made valuable recommendations for suitable amendments to the Act and suggested conducting such discussion with the ministries concerned to popularise ADR in Bangladesh.

CLDP is a division of the US Department of Commerce that helps to achieve US foreign policy goals in developing countries through commercial legal reforms.