Alternative dispute resolution, legislative reforms, 80 qualified mediators — Second Annual Armenian International Arbitration Conference brings professional experts in arbitration and mediation to Armenia

On 4 September, the Second Annual Armenian International Arbitration Conference kicked off in Yerevan, bringing to Armenia the leading experts (lawyers, scientists, business representatives and other stakeholders) in the field of arbitration and mediation from about 20 countries to discuss current issues in the field.

In his opening remarks at the conference, Minister of Justice Grigor Minasyan emphasised that the Government attaches importance to the development of alternative dispute resolution methods and the widespread use of those methods, and that the Ministry of Justice has assumed leadership for and is leading the process of development in the sector. The Minister stressed that the Government has kept important areas such as arbitration and mediation in its focus and on the reforms agenda for many years, and, as a result of long-term efforts, a professional institution, i.e. the Arbitration and Mediation Center of Armenia was established, which shall take a leading role in developing alternative dispute resolution methods. Alongside the measures aimed at developing arbitration, through the efforts of the Ministry of Justice and international partners, about 80 mediators were certified in the course of one year, and they will make their contributions to the functioning of mediation in Armenia as professionals. Within the scope of legislative reforms, for some domestic arbitration cases, an opportunity to immediately send an arbitration award for compulsory enforcement without sending it to the court has been provided; some cases of levy of execution of a sum have been transferred from courts to the bodies for alternative dispute resolution in order to also ease the workload of courts. Shorter deadlines have been envisaged for annulment and enforcement of arbitration awards, the grounds for challenging arbitrators have been clarified, and many other legislative amendments have been introduced which will help to increase attractiveness of this important sector. Grigor Minasyan emphasised that for the first time in the mediation sector, the institution of compulsory mediation for certain family cases has been introduced in the law, and mechanisms for conducting on-line mediation have been established. The ratification processes of the Singapore Convention will begin this year, turning a new page in the establishment of international mediation. Summing up his speech, the Minister expressed confidence that today's event and other subsequent events of the arbitration week will serve as a platform for generating valuable ideas that may become important material for further development of the sector in both Armenia and abroad.

About 9 professional discussions related to the development of various target areas are also planned during the arbitration week. The series of events within "Arbitration Week in Armenia 2024" were organized by the "Centre for Legislation Development and Legal Research" Foundation and the Arbitration and Mediation Center of Armenia, with the support of the European Union, the United Nations Development Programme, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Norway, the United States Agency for International Development, Counterpart International and the Asian Development Bank.