Foreign investors have shown a keen interest in post war Sri Lanka as a country where a great opportunity exists for development but the main concern of prospective foreign investors has been as to how conducive the legal atmosphere here is.
The ‘Colombo Declaration’ made at this year’s LAWASIA Business Law conference set the roadmap to a working solution as to how foreign investors could avail themselves of the business opportunists here in the light of a workable legal environment appropriate for sustainable and appropriate growth, President Bar Association, Shibly Aziz PC told reporters at a briefing to explain the success of the recently held conference in Colombo.
The LAWASIA meeting was hosted in Sri Lanka this year on March 12 and 13 with the main topics of discussions being: Facilitation of business through the elimination of corporate criminality - chaired by Manohara de Silva PC; Creating a level playing field and protecting consumers through law enforcement and regulation - chaired by Mohan Peiris, Attorney General; Taking advantage of new developments in Information and Communication Technology; Moving towards a harmonized system of business law for the Asia Pacific; Issues faced by developing countries in the area of foreign direct investment and ICSID dispute settlement - chaired by Romesh de Silva PC; Making business dispute resolution efficacious through changes to the culture and procedure of dispute resolution techniques – chaired by Nihal Jayamanne PC; Data protection and privacy policies relating to electronic transactions - chaired by Justice P A Ratnayake; and Resolving business disputes through litigation – relevant judicial ethics and practices, chaired by Justice Suresh Chandra.
Mr Aziz said that the Asian region is the fastest developing region in the world today and as a result a lot of investors are now taking a keen interest in Sri Lanka. The post war situation has opened up many areas for development, especially the North and East which has been earmarked for rapid development.
“Together with the Government’s promotion of the tourism sector this area will need a lot of investment and it will also open areas for other development especially in the manufacturing sector. Today investors need to know what legal framework they have to work within the countries they invest in.
Issues faced by developing countries in the area of foreign direct investment and the ICSID (International Centre for the Settlement of Disputes) is a matter needing close study.
This year’s LAWASIA enabled lawyers and delegates from the region to meet and discuss the issues pertaining to them, at the conference.”
The Colombo Declaration arrived at the following polices that will help the country and the region to encourage investors and sustain growth.
They are: Corporate criminality should be eliminated; independent, effective and expeditious administration of justice as an essential part of the mechanism for the resolution of disputes in the fields of finance and trade; that the use of alternate forms of dispute resolution and arbitration be actively encouraged; the legal profession should work and assist the state in developing policies that encourage growth and finally that whilst respecting the sovereign right of all nations to design and enact their national laws, countries in the Asia Pacific region should strive to develop a harmonized and uniform system of substantive and procedural laws on finance, trade and commerce.
Sunil Abeyaratne, Attorney at Law commenting on the success of the LAWASIA meeting said, “We have got a window of opportunity now after the end of the conflict. The foreign investors do see a lot of opportunity here and we have to discuss and strike a balance on legal matters which will be beneficial to both the investors and the employees.
With this session of LAWASIA concluded, we should now commence the policies put forward in the Colombo Declaration to be implemented along with the recommendations required to proceed in this direction.”
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