Посты с тэгом: AIFC Court

The AIFC Court and IAC have been actively monitoring the rapidly evolving COVID-19 situation. We have implemented measures to ensure the continuity of our dispute resolution operations and services while safeguarding the health and safety of our users and staff.

We are following government advice and guidelines and continue to provide our dispute resolution services online without charge to users.

Cases can be filed at the AIFC Court and IAC online via our eJustice system which can be accessed via the AIFC Court and IAC websites. We can resolve disputes using audio and video technology, by written submissions and email. Disputes can be resolved without the parties to the disputes having to leave their homes. We are actively resolving disputes via our online facilities. 57 mediation cases have been resolved applying our mediation rules and two arbitration cases are currently being considered at the IAC. One case has been resolved at the AIFC Court.

In addition to the measures we have taken to resolve disputes online, we will later this month launch our online “AIFC Court and IAC Webinar Series” to ensure our users and the business and legal community remain connected to developments at the AIFC Court and IAC and other dispute resolution matters including challenges posed by the COVID-19 situation.

The AIFC Court and IAC provide a one stop shop for commercial dispute resolution. They are independent from the judicial system of the Republic of Kazakhstan and operate to the highest international standards to resolve civil and commercial disputes originating in the AIFC and in other disputes in which all parties to the dispute agree to give the AIFC Court or IAC jurisdiction. The judges, arbitrators, mediators, procedures, practices and standards at the AIFC Court and IAC are familiar to businesses currently operating in major financial centres around the world.

For case related enquiries and filings, please contact us at [email protected] or [email protected]

We wish you and your families good health.

Mr. Christopher Campbell-Holt, AIFC Court and IAC Registrar and Chief Executive, commented:

“We have carefully monitored the COVID-19 situation and implemented measures to ensure that the AIFC Court and IAC continue to operate online. All case filings and hearings at the AIFC Court and IAC are now administered online free of charge and without parties to a dispute having to leave the comfort and safety of their homes. Investors and businesses can be assured that their disputes will be resolved online at the AIFC Court and IAC applying the highest standards of the rule of law in a timely and cost effective manner.”

Reference:

AIFC. The AIFC was established on the initiative of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev. In December 2015 President Nazarbayev approved the Constitutional Statute “On the Astana International Financial Centre” (AIFC). The aim of the AIFC is to establish a leading international centre for financial services. The objectives of the AIFC are to attract investment into the economy through the establishment of an attractive environment for investment in financial services, develop local capital markets, ensuring their integration with the international capital markets. https://aifc.kz/

The AIFC Court is an independent legal entity. It has its own procedural rules modelled on English common law procedures and leading international practice. The AIFC Court is separate and independent from the courts of the Republic of Kazakhstan. It consists of two tiers: a Court of First Instance, which includes a specialist division known as the Small Claims Court; and a Court of Appeal. It has exclusive jurisdiction over disputes arising out of the activities and operations of the AIFC and jurisdiction in the case of other disputes in which all parties agree in writing to give the AIFC Court jurisdiction. It does not have jurisdiction in relation to any disputes that are of a criminal or administrative nature. It applies the most up to date and efficient case management practices. https://court.aifc.kz/

The International Arbitration Centre (IAC) is an independent legal entity. It has its own procedural rules modelled on best international practice. It has its own panel of leading international arbitrators and mediators having many years of arbitration and mediation experience in commercial law, including oil and gas, trade, construction, energy, financial services, banking, Islamic finance, insurance, and intellectual property. IAC arbitration awards are recognised and enforceable in Kazakhstan and internationally. https://iac.aifc.kz/

In 2019 the AIFC Court and International Arbitration Centre (further – “IAC”) considered five cases. This was an outstanding achievement compared to the experience of similar common law financial centre courts and international arbitration centres at this stage of their operations.

Earlier this year the AIFC Court considered its first litigation and gave judgment in a small claims contract non-payment dispute involving an AIFC Participant and a foreign party. All enforcement measures available in Kazakhstan were implemented quickly and directly between the AIFC Court and the Kazakhstan enforcement authorities. This case was managed electronically from initiation to completion. The IAC recently received its first arbitration case and hosted three mediation cases. All cases have been managed quickly applying the best international standards of case management and without charge to the parties.

Following a comprehensive promotions campaign in 2019 and meetings with senior lawyers and executives at corporations in Kazakhstan, the wider Central Asia region and globally, the AIFC Court and IAC were included in a minimum of 1300 business contracts for future dispute resolution purposes under those contracts. It is expected as normal practice for there to be a lead time before disputes will arise under such contracts and the AIFC Court and IAC are ready and able to administer any future commercial disputes under these and other contracts.

The AIFC Court and IAC launched their eJustice system in 2019 to enable parties without charge to have their commercial disputes resolved electronically using the most up to date digital technology. Their world class premises at the EXPO-2017 site were officially opened by the President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. New international standard services were launched for judicial mediation at the AIFC Court and a special arbitration-mediation or “arb-med” procedure at the IAC. The AIFC Court and IAC signed 17 cooperation agreements with leading dispute resolution centres, law societies and business associations in Kazakhstan, the UK and Asia, significantly raising their profile and international recognition.

More than 300 Kazakh national law students, lawyers, and academics were trained by the AIFC Court and IAC to ensure they have the common law dispute resolution skills that are necessary to represent clients in disputes at the AIFC Court and IAC. For this purpose the AIFC Court and IAC partnered with Cambridge University, leading advocates from London, and the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution in London.

