Cambodia to train on Commercial law and Commercial arbitration skills

Cambodia will train on commercial law and commercial arbitration skill

The ministry of commerce and The International Finance Corporation, a member of world bank will launch seminar on training on commercial law and commercial arbitration skills in a move to help deal the trade disputes in country,” officials said on Friday. 

Kea Kunthea, a communication official for the IFC said on June 11 that IFC will launch the training on commercial law and commercial arbitration skills next week. At the same time, National Arbitration Center (NAC) for commercial dispute resolution in Cambodia also will create soon while the traders are waiting for long. NAC will help deal the trade dispute outside court,” H.E Mao Thora, secretary of state for ministry of commerce said on Thursday. The NAC has trade skill and provide justice for businesspeople, he added. 

The Commercial Law and Commercial Arbitration as part of its World Trade Organization (WTO) accession negotiations in 2003, Cambodia agreed to put in place a number of new laws in line with its commitment to providing an improved regulatory environment for trade and investment. 

In acknowledgment of the important role that dispute resolution plays in the development of a modern trading economy, a Law on Commercial Arbitration was included as a priority in this package of reforms, the work paper of law said, adding that The Law on Commercial Arbitration was passed by Cambodia’s National Assembly in 2006; establishing a framework for the private arbitration of business disputes that follows international practices. 

It added that the law also envisages a National Arbitration Center (NAC), established under the auspices of the Ministry of Commerce after consultations with representatives of the business community and development partners, a Sub-Decree on the Organization and Functioning of a National Arbitration Center was passed by the Council of Ministers on July 24, 2009. 

With this regulatory framework in place, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), with funding support from the European Commission, is planning to provide support for the development of more effective commercial alternative dispute resolution (ADR) in Cambodia.

 It continued that for the purposes of this paper, commercial ADR services are understood to include mediation, conciliation and arbitration, as well as combinations of these practices. The aim of this paper is to stimulate discussion on the development of commercial ADR services in the context of the impending launch of the NAC by providing background around on the country context for commercial dispute resolution; an overview of the issues and risks involved in the establishment of the NAC and what could be done to mitigate these; and an analysis of the necessary success factors for commercial ADR services in Cambodia, based on international experience. 

It added that disputes are inevitable in business transactions. One way to resolve disputes is to use a formal dispute resolution mechanism, such as through the courts. In Cambodia resolving commercial disputes through the court system is expensive and time-consuming, so much so that businesses often simply choose not to pursue formal dispute resolution and write off losses. The recommendation from public debate, “To provide greater options for commercial dispute resolution, an alternative mechanism to the courts is needed,” the work paper from IFC said, adding Commercial arbitration offers such an alternative with the prospect of reducing the time and cost of resolving disputes. ###