As part of its campaign to enhance the profile and use of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) methods in Indonesia, Budidjaja & Associates hosted the 1st Annual Symposium for Arbitrators & Mediators (1st ASAM) at the Borobodur Hotel in Jakarta on Tuesday, 2 December 2014.
The 1st ASAM was organised in collaboration with Bisnis Indonesia and sponsored by Rodyk & Davidson, Lawyers, Singapore. The event was also supported by the Indonesian Netherlands Association, Pusat Mediasi Nasional (the Indonesian Mediation Centre), the European Chamber of Commerce, and the British Chamber of Commerce.
The symposium is the first of what will be an annual event which brings together mediators, arbitrators and interested parties (including from the business and legal sectors and academia) to discuss relevant topics in ADR, promote better ADR practices, and strengthen ADR networks.
The event was attended by more than 80 participants registered drawn largely from the corporate sector / business community, the ADR community, the legal community, and academia.
The theme was “Towards More Effective & Efficient Ways of Resolving International Commercial Disputes”. This was informed by the ever increasing levels of cross-border commerce and investment throughout Asia-Pacific, including through various forms of partnerships and joint venture arrangements between international and domestic parties. The objective of the symposium was to provide information on ADR methods so as to demonstrate the benefits of using them to resolve international commercial disputes, as well as improve ADR practices. The event was also an opportunity for participants to network.
Bapak Ahmad Djauhar, Director of Business Indonesia, opened the symposium. In his speech, Pak Ahmad said his company hopes to increase its involvement in events like the 1st ASAM which strengthened Indonesia’s ability to engage in better business practices.
The ADR specialists who spoke at the symposium were:
• Ajinderpal Singh, Ganesh Chandru and Kirindeep Singh, Partners of Rodyk & Davidson, Lawyers,
Singapore
• Tony Budidjaja, Principal of Budidjaja & Associates, Lawyers, Indonesia
• Professor Dr Mieke Komar, retired Supreme Court justice and Dean of the Law Faculty, Padjadjaran
University, Indonesia
• Dr H Gusrizal, Chair of the Central Jakarta District Court
• Fahmi Shahab, Executive Director of Pusat Mediasi Nasional
• Tim Meng, Managing Partner, Golden Gate Lawyers, Beijing, China
• Edgardo G Balois, General Partner and the Head of the Corporate and Commercial Practice Group at
Siguion Reyna, Montecillo & Ongsiako, Attorneys and Counsellors-at-Law, Makati City, the Philippines
• Francesca de Paolis, ADR Specialist based in Jakarta, Indonesia.
The symposium was moderated by Miles Young, Special Counsel at Budidjaja & Associates.
The four sessions of the symposium covered:
• an opening introduction to mediation and arbitration which provided a platform the rest of the
symposium
• reasons behind the rise and progress of mediation and arbitration in the region with a focus on
Indonesia, China, Singapore and the Philippines
• the relationship between ADR and the Courts, including judicial enforcement of arbitral awards
• key challenges in mediation and arbitration with a focus on drafting effective dispute resolution clauses,
third party and joinder in arbitral proceedings, and reconciling civil law and common law practices.
The participants’ responses to the symposium were extremely positive. The majority of participants said the program met or exceeded their expectations, and that they would attend the 2nd Annual Symposium for Arbitrators & Mediators which is planned for 2015.
Budidjaja & Associates look forward to building on the success of the 1st ASAM and we are happy to share more information about our ADR expertise and the program more generally.