1st International ADR Conference at the Dusit Thani

On 17 and 18 May 2018, the Thailand Arbitration Center along with UNCITRAL Regional Centre for Asia and the Pacific jointly organized the 1st International ADR Conference at the Dusit Thani Hotel with 300 persons in attendance. This marked the first of this annual flagship Conference for a comprehensive discussion on alternative dispute resolution (ADR).

This year, there was a focus on identifying new opportunities for legal convergence to produce a more robust and predictable cross–border regime for arbitration, mediation and online dispute resolution within the Greater Mekong Subregion and beyond. The Greater Mekong Subregion lends itself to fostering internal trade and linkages outward to the wider economic initiatives of the Belt and Road and development of Thailand’s Eastern Economic Corridor. Thailand is central to the Greater Mekong Subregion in connecting the region and attracting further trade and investment.

It was an honor to have ACM Prajin Juntong, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice Thailand, give the opening remarks and for Anna Joubin–Bret, Secretary for UNCITRAL and Director of the Division on International Trade Law, deliver the keynote address. Leading experts in the field of arbitration and mediation also shared their deep knowledge on a variety of topics from reform to investor-State dispute resolution to the strengthening of international mediation.

In the conference, Mr. Phan Trong Dat (VIAC Vice General Secretary) presented about the enforcement of Mediated Settlement Agreement in Vietnam. Dat supposed that the enforceability of mediated settlement agreements is maybe the most important factor contributing to the success of mediation. Accordingly, in order to safeguard the enforceability of mediated settlements, Vietnamese law provides a mechanism for the recognition of mediated settlement agreements, which converts the agreements into court judgments. With current legal framework on commercial mediation, Vietnam is at the forefront of a new international trend on the enforcement of mediated settlement agreements. In future, this trend may well lead to an instrument, most favourably in form of an international convention, on the enforcement of international commercial settlement agreements resulting from mediation, which could have a similar effect as the 1958 New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards. The draft of such a Convention is currently the main topic of discussion in Working Group II of the UNCITRAL.

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On 15 March 2018, the signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Thailand arbitration Center (THAC) and Vietnam International Arbitration Center (VIAC) was held at VIAC, Hanoi, Vietnam. Mr. Pasit Asawawattanaporn, THAC Managing Director, and Mr. President TRAN HUU HUYNH of VIAC signed the MoU on behalf of THAC and VIAC. This MoU signals a strengthening of the ties between both institutions to promote and facilitate international arbitration. Under the MoU, both institutions will be able to request for hearing facilities, conduct joint seminars and conferences, share resource persons and jointly promote activities in support of ADR. 

Source: https://thac.or.th/en/2018/05/23/1st-international-adr-conference-at-the-dusit-thani/