World Monitor Magazine Spring | Page 14

DESTINATION KAZAKHSTAN procedural rules are among the most cost-competitive and up to date in the world. One of the risks that many companies face is not so much the resolution of disputes in the Arbitration Centre and the AIFC Court, but it’s more about the fate of the Court’s decisions or arbitration awards. Usually one of the parties may disagree, and so what further action should be taken? Once the arbitral tribunal has been appointed, typically with its one or three appointed arbitrators, and it issues its arbitration award, this award then has to be enforced. In accordance with international practice, if one party or even several parties disagree with the decision, they cannot take this decision to any other court or any other arbitration centre for any review on the merits of the case. The arbitration award is final and legally binding. If the parties are dissatisfied with the arbitration award, they can apply to the AIFC Court, but only for very limited consideration of the arbitration award on procedural grounds, and not on the merits of the case. The presence of highly qualified international common law judges and international arbitrators provides the confidence to international business that the system will operate in the fairest and most cost effective way. Kazakhstan acceded to the United Nations New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, and Kazakhst ani courts must recognize arbitration awards. In the AIFC court, we provided that for the enforcement of arbitral awards from the International Arbitration Centre in the AIFC, parties may apply to the AIFC Court for an execution order 12 world monitor for the enforcement of that award. The award will then be executed in accordance with national legislation through enforcement agencies. including for advice on that case, the judge will be expected to disclose that interest. That judge would not then hear the dispute. The hearings in the AIFC International Arbitration Centre and the Court are of a closed or open nature, for the media and the public? And what is your role in the Court? The hearings in the International Arbitration Centre are always private. This is one of the attractive features of arbitration for business. When the arbitral tribunal makes its decision, this decision will not be published on our official website, unless the parties agree otherwise. Private arbitration proceedings protect the interests of the parties without revealing otherwise confidential commercial information. In the AIFC Court hearings are open to the public to attend without reservation. The meetings can be held in private at the discretion of the Court upon application by a party. Tell us a little bit about the procedures of the AIFC Court. Is it really before the beginning of the Court session that there is a procedure when the judge is obliged to declare a list of all the people who were asking him about this matter and these names are then recorded. Thus, this saves the judge from the influence of the parties. Yes, the judges have to behave in accordance with a professional code of ethics, same for the arbitrators. All parties to the process must be sure that they are treated equally, fairly and independently by the judges and arbitrators. If one of the parties to a case has previously approached the judge, As the Registrar and Chief Executive of the AIFC Court and the International Arbitration Centre, I have limited judicial powers as delegated by the Chief Justice, in addition to my administrative responsibilities. The Registrar assists with case management and he can if delegated to him act as an enforcement judge. The Registry and myself will absolutely not discuss a specific case outside of a hearing setting. This does not prevent lawyers or other non- Court people from discussing a case openly, subject to any client or other professional obligations they might have. How will you work with the Kazakhstan community of corporate lawyers and leading companies that already work with large corporate clients? We have been fully operational since 1 January 2018. Our Court is open and accessible, any lawyer with professional lawyer qualifications obtained in any country of the world can represent their client in our Court. English is the official language of the AIFC, but if the parties to a dispute need assistance with translation, we will assist with finding appropriate translation. One of our main objectives is to provide maximum accessibility to our Court and to justice. We have developed and are now implementing a comprehensive public relations campaign for the legal community. We are focused on explaining what we do and how we work through providing training for professionals and potential users of our