A senior delegation from the Bahrain Chamber for Dispute Resolution (BCDR-AAA) recently attended the annual conference of the International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA) in Geneva, Switzerland.

The conference, aimed at expanding the application and scope of arbitration in legal disputes, was led by ICCA president Jan Paulsson.

Attended by James MacPherson, chief executive officer, and Ali Al Aradi, chief registrar and assistant chief executive for mediation, the visit is part of an ongoing programme of outreach by the BCDR to highlight the unique service it provides in Bahrain and the Middle East, said a statement.

BCDR-AAA Board of Trustee members and American Arbitration Association (AAA) president and CEO William Slate and senior vice president Richard Naimark also attended the conference representing AAA.

Explaining the importance of the ICCA and the value of the conference, MacPherson said: “Arbitration as a route to resolve a legal dispute has become ever more attractive due to lower fees and faster processing than traditional litigation around the world as well as the ability to retain greater control over the process including the selection of applicable law and location of the arbitration. This unique conference today allowed us to meet with many of the world's leading arbitrators and lawyers in order to introduce and discuss the innovative nature of the BCDR and the value it can offer to clients currently in the region.”

Ali Al Aradi, chief registrar, added : “`This event offers us a rare opportunity to learn from the top legal and arbitration experts from all over the world,  as well as  a great opportunity to network and share best practice with other world leaders in the field of alternative dispute resolution.”

When the BCDR-AAA opened its doors for business in January 2010, it became  the world’s first alternative dispute resolution centre to introduce statutory ADR Tribunals, under section one of its decree which stipulates that cases where the amount contested exceeds BD500,000 ($1.3 million), they will be managed  by the BDCR-AAA rather than the  courts.

Bahrain also became the first country to offer an arbitration “free zone” under section two of the decree. – TradeArabia News Service