support from the Shariah Advisory
Council (SAC) in its capacity as a
consultative body to the Malaysian
Judiciary. Pursuant to the Bank
Negara Malaysia Act 2009,
decisions of SAC are binding upon
the courts.
To complement the court
system we have KLRCA’s Islamic
Such a comprehensive legal infrastructure for
Islamic finance is unique to Malaysia and reflects the
support and dedication of the legal fraternity to keep
pace with the development of Islamic finance.
KLRCA strongly supports the government’s efforts
to make Kuala Lumpur a leading global hub in Islamic
financing and we are constantly building our pool of
Islamic finance arbitrators.
One of our key objectives is to come up with a
uniform set of Islamic arbitration rules that would be
applicable globally, not limited to Islamic financing and
not just limited to Malaysia. We are obtaining assistance
from eminent arbitrators to devise rules that are
applicable to any form of commercial transactions
structured along Shariah principles, and to ensure that
the awards rendered will be enforceable under the New
York Convention on the Enforcement of Foreign
Arbitral Awards.
We hope to launch this next year and when we do,
KLRCA would be in an excellent position to become a
leading centre for Islamic arbitration.
Sundra Rajoo,
Director of KLRCA
ARE THERE ANY OTHER SPECIALIST AREAS OF LAW THAT
MEMBERS OF THE KLRCA PANEL HAVE PARTICULAR EXPE-
RIENCE IN?
Yes, our panel is comprised of experienced arbitrators
from an array of specialist areas. The most common
areas are construction, oil and gas, commercial, banking
and contractual matters. These are domestic
arbitrators. However, we also have a pool of qualified
international arbitrators with specialist knowledge for
clients to choose from. The full listing of our panellists
can be found on KLRCA’s website.
WHAT ARE THE MAIN ADVANTAGES FOR CLIENTS THAT
CHOOSE TO ARBITRATE UNDER THE KLRCA RULES?
KLRCA Rules are based upon the internationally
recognised UNCITRAL 2010 Arbitration rules and are
backed by Model Law-compliant arbitration legislation
(the Arbitration Act 2005 and the recent Arbitration
Amendment 2011). Apart from the autonomy given to
arbitral tribunals by the Arbitration Act 2005 to
conduct proceedings and make awards, KLRCA also has
powers to appoint arbitrators where parties have failed
to do so themselves. This speaks volumes in terms of
government recognition of KLRCA as the leading
arbitration institution in Malaysia.
KLCRA is also the first Arbitral Centre to adopt the
UNICTRAL Rules for Arbitration on 15th August 2010.
This ensures the centre’s rules are in line with
prevailing international practices and standards. The
new rules give even greater autonomy to parties to
control the resolution of their own disputes; making
arbitration even more user-friendly.
In terms of enforcement, Malaysia is a signatory to
the 1958 New York Convention of Recognition and
Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards. This
eradicates the qualm that awards made in Malaysia
cannot be enforced in other jurisdictions, and it also
encourages cross-border dealings. As long as all parties
are signatories of the New York Convention, whether
the disputing parties are in Afghanistan, Spain or
Malaysia, an award given by KLRCA would be
enforceable. Awards are also rendered within three
months of the date of closing oral/written submissions.
On the matter of expediency, KLRCA introduced its
Fast Track Rules 2010. Framed to meet the desire for
quicker dispute resolution, it means clients with claims
under RM1m can resolve disputes as soon as within 90
/140 days from the commencement of proceedings.
Other ancillary benefits are that foreign lawyers may
appear in proceedings conducted under KLRCA rules,
there is no withholding tax for non-Malaysian
arbitrators/mediators/panellists, there are no
restrictions on Foreign Exchange Banking and nonresident arbitrators do not require a work permit to
conduct arbitral proceedings.
Naturally, our other facilities and services are also
open to parties who opt to arbitrate under KLRCA rules.
Administrative assistance in dealing with procedural
requirements is available for fees based on a fixed pay
scale according to the disputed amount. We also have a
panel of close to 700 arbitrators for parties to select
from whose fees are all capped. ■
Author:
Sundra Rajoo, Director of KLRCA
Kuala Lumpur Regional Centre for Arbitration
12, Jalan Conlay,
50450 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-2142 0103
Fax: 03-2142 4513
Email: enquiry@klrca.org.my
Website: www.klrca.org.my
