The Brunei Darussalam Arbitration Centre (BDAC) hosted a seminar on alternative dispute resolution (ADR) as mechanisms for effective conflict resolution at its office at Jalan Kumbang Pasang on Thursday to provide perspectives for a successful ADR process, best practices and common pitfalls to avoid on ADR.
Darshendev Singh, a partner with Lee Hishammuddin Allen and Gledhill, Malaysia, was the guest speaker at the event, moderated by Lenny Rahman, a partner with HLR Law.
Participants from the legal and non-legal fraternities, including officers from ministries and private sectors attended the seminar. The hybrid event also saw attendance from Malaysia, Nigeria, Spain, and the United States.
Singh shared his expertise and insights during the seminar, and encouraged the use of alternative dispute resolution as one of the ways to resolve disputes effectively and efficiently especially in the industries where technical knowledge is required, as parties are allowed to appoint a neutral third party who are experts in the subject matter to arbitrate or mediate the disputes. The seminar started with an overview of ADR and the advantages and disadvantages of ADR in comparison to litigation. It explored the two most common forms of ADR – arbitration and mediation.
The seminar took a closer look at how mediation has the advantage of preserving relationships and developing creative solutions for resolving disputes and when arbitration is suitable for dispute resolution.
Singh also spoke about the hybrid process called Arb-Med-Arb that combines arbitration and mediation as well as the upcoming trends and innovations in ADR such as online dispute resolution and artificial intelligence that is transforming the ADR landscape. It was followed by a question and answer session with the participants.
The seminar was organised by the BDAC as the centre’s initiative to be the preferred venue for the settlement of disputes, whether commercial, non-commercial or family.
As a sole arbitral institution in the Sultanate statutorily empowered to deal with cross-border disputes, the BDAC is a neutral and independent centre facilitating ADR services for domestic, international and independent users.
