In December 2014 ACDR (Afghanistan Center for Dispute Resolution) conducted a ten-day study tour for its secretariat and mediators on mediation and arbitration at the Bahrain Chamber of Dispute Resolution (BCDR).
The tour was funded by Harakat – Afghanistan Investment Climate Facility Organization (AICFO) and the Commercial Law Development Program of the US Department of Commerce while ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution) Center and the BCDR facilitated the trip and the meetings. The first leg of the tour consisted of a three-day training on arbitration, which was funded by the Commercial Law Development Program of the US Department of Commerce, while the rest of the tour was funded by Harakat.
Mark Appel , Senior Vice President of the International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR), and Mr. Ahmed Husain, Chief Registrar and Assistant Chief Executive for Arbitration of the Bahrain Chamber for Dispute Resolution (BCDR), presented on and discussed the practical process of arbitration, the code of ethics for arbitration in commercial disputes, the Afghanistan arbitration statute, UNCITRAL (United Nations Commission on International Trade Law) model law on international commercial arbitration, international dispute resolution procedures, the New York Convention, arbitration challenges in Afghanistan, BCDR dispute resolution mechanisms , moot arbitration as a role play and many other important issues about arbitration.
After the arbitration training, the ACDR staff and mediators and the ADR staff visited the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) and met with Muhammad, a law professor, to learn more about how mediation and arbitration takes places and how and why such topics can be included in the law university curriculum. The ADR Center arranged for Dr. Ehab Elsonbaty, a Senior Legal Counsel, to talk to the study tour group about the Egyptian experience of arbitration. The group actively took part in the discussions and raised questions and concerns that could help them upon return to their jobs in Afghanistan.
The core of ACDR’s service is professionalism, and we feel it is vital that our professionals receive constant and ongoing training in ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution), and interact with peer ADR providers around the world to remain on the cutting edge of the profession.
Reported by: Siamuden Pasarly