Arbitration
For arbitration to be successful, especially in arbitration proceedings, both the parties must agree to refer the dispute to be settled through arbitration or mediation. Under the Arbitration Act, 2001 if one party does not respond to the other party’s notice requesting arbitration to solve a particular dispute, the system provided by the current Act of 2001 as regards appointment of an arbitrator through Court on behalf of the non-responding party is very cumbersome and sometimes it takes years together to even get the arbitration tribunal constituted and the hearing started.
In almost all the agreements nowadays, lawyers are routinely incorporating an arbitration clause for settlement of possible disputes. Because of the legal requirements in various laws, parties involved are at least required to attempt mediation to solve the dispute outside the Court room. The government in the recent past has also reiterated on many occasions its plan to make arbitration mandatory in certain cases. All these factors taken together, I see a very good prospect for arbitration in Bangladesh. Before that, however, we need to educate people for the system.