A foreign expert on commercial dispute resolution urged both Sri Lankan companies and the Government to be vigilant about the possibility that disputes may inevitably arise with international companies involved in infrastructure development contracts in the country. Making a presentation in Colombo recently on the Chinese approach to dispute resolution at a breakfast briefing on [...]

Feeds Editorials Times Online

The Sundaytimes Sri Lanka

Foreign expert alerts Lanka on dispute resolution on infrastructure contracts

View(s):

A foreign expert on commercial dispute resolution urged both Sri Lankan companies and the Government to be vigilant about the possibility that disputes may inevitably arise with international companies involved in infrastructure development contracts in the country.

Keith Brandt

Making a presentation in Colombo recently on the Chinese approach to dispute resolution at a breakfast briefing on project finance and infrastructure developments in Sri Lanka, Keith Brandt, Managing Partner of SNR Denton, a law firm based in Hong Kong, said “it is very evident that with the skills Chinese state owned enterprises have in infrastructure construction, plus the desire to invest in Sri Lanka, the Chinese will continue to play a significant role in upgrading and expanding infrastructure, fueling Sri Lanka’s growing status as a regional South Asian powerhouse”.

Making a specific comment about the Chinese, he said that generally by way of character they tend to be litigation or dispute averse. Mediation in some form, conciliation, adjudication or through some form of dispute advisory or review board, is a popular means for resolving disputes with Chinese state-owned enterprises.

It will serve relationships well to reflect this in the armoury of dispute resolution provisions in any contract, he added.

The Government and commercial community should also be ready to genuinely engage in this distinct form of mechanisms, if problems are to be resolved without the need for more destructive (to long term relationships) processes being pursued either throughinternational arbitration or through the courts, Mr. Brandt said.

Sri Lanka already has arbitral institutions involved in international contract disputes.

Therefore excellent arbitration facilities, well considered arbitral institutional rules that are adopted/ demanded to be incorporated into international contracts, and a panel of available international arbitrators from whom parties can select arbitrators for their disputes in Sri Lanka are required, he said.

It will serve to enhance the standing of Sri Lanka as a place where international contracts will be honoured and from where certainty can be legislated for when evaluating whether to invest in the country, he added.

He noted that the international community should be culturally sensitive in investing in Sri Lanka making use of this sensitivity to an advantage to assist in maximizing the growth opportunities.

Mr. Brandt said the Sri Lankan Government and the local commercial business community enjoy excellent relationships with international companies and continue to attract the best possible talent to the region.

Neil Cuthbert Pix by Nilan Maligaspe

He pointed out that it is important that within the contractual relationships that are formed, international standards of contracting will be demanded, to provide the comfort for the international players that they will be dealt with fairly when undertaking projects in Sri Lanka, he said.

That means certainty for them in the allocation of risk in projects and if a problem arises, that the mechanisms for resolving problems allows a just and fair result for all participants to the project, he added.

‘Win-win solutions’ should always be at the forefront in the selection of dispute mechanisms to be placed into contracts and when those mechanisms are deployed … should a problem or dispute arise, he said.

Neil Cuthbert, Partner of SNR Denton made a presentation on legal and documentation issues in BOT projects, highlighting reasons for using project finance, bankability and sponsor support for projects.




Share This Post

DeliciousDiggGoogleStumbleuponRedditTechnoratiYahooBloggerMyspace
comments powered by Disqus

Advertising Rates

Please contact the advertising office on 011 - 2479521 for the advertising rates.