INTRODUCTION

The Malaysian Institute of Arbitrators (MIARBS) is a national body which was established in 1991 and consists of 12 Council Members. At every Annual General Meeting, the members elect, vote and appoint 10 Council Members (the 11th Council Member is the Immediate Past President and the 12th Council Member is co-opted by the Council) to serve for that particular year. It is a non-profit organization and each Council Member works and serves on a voluntary basis for the interest of their Members. Membership at MIARBS consists of Associates, Members and Fellows. Another category of membership which will commence end of 2006 is the Corporate Membership.

OBJECTIVE

The aims and objectives of MIARBS is stipulated in Clause 4 of the Rules of the Institute (download) and can also be summarised as the 7-point plan for immediate and continued implementation.

(1) Change of Constitution to open up membership to corporate bodies and affiliates and students who will have no voting power.

(2) This enables MIARBS to give wide publicity to private dispute resolution to make its presence felt by the public at all levels.

(3) This is vital and essential to disseminate knowledge to and educating the public on private dispute resolution processes and attitudes and thus working towards a harmonious society.

(4) This will inculcate and sow the seeds for liaison and cooperation with other organizations in training and Continued Professional Development (CPD).

(5) Formation of sectorial working groups to study sectorial problems and devise suitable dispute resolution methods to meet the needs of society and to ensure efficient costs effective dispute resolution for the interest of the parties.

(6) Continuing liaison with Government on law reform.

(7) Acquisition of permanent administration office with state of the art facilities: library, conference and arbitration rooms in order to give the Institute a national (and in future international) focal point for its activities. This is essential for the implementation of the above 6 point plan.

Note:
Arbitration shall mean the process of dispute resolution carried out under the law of arbitration of any country in the world (Clause 3.4 Rules of the Institute)

Alternative Dispute Resolution or ADR shall mean the process of dispute resolution other than litigation or arbitration and shall include negotiation, mediation, conciliation, adjudication, dispute review, expert determination and the like (Clause 3.5 Rules of the Institute)

Posted by Ms. Jacqueline Chang