Sri Lanka enters into cooperation agreement in arbitration with Hong Kong

HKIAC  Deputy Secretary General  Eric Ng  (left) and IADRC  Secretary General Dhara Wijayatilake  after signing the cooperation agreement  
Pic by Nimalsiri Edirisinghe

 Local entities will have improved access to alternate dispute resolution with the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC) ICLP International ADR Centre (IADRC) entering into a cooperation agreement with the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC).
The corporation agreement was inked by HKIAC Deputy Secretary General Eric Ng - Deputy and IADRC Secretary General & Director Dhara Wijayatilake.
The corporation agreement is the first of its kind for the IADRC. However, in the pipeline are three more agreements of similar nature with other international arbitration centres. “We will be collaborating our efforts and sharing experiences and best practices. Arbitration is growing in the region and Sri Lanka will stand to benefit from the partnership,” said Wijayatilake commenting on the partnership.

While the Sri Lanka centre already extends dispute resolution to the business community, the inked agreement would help investors view the island nation as a business-friendly destination, she added. 
Sri Lanka will soon be able to offer comprehensive mediation and the drafting of the legislation for the same is underway. 

The Singapore convention in this regard is already inked, said Wijayatilake.
Meanwhile, Ng noted that Sri Lanka has the potential to be the arbitration hub for the South Asia region and the cooperation with HKIAC is a step in allowing it to realise its potential.