South Pacific Regional International Arbitration Conference – Denarau Fiji
We were delighted to be invited to attend the inaugural South Pacific Regional International Arbitration conference which took place on 12-13 February 2018, in Denarau, Fiji. The conference titled “The Dawn of International Arbitration in the South Pacific” was jointly organised by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the United Nations Commission for International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Regional Centre for Asia and the Pacific, and the Fiji Government. The Conference was supported by ADB’s regional technical assistance titled “Promotion of International Arbitration Reform for Better Investment Climate in the South Pacific” executed through the Office of the General Counsel’s Law and Policy Reform Program. The purpose of the conference was to inform South Pacific Island states about international dispute resolution best practice, the need for modern model law-based arbitration legislation, the benefits and advantages of states being signatories to the New York Convention, and to assist the South Pacific Island States in developing their international dispute resolution capabilities. Gary Born, Chair of the International Arbitration practice group at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP gave the conference’s keynote address following an opening address by the Solicitor-General of Fiji and the General Counsel of the Asian Development Bank, Christopher Stephens. The conference was well attended by government representatives, senior judicial officers, and private sector participants from 11 South Pacific Island States, including Fiji, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Timor Leste, the Solomon Islands, and Tonga. The conference was part of a broader technical assistance project that aims to promote accession to the New York Convention and international arbitration law reform in the South Pacific region. Additional Pacific Island states are in the process of examining the reform of international arbitration legislation in the region – it really is “The Dawn of International Arbitration in the South Pacific” and NZIAC is delighted to be an integral part of that process. Trans-Pacific Partnership deal finally concluded On 23 January 2018, senior government officials from 11 countries – Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam – reached agreement on the final Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) in Tokyo, Japan. The CPTPP will eliminate more than 98% of tariffs in a trade zone with a combined GDP of $13.7 trillion. While President Donald Trump recently announced a new 30% protectionist tariff on imports of solar cell, he noted, in a speech delivered at the 2018 World Economic Forum in Davos, that the US would consider re-joining the CPTPP if "it is in the interests of all". Minister for Trade and Export Growth, the Hon David Parker, says the CPTPP represents a fairer deal for New Zealanders than the earlier TPP agreement. It satisfies the five conditions