Mauritius Hosts Workshop on International Arbitration

A Judicial Training Workshop on the New York Arbitration Convention of 1958 opened yesterday at the Trou aux Biches Resort in presence of Chief Justice Sik Yuen.  Chiefs Justices and Judges from Malawi, Botswana, Burundi, Seychelles, Zambia, Rwanda, Lesotho, Tanzania, Mozambique, Namibia, Zanzibar, Swaziland and South Africa along with Mauritian Judges are participating in this two-day workshop.

This high-level international arbitration workshop is organised by the International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA) in conjunction with the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA). The focus is on the implementation by national court judges of the 1958 New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (New York Convention).  Delegates from the PCA, ICCA, and the International Commission of Jurists are also participating.

This training programme in international arbitration has been specially designed for senior judicial officers from Mauritius and other Southern African countries.  It provides great opportunity for capacity building amongst Mauritian and African judges with regard to the implementation of the New York Convention.

The workshop is the first in a series of high-profile ICCA roadshows, giving Mauritius the opportunity for international exposure and standard-setting to judiciaries the world over. The participation of judges from other African jurisdictions presents an opportunity for knowledge-sharing and regional cooperation as well as showcasing Mauritius as an arbitral venue.

Among the resource persons conducting the workshop are Professor Albert Jan Van Den Berg, world pre-eminent specialist on the New York Convention, and his colleague Ms Marike Paulsson.

Furthermore, some 50 legal practitioners in Mauritius attended on 2 May, a one-day introductory seminar on International Arbitration organised by the Permanent Court of Arbitration and the Young ICCA.  The seminar which was held at the Laboudonnais Hotel Caudan Waterfront, gave a practical overview of international arbitration law and procedure.

The current President of ICCA, Professor Jan Paulsson, who is also one of the world leading experts on international arbitration delivered the keynote address at the seminar.

The seminar is a follow-up to the successful Mauritius International Arbitration conference 2010 organised by the Government of Mauritius in collaboration with the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law, the Permanent Court of Arbitration, the International Centre for Settlement Centre of Investment Disputes, the International Chamber of Commerce, the International Council for Commercial Arbitration and the London Court of International Arbitration.