The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and the City University of Hong Kong will conclude a Memorandum of Understanding on capacity building in international dispute settlement on 10 March 2008.
This Memorandum will reinforce the aims of UNCTAD and CityU to enhance expertise on dispute settlement in international trade, investment and intellectual property, and on international commercial arbitration. The MOU has as its regional focus China and other developing countries of the Asia-Pacific region. Hong Kong´s CityU is well positioned to become a regional hub for professional education and training in international dispute settlement.
The growth in international and regional arrangements on trade and investment has seen an accompanying expansion of institutions to settle disputes. These typically involve different views of how international or regional trade rules should be interpreted and applied. Developing countries´ share in world trade and investment has grown fast and they are now also increasingly involved in cases brought to international dispute settlement bodies, most notably at the World Trade Organization (WTO), at the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes of the World Bank group (ICSID) and at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). Interpreting international agreements on trade, investment and intellectual property has developed into a specialized area of international law and arbitration, and is therefore of crucial importance for developing countries.
A multifaceted approach to understanding international dispute settlement in trade, investment and intellectual property was launched as an UNCTAD project in 2001. UNCTAD is the focal point of the United Nations system for all aspects of trade, investment and development, with its broader goal the promotion of sustainable economic growth and human development.
The UNCTAD Dispute Settlement Project promotes effective integration of developing countries into the multilateral trading system by developing and disseminating specialized information, promoting research on related international and regional issues and building capacity on rules and practice in institutionalized dispute settlement. Its services are principally directed towards meeting the needs on international dispute settlement of: government officials, including lawyers and negotiators from ministries of trade and commerce; academics from universities and specialized research institutions; legal practitioners, including lawyers from corporations; trade associations; law firms; and business people in developing and least developed countries.
Under the MOU, UNCTAD will provide cutting edge instruction packages, tailor-made for the specific audience of the School of Law´s post-graduate programme on Arbitration and Dispute Resolution. This programme of CityU was established in 1992 for training and capacity building of professionals from China and other countries in the Asia-Pacific region.
The MOU will be signed by Dr. Supachai Panitchpakdi, Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and Professor Richard Yan-ki Ho, Acting President of the City University of Hong Kong. It will take effect upon signature on 10 March 2008.
Following the signing ceremony, Dr. Supachai Panitchpakdi will deliver a public lecture on "Globalization and Inclusive Development - an UNCTAD perspective" on Monday, 10 March at 3:30pm in Room 406 & 407, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, 1 Expo Drive, Wanchai, Hong Kong.
