Law Minister Anisul Huq yesterday said building trust and confidence in alternative dispute resolution (ADR) system to resolve trade disputes is very important for its effectiveness.
The minister came up with the remark at a seminar on “The role of SARCO as an Arbitration Centre in the Region”.
Bangladesh International Arbitration Centre (BIAC), DCCI and Saarc Arbitration Council (SARCO) jointly organised the seminar in the city.
“In an arbitration, the most important thing is trust and confidence. If we can create that trust and confidence, I guess enforceability will follow,” Anisul Huq said while he was addressing the seminar as the chief guest.
The global trade worth $600 billion remains unrealised due to sluggish business and trade disputes while Bangladesh accounts for around $400 million caused by disputes, said Anisul.
He said the magnitude of unresolved business and trade dispute and litigation are on the rise. It heightens the demand of quick disposal of pending cases for bringing dynamism into business and economic operations, the minister said.
If all institutions participating in the arbitration system can create trust and confidence, the trade judgement system will be more effective, Anisul said.
“The arbitrator took time to dispose of the disputes even in the recent past. Now they are showing good tendency, fixing date for written objection and replying on the first day of filing the complaint,” said former Chief Justice Tafazzal Islam.
This process of arbitration is getting momentum and it would really work as a good alternative to lengthy process of litigation, said Tafazzal.
Former adviser to caretaker government AF Hasan Arif, also former attorney general, suggested formation of a committee under the Law Ministry for overseeing implementation of the ADR system and sorting out barriers.
“There are some specific challenges including verseeing the functioning of ADR system, its further development and removing shortcomings of the ADR provisions in the Code of Civil Procedure for its further development that need to be addressed,” said former Attorney General Fida M Kamal in his presentation on the Future of Arbitration in Bangladesh.
Settling the growing commercial disputes under a fair, effective and time-bound framework will give impetus to the growth of intra-regional trade, alongside establishing a peaceful trade resolution link in the region, said DCCI President Hossain Khaled in his welcome speech.
He said SARCO can play the role of a catalyst, being a trusted partner of business communities to lower the occurrence of disputes. Khaled said the countries under Saarc umbrella are not substantially integrated in terms of trade, commerce and investment as it constitutes 3% of the world trade though Saarc has the potential to raise the intra-regional trade to 30% and global trade to 6%.
Ex-Chief Justice Latifur Rahman, Justice Md Awlad Ali, Justice Syed Amirul Islam, Chairman of International Arbitration Centre Mahbubur Rahman, CEO of BIAC Mohammad A Rumee Ali spoke on the issue.