John Moloney (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

I thank Senators for their contributions. I look forward to dealing with the various proposals made on Committee Stage. I will respond to the issues raised during the debate. I thank those who contributed to the discussion for their generally favourable comments on the overall purpose of the Bill. While the legislation is somewhat technical, as the debate has shown, it is not especially controversial. I welcome this.

As I said earlier, alternative dispute resolution is a major growth area. Arbitration is particularly popular in the commercial sphere. Parties who wish to continue their business relations with each other may find it appropriate to avail of the advantages arbitration has to offer. I will deal with some of the points raised by individual Senators. The advantages offered by arbitration are different from those offered by the traditional litigation route. If it is properly managed, arbitration can be cheaper and quicker than normal litigation. It offers a flexible approach that can be tailored to the specialised disputes which sometimes arise in the commercial arena. It can facilitate the protection of sensitive commercial information. More importantly, perhaps, it is backed by a guarantee of enforceability in a substantial number of countries.

It is intended that by providing a single regime that applies to all arbitrations, the Bill will create an environment in which Ireland can be marketed as an arbitration-friendly venue. This should help us to increase our international arbitration business and facilitate the further expansion of the domestic arbitration business. The development of arbitration business in this jurisdiction will depend, at least in part, on the ability of practitioners in the field to capitalise on the provisions of the Bill. We are fortunate that considerable legal and professional expertise is available to us. The Irish branch of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, for example, is an active organisation with over 800 members from a range of backgrounds and with a wide variety of professional qualifications. The Bar Council, the Law Society and Chambers Ireland have been proactive in this area.

There have been excellent educational opportunities in recent years which enable many more people to build on their skills in this growth area of the legal economy. The Government is willing to play its part in this regard, to the maximum extent feasible.

Senator Regan raised the issue of the marketing drive, to which I will return in more specific detail on Committee Stage. In 2001 the American Arbitration Association opened an international dispute resolution centre in Dublin. This significant development gave added credibility to Ireland as a venue for international arbitration. The importance of arbitration in the international trading community should not be underestimated. It is appropriate that Ireland, as an trade-dependent country, should seek to tap into this area of activity. International arbitration services are offered in most major capital cities. This reflects a desire on the part of the international trading community to resolve disputes which inevitably arise when large amounts of money are at stake quickly, cheaply and in accordance with commonly agreed rules.

Many commercial arbitrations in Europe are conducted under the auspices of the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce, ICC. In recent years, the ICC has received approximately 600 requests on average per annum for arbitration. ICC arbitration takes place in a wide range of countries and in many of the cases which come to it, the amount in dispute exceeds $1 million. The importance of these statistics is that where the parties in a dispute agree to abide with International Chamber of Commerce rules, the ICC court is often involved in choosing a venue of arbitration which it regards as being compatible with its rules. The new Bill will enhance compatibility in this area, as acknowledged by Senator McDonald.

Senator Regan correctly noted that the courts have been reluctant to intervene in arbitration in the past. The problem from an international perspective was that it was presumed that undue interference was possible. This presumption could be used to our detriment by international competitors and hence the introduction of the Bill. The consolidation effect of the Bill should act to overcome any doubts which may have existed as to the role the courts play in the arbitration process. I welcome the acknowledgement by Senator Regan on this point.

The Bill consolidates existing arbitration law and brings it into line with modern international practice. However, given that the adoption of the model Bill for all arbitration is central to this objective, it may be useful if I take a little time to briefly outline the philosophy which lies behind the Bill. When the Model Law was adopted in 1985, the perception was that international trade would benefit greatly from some harmonisation of national legislation relating to the resolution of international disputes. The idea was that this could be achieved either by countries adopting the Model Law in its totality or adjusting existing legislation to bring it into line with the key provisions of the Model Law.

Given its audience, the text of the law is couched in pragmatic terms and written in relatively plain language. It is a mark of success that when the revision of the law was discussed earlier this decade, the changes eventually adopted were limited in number. The Bill is primarily a framework which enables the parties to operate with considerable autonomy and tailor the arbitration proceedings to suit their particular needs.

The Model Law deals in a comprehensive manner with the key issues which are likely to arise during the course of any arbitral proceedings. Where necessary, the law has been supplemented by specific provisions of the Bill which are aimed at ensuring our arbitration law is comprehensive and user friendly.

In response to Senator Bacik's comment that contradictory messages are being sent to the legal community, there is a general swell of support for the Bill in the arbitration community. Inevitably, there will be some who are comfortable operating in the old framework or using old ways. The Government is satisfied, however, that the enthusiasm and motivation to make the Bill work well in practice exists among all the relevant professions.

With regard to the exclusion of disputes, there is a well-established code of practice in this area which we are reluctant to set aside. There are also inherent flexibilities in the code which enable ADR techniques to be employed in practice.

I thank Senators for their contributions. I will address a number of the issues raised when we debate Committee Stage.