Who can help companies along the BRI?

How to resolve the disputes?

June 28, 2018 - Marco Marazzi during the workshop 'Who can help companies along the BRI within the conference 'Belt & Road Initiative - The New Silk Road' organized by Xinhua News Agency and Class Editori gave a speech about legal advisory and dispute resolution in the context of international contracts.

The BRI, which includes sectors and countries that are sometimes difficult to trace back to the New Silk Road, is increasingly characterized as a 'new path to Chinese globalization'.

Although around 80% of projects are owned by Chinese state-owned companies (SOE) and 86% of funds come from China (and often a strong Chinese presence is required for allocation), it is worth mentioning the opportunities arising for the other countries: most of the projects financed by China fall into the category of industrial parks and special economic zones (SEZ) which offer opportunities for foreign companies to enter the projects.

A sensitive topic is litigation: what is the best structure to resolve disputes arising within the BRI projects? For investment contracts, disputes are governed by the law of the host country, but for procurement contracts it is important to encourage third countries as places of dispute resolution (Common law, flexible by nature, could be an effective alternative): this would bring significant benefits for the parts involved.

Click here to watch Marco Marazzi's opinion on international dispute resolution in a video by Easternational, from April 2018.