Enter to open, tab to navigate, enter to select
New arbitration centre planned for Sydney
Practical Law Legal Update 1-501-8136 (Approx. 3 pages)
New arbitration centre planned for Sydney
by Andrew Robertson, Piper Alderman
| Published on 24 Mar 2010 • Australia, International |
An update on plans for a new arbitration centre in Sydney.
Speedread
A new arbitration centre in Sydney dedicated to the international arbitration market has been announced. It is being jointly funded by the Federal Government and State Government of New South Wales, together with the Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration (ACICA) and the Australian Commercial Disputes Centre. The announcement of the new centre demonstrates the current Federal Government's continued support for the promotion of Australia as an arbitral seat.
On 3 March 2010, the Commonwealth Attorney General, Robert McClelland, and the New South Wales Attorney General, John Hatzistergos, announced plans to open a dedicated arbitration centre for international arbitrations. In making the announcement, Mr McClelland said that ongoing reforms (see Legal update, Australia: important developments in 2009) to arbitration laws, at both a state and federal level, will create an international best practice legal framework for arbitration in Australia.
Mr Hatzistergos was keen to promote Sydney as an arbitral seat, stating that:
"This will be a world class seat in a prime CBD [central business district] location close to existing legal services that will position Sydney as the new regional hub for international dispute resolution".
There is plenty of competition in Australia at the moment in the arbitral sphere. In particular, the Institute of Arbitrators & Mediators Australia Dispute Resolution Centre has operated in Sydney for some years, providing rooms and services for arbitration and mediation to the domestic and international markets.
This announcement also comes in the wake of the Supreme Court of Victoria's recent efforts to promote its services. In December 2009, the Court (located in Melbourne) issued a practice note, Arbitral Business, which sets out the Court's support for the arbitral process and the variety of ways in which it can assist the parties to an arbitration. The Chief Justice also delivered the paper The Victorian Supreme Court's Perspective on Arbitration in December 2009 which stated, among other things, that:
"The Court sees itself as a leader in dispute resolution and a real partner with the providers of these ADR services – to the extent that they are not provided by the Court itself."
Sydney and Melbourne are Australia's largest and second largest cities, respectively. As a federal system, parties wishing to arbitrate in Australia should be careful to select a specific seat within a state jurisdiction.
- Andrew Robertson is a partner at Piper Alderman.