Georgia Needs to Establish a Paris Arbitration Court in Tbilisi

“At this stage, the Paris Arbitration Court is not ready to enter Georgia”, Fady Asly, President of the International Chamber of Commerce in Georgia (ICC Georgia), noted. 

The government of Georgia and the arbitration court of the International Chamber of Commerce have signed a memorandum with the aim to establish the arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce in Tbilisi,  he added. 

“A delegation of Arbitration Court of International Chamber of Commerce has visited Georgia, and the delegation’s members have held training seminars after the signature of the memorandum. The memorandum was signed by the Justice Minister, Tea Tsulukiani, and the head of the Arbitration Court of International Chamber of Commerce in December 2018. 

Trainings were held for judges and representatives from various government offices. The next phase should be decided upon. To be frank, I do not expect the Paris Arbitration Court to launch operations in Georgia in the near future. 

The good thing is that it is easier to apply for arbitration, not the court, in Georgia, because the Paris Arbitration Court is ready to accept cases from Georgia, too, despite the fact that they are not ready to enter Georgia”, Fady Asly said. 

“Today, on December 20, we are signing an important document in Paris, under which we assume the  obligation of ensuring the full adaptation of our legislation in 2019 with the International Arbitration Court. This means that, after Paris, Tbilisi will be the second location in Europe where the international arbitration court will operate. This is commercial arbitration with the highest reputation. This will be a fundamental precondition to transform Georgia into the regional economic center”, the then Prime Minister of Georgia, Mamuka Bakhtadze, noted in 2018, when introducing the annual government report to the Parliament of Georgia. 

Businessman Fady Asly has been talking about the importance of International Chamber of Commerce for many years. 

“At this stage, the Georgian court system creates serious problems for business sector development and attracting new investments. Therefore, the establishment of arbitration courts  of the International Chamber of Commerce will be able to send a clear message that  investors and business partners can feel safe in this country”, Fady Asly, head of the International Chamber of Commerce in Georgia, noted in October 2018.