The Registrar and Chief Executive of the AIFC Court and IAC, Mr. Christopher Campbell-Holt, commented:

“2019 has been a very productive year of achievement for the AIFC Court and IAC. Ahead of expectations for our type of new court and arbitration centre we have received and managed several cases and achieved quick enforcement of our first case at the AIFC Court. We have developed and launched the very best digital technology. We have hired the best Kazakh national Registry staff and trained them to international standards with our partners in London and Singapore. We have launched outstanding new services and raised regional and international recognition with 17 cooperation agreements signed. Our dispute resolution is quick, accessible, cost effective, impartial, and above all, incorruptible. We have exciting plans for 2020 and look forward to our continued success as we strive to be the number one choice for commercial dispute resolution in Central Asia.”

Reference:

AIFC. The AIFC was established on the initiative of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev. In December 2015 President Nazarbayev approved the Constitutional Statute “On the Astana International Financial Centre” (AIFC). The aim of the AIFC is to establish a leading international centre for financial services. The objectives of the AIFC are to attract investment into the economy through the establishment of an attractive environment for investment in financial services, develop local capital markets, ensuring their integration with the international capital markets. https://aifc.kz/

The AIFC Court. The AIFC Court is an independent legal entity. It has its own procedural rules modelled on English common law procedures and leading international practice. The AIFC Court is separate and independent from the courts of the Republic of Kazakhstan. It consists of two tiers: a Court of First Instance, which includes a specialist division known as the Small Claims Court; and a Court of Appeal. It has exclusive jurisdiction over disputes arising out of the activities and operations of the AIFC and jurisdiction in the case of other disputes in which all parties agree in writing to give the AIFC Court jurisdiction. It does not have jurisdiction in relation to any disputes that are of a criminal or administrative nature. It applies the most up to date and efficient case management practices.

The International Arbitration Centre (IAC). The International Arbitration Centre (IAC) is an independent legal entity. It has its own procedural rules modelled on best international practice. It has its own panel of leading international arbitrators and mediators having many years of arbitration and mediation experience in commercial law, including oil and gas, trade, construction, energy, financial services, banking, Islamic finance, insurance, and intellectual property. IAC arbitration awards are recognised and enforceable in Kazakhstan and internationally.

Three judges have been appointed to the AIFC Court: The Rt. Hon. The Lord Mance, Mr. Alan Maclean QC (AIFC Small Claims Court) and Mr. Charles Banner QC (AIFC Small Claims Court).

Lord Mance was the Deputy President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. He is currently Chair of the International Law Association, Chair of the Conduct Committee of the House of Lords, and a member of the Judicial Integrity Group. He has many years of experience in commercial law, public and private international law and European law. He was a founder director of the Bar Mutual Indemnity Insurance Fund and he was the Chair of various Banking Appeals tribunals in London. He also has significant arbitrator experience. He was educated at the University of Oxford.

Mr. Alan Maclean QC is an experienced QC, practising from Blackstone Chambers in London. He was educated at the University of Oxford, where he took a double First in PPE, and Harvard University, where he was a Kennedy Memorial Scholar. He was called to the Bar, first in his year, in 1993 and was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 2009. He has a broad practice in the fields of commercial litigation and arbitration, public law, competition law, private international law and European law.

Mr. Charles Banner Q.C. is a barrister based at Landmark Chambers in London and Birmingham. He practises in England & Wales (where he was called to the Bar in 2004) and Northern Ireland (where he was called to the Bar in 2010), as well as internationally. He was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 2019. He has a broad practice, principally focused on public and private law issues relating to development and infrastructure (particularly in the energy, transport, housing and tourism sectors), but also covering government & regulation and commercial dispute resolution more generally. He is recommended in a total of 8 practice areas by Chambers & Partners UK Bar and Legal 500 UK Bar, and has been the recipient of multiple legal industry awards. He was educated at Oxford University.

Reference:

AIFC. The AIFC was established on the initiative of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev. In December 2015 President Nazarbayev approved the Constitutional Statute “On the Astana International Financial Centre” (AIFC). The aim of the AIFC is to establish a leading international centre for financial services. The objectives of the AIFC are to attract investment into the economy through the establishment of an attractive environment for investment in financial services, develop local capital markets, ensuring their integration with the international capital markets. https://aifc.kz/

AIFC Court. The AIFC Court is an independent legal entity. It has its own procedural rules modelled on English common law procedures and leading international practice. The AIFC Court is separate and independent from the courts of the Republic of Kazakhstan. It consists of two tiers: a Court of First Instance, which includes a specialist division known as the Small Claims Court; and a Court of Appeal. It has exclusive jurisdiction over disputes arising out of the activities and operations of the AIFC and jurisdiction in the case of other disputes in which all parties agree in writing to give the AIFC Court jurisdiction. It does not have jurisdiction in relation to any disputes that are of a criminal or administrative nature. It applies the most up to date and efficient case management practices.

International Arbitration Centre (IAC). The International Arbitration Centre (IAC) is an independent legal entity. It has its own procedural rules modelled on best international practice. It has its own panel of leading international arbitrators and mediators having many years of arbitration and mediation experience in commercial law, including oil and gas, trade, construction, energy, financial services, banking, Islamic finance, insurance, and intellectual property. IAC arbitration awards are recognised and enforceable in Kazakhstan and internationally.