4 September, 2019
One of the problems international businesses face in doing business in Myanmar is dispute resolution. The Myanmar court system is opaque and extremely slow, and local litigators charge surprisingly high fees. Arbitration is an obvious solution to this problem, and following the Myanmar Arbitration Law (2016) (AL) almost all commercial contracts of substantial value now contain arbitration clauses, usually for arbitration abroad-most commonly at the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC).
This is because the AL allows for the enforcement of foreign arbitral awards where the award was made in a state that is a signatory to the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (1958), in all but a limited range of circumstances.
The AL also paves the way for domestic arbitration, although I would imagine it will be several years before the arbitration centre recently established by the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI) finds its feet.
This article was originally published in the Myanmar Times. For the full article, please click here.
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Ross Taylor, Tilleke & Gibbins
