The Congress of Argentina passed the International Commercial Arbitration Law in early July.
This new Law provides Argentina with a legal framework for cooperation and resolution of international commercial disputes, controlling all the stages of arbitration proceedings and in accordance with global principles applicable to this practice.
Mr. Germán Garavano, Minister of Justice, explained that: “This Arbitration Law approval is a fundamental milestone towards strengthening institutions, foreseeability and rapid dispute resolution, at a lower cost. Undoubtedly, this enactment contributes to progress of society and social and economic development.” This dispute resolution model works in a very simple, reliable, flexible and fast manner and it entails lower costs than resorting to the Courts of justice.
Argentina had no law of this kind until now and legislation contained in the Civil and Commercial Code of Argentina and in the procedural codes was conceived for local arbitration proceedings. Thus, such previous legislation could not satisfy expectations for international disputes, which require specific rules in line with other parts of the world.
The regulatory framework approved in based upon the Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration issued by the UNCITRAL As part of the so-called Justicia 2020 Program, the Ministry of Justice maintained meetings with all the sectors involved, so as to discuss about the best way to include this law in the Argentine legal framework. As a result of these contributions, the language and terms of the Bill were agreed upon and such Bill was partially passed by the Senate last year. This International Arbitration Law model is already applicable in Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Peru, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Honduras, Nicaragua, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Panama, and even Spain.