Four cases at arbitration centre in the first half
THE Kingdom’s National Commercial Arbitration Centre (NCAC) received four more disputes during the first half of this year, making it a total of 11 cases filed at the centre since it became fully operational in 2014.
NCAC secretary-general Suy Sothy confirmed on Tuesday that since its establishment, the centre has successfully resolved four of the disputes.
He said various parties have filed cases at the NCAC and found it to be more affordable and efficient than solving issues through the Kingdom’s court system.
“I believe that from now on, the centre will receive more dispute cases as many more businesses and legal experts are showing an interest than previously,” he said.
He said that the NCAC is also reaching out to more businessmen and lawyers daily to inform them of its process.
Sothy said most disputes that are submitted to the NCAC are commercial in nature and related to leasing or property contracts.
He noted that the cost of having a dispute settled varies widely from one case to another. However, there are several fixed fees such as registration, administration, convening a tribunal and for arbitration.
Initially established in 2013, the NCAC remains relatively unknown in the Kingdom. It was started with the intention of providing businesses an option to bypass legal hurdles.
An independent body, the NCAC uses a panel of experts overseen by an ethics committee to resolve disputes. Its decisions are legally binding.