A Board of Directors
The AIAC officially announced on 4 April 2024, the constitution of its inaugural Board of Directors. The Board, consisting of six members, aims to oversee the AIAC's management and drive its growth as a leading arbitral institution regionally and internationally. The restructuring aligns with Malaysia's commitment to strengthening the AIAC's neutral standing and independence.
A Protem Committee
On 1 June 2024, a Protem Committee was established to materialise the core aspiration of establishing the AIAC Court of Arbitration.
The Committee is to spearhead the fundamental mandate of establishing the AIAC Court, including streamlining the mechanism, protocol and operational framework of the AIAC Court for its effective functioning in the future. The Committee will also assume an important role in ensuring the transparency, integrity and accountability in the decision-making process of the IAC Court in accordance with the laws and AIAC Rules.
The Committee currently comprises of 17 persons from various countries including Malaysia, India, Africa, United Kingdom, Spain, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and Hong Kong.
Amendment Bills to CIPAA and the Arbitration Act
Since then, the Construction Industry Payment and Adjudication (Amendment) Bill 2024 ("CIPAA Bill") and the Arbitration (Amendment) Bill 2024 was tabled, with their first reading in the House of Representatives (Dewan Rakyat) on 15 July 2024.
Both passed their first reading on 16 July 2024.
In brief, the key amendments are as follows:
- The CIPAA Bill mainly concerns alterations in terminology, with the introduction of the "President of the Asian International Arbitration Centre Court of Arbitration", "KLRCA" being replaced with "Asian International Arbitration Centre", and the "Director of KLRCA" to "Asian International Arbitration Centre"; whereas
- The Arbitration (Amendment) Bill encapsulates the inaugural establishment of the AIAC Court of Arbitration and aligns itself with international best practices in relating to new provisions such as the appointment of Arbitrator (where there are multiple claimants and respondents), discretion in rehearings (where the arbitrator is replaced), specified law for an arbitration agreement; recognition of the binding effect of an Arbitration Award and the recognition of digital and electronic signatures for an Arbitration Award, amongst others. Pertinently, the Bill also introduces a new chapter permitting third-party funding in arbitration whilst putting into place a streamlined framework that upholds professional responsibility and ethics in the funding practices.
See further: Malaysia: Ten Proposed Key Changes to the Arbitration Act 2005
Further developments
Both Bills were passed by the Senate ("Dewan Negara") on 24 July 2024.
More updates to the amendments and AIAC Court of Arbitration will be made in due course.
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