Promotion of International Commercial Arbitration and Other Alternative Dispute Resolution Techniques in Ten South Mediterranean Countries

As the strategic economic partner of the Southