On 17 January 2023, the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste
(Timor-Leste) became the 172nd country to accede to United Nations
Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral
Awards 1958 (the New York Convention).
The New York Convention is widely regarded as the cornerstone of
modern international arbitration, and it is credited with making
arbitration the most popular method of resolving international
commercial disputes all over the world. It requires courts of
contracting states to give effect to arbitration agreements and to
recognize and enforce awards made in other states, subject to
specific limited exceptions. The New York Convention has been
ratified by all significant trading states, including all of
Timor-Leste’s key trading partners.
Our International Arbitration Group is delighted
to have worked with the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the United
Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) and the
Timor-Leste Government on its accession to the New York Convention.
Partner Gary Born, chair of the firm’s
International Arbitration Group, was engaged by the ADB together
with Daniel Meltz, a barrister at 12 Wentworth Selborne Chambers,
to advise on the accession and led the Group’s work along with
Partner Jonathan Lim.
Gary Born and Jonathan Lim also previously provided
assistance to the the ADB and the Timor-Leste Government with the
drafting of the Timor-Leste Voluntary Arbitration Law, which was
enacted on 31 March 2021. The Voluntary Arbitration Law implements
the New York Convention in Timor-Leste and regulates the
enforcement of international arbitration agreements and foreign
arbitral awards, among other things, in Timor-Leste.
The International Arbitration Group’s work in Timor-Leste is
part of a broader technical assistance project promoting
international arbitration reform in the South Pacific and beyond
that was initiated and overseen by the ADB’s Office of the
General Counsel’s Law and Policy Reform Program and led by
Christina Pak, Principal Counsel at the ADB. The project includes
other countries in the South Pacific such as Fiji, Palau, Papua New
Guinea, Samoa, and Tonga.
Gary Born and Jonathan Lim previously provided assistance to
the Governments of Palau, Papua New Guinea, and Tongawith their accessions to the New York
Convention, along with related assistance with drafting
implementing arbitration legislation. Mr. Born and Mr. Lim also assisted the Government
of Fiji in the drafting of the Fiji International Arbitration
Act 2017 and related subsidiary legislation. The Group continues to
support capacity-building initiatives for the private sector,
lawyers and judiciary in Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Palau, and other
South Pacific countries.
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