The Australian Government Attorney-General’s Department, the International Legal Services Advisory Council (ILSAC) and the Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration (ACICA) held an arbitration forum and luncheon in the Australian pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo in June to ramp up awareness of a new arbitration venue in Sydney.

“The facility is mainly a way of demonstrating that we have the ability to perform as a neutral venue,” said ACICA president Doug Jones, who is also a partner at top-tier Australian firm Clayton Utz. “We gave presentations which were aimed at getting Chinese firms and lawyers to come to Australia for arbitration purposes. We are suggesting that Australia is a viable option for firms in China looking for a neutral location for arbitration, as opposed to Hong Kong or Singapore,” he said.

The first dedicated international dispute resolution centre in Australia will officially open in Sydney in early August. With major Sino-Australian deals being struck recently, investors may now see the Australian international dispute resolution centre as a convenient venue to resolve any disputes arising from their Australian investments.

Tim Meng, a managing partner with China’s GoldenGate Law Firm, suggests that in order to give dominant venues like Hong Kong and Singapore a run for its money, Australia will have to make big strides fostering close relationships with arbitral institutions in China.

“Communication is key,” said Meng. “The Hong Kong Arbitration Centre has a close relationship with the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC) and the Beijing Arbitration Association (BAA). Its representatives come to the mainland very frequently to discuss the development and direction of new cases.” ALB

Related stories:

• Sydney to capture international dispute resolution market (8 March 2010)
• Sydney's new arbitration centre: a threat to HKIAC? (9 March 2010)