ASTANA – The International Arbitration Center (IAC) opened its Eurasia Arbitration Week (EAW) 2024 on March 5, reported the center’s press service. The event will run until March 7.
Photo credit: The Astana Times
The opening ceremony was attended by more than 200 arbitrators, legal counsel, judges and diplomats from the United States, the United Kingdom, Eurasia, Europe, and Asia. Panel discussions included topics by leaders in international arbitration on matters of current concern to the Eurasia and global arbitration communities, including investment protection and combating corruption and fraud.
During the opening day of EAW24, the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) Court and IAC signed new cooperation with Astana Development Center (a subsidiary organization of the Astana city administration) and Nazarbayev University.
Photo credit: The Astana Times
“The arbitration week underlines just how successful the arbitration work at the AIFC has become over the last few years. We know that almost 2,500 cases have come through the court in the arbitration center. Almost 1,800 cases have gone to mediation, and all cases have been resolved to the satisfaction of parties and judgments enforced. So for a new jurisdiction, a relatively new jurisdiction of just 5-6-7 years. That is a really remarkable number of successful cases. It shows that Kazakhstan and the AIFC is really putting itself on the map, globally amongst investors and amongst the legal community. It is a really stunning success and Kazakhstan should feel very proud of what it has managed to achieve,” said Kathy Leach, the British Ambassador to Kazakhstan.
The IAC Vis Pre-Moot 2024 is also being held as a part of EAW24 with more than 100 law students representing 22 leading universities from 17 countries. The Vis Moot is a well-known law student mock trial competition in which young lawyers have a unique opportunity to analyze a legal problem and practice counsel skills in mock arbitration proceedings.
The AIFC Court and IAC have been cited by cooperation and other investors as the preferred choice for international commercial dispute resolution in Eurasia. Some 2,459 cases have been completed and enforced with investors from 27 countries, including 110 court judgments, 506 arbitration awards, and 1,843 mediation settlements. Disputes have included contracts, companies, property, construction, transportation, logistics, and AIFC employment matters. Investors have included the AIFC Court and IAC in more than 10,000 business contracts for dispute resolution.
