MEDIATION AND ARBITRATION PROCEEDINGS - EFFICIENT AND COMFORTABLE

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Uzbekistan and Court of Arbitration at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry on December 18, 2019 in Jizzakh held a scientific and practical seminar as part of the USAID judicial reform project in Uzbekistan on the role of arbitration courts and mediation in protecting the rights and legitimate interests of business entities

The seminar was attended by chairmen and judges of the Arbitration Courts at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the territorial administration of the CCI in the Jizzakh region, first deputy hokim of the Jizzakh region, judges of the regional economic court, civil court, senior officials of the justice department, prosecutors of the Jizzakh region, lawyers, mediators, entrepreneurs, as well as representatives of the media.

At the seminar, legal scholars and leading experts in the field of alternative dispute resolution on the topics: “Alternative dispute resolution in Uzbekistan: legal framework and development stages”, “Mediation in foreign countries: legal framework and practice”, “Features of the consideration of economic disputes” made presentations in arbitration courts ”,“ Advantages of arbitration proceedings and record-keeping in arbitration courts ”,“ The role of mediation in pre-trial proceedings of disputes ”.

As noted in the scientific and practical seminar, a large-scale and effective judicial reform is underway in the country. And also, work is underway to create a new mechanism for establishing contacts between state bodies and the population in resolving their problems by improving their regulatory frameworks.

In recent years, much attention has been paid to alternative dispute resolution methods, which include in particular negotiations, claims, mediation, arbitration.

In his presentation, the chairman of the Arbitration Court at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Uzbekistan, doctor of legal sciences Foziljon Otakhonov noted that Uzbekistan has created a legal basis for alternative dispute resolution, including the adoption of special laws on arbitration and mediation.

For example, the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan “On Arbitration Courts” defines: disputes resolved by the arbitration courts, the form and content of the arbitration agreement, the requirements for the arbitration court, the procedure for forming the composition of the arbitration court, the costs associated with resolving the dispute in the arbitration court, the procedure for arbitration , acts of the arbitration court, the procedure for challenging the decision of the arbitration court and the execution of the decision of the arbitration court.

The Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan “On Mediation” regulates relations related to the application of mediation to disputes arising from civil relations, including in connection with entrepreneurial activities, as well as individual labor disputes and disputes arising from family relations. Mediation is carried out on the basis of principles: confidentiality, voluntariness, cooperation and equality of parties, independence.

In recent years, the number of pending cases has increased not only in state courts, but also in arbitration courts. The reason for this, said Rustam Shaimardonov, Deputy Chairman of the Arbitration Court at the Chamber, in his introduction, is the following advantages of the arbitration court: the possibility of choosing the arbitration court itself and the specific arbitration judge (s), place and time of the dispute; closed (in a good sense, excluding external pressure and unnecessary publicity) proceedings; impartiality of judges; profitability; efficiency; the existence of a guarantee of the enforcement of arbitral awards.

For example, in 2007-2019, the Arbitration Courts at the Chamber of Commerce and its territorial departments examined 26,307 cases totaling 907.6 billion soums and 64.1 million US dollars, 1.1 million euros, including for for the eleven months of 2019, 9014 cases were examined, which is 3233 cases more than in the same period last year.

Dilbakhor Yakubova, a professional mediator, candidate of legal sciences, in her report presented in detail the participants of the seminar with the legal basis and practice of mediation in such countries as Austria, England, Germany, Kazakhstan, Russia, the USA, France, comparing it with the legislation of Uzbekistan. In addition, the speakers shared with the participants of the seminar their experience in applying the institution of mediation in practice and demonstrated, on the basis of a specific life case, the mediation process involving the participants in the seminar.

The participants of the scientific and practical seminar voiced specific proposals: on the promotion and agitation of the benefits of alternative dispute resolution, including the activities of arbitration courts; the creation of mediation centers everywhere, accelerating the training of professional mediators; compilation of materials on the practice of arbitration courts and publication of a collection; the development of interactions between arbitration courts and competent courts; training, retraining and advanced training of candidates for arbitrators and arbitrators; the establishment of an exchange of experience by an arbitrator in dispute resolution; enforcement of decisions of arbitration courts; improving the legal framework for alternative dispute resolution.

CCI Press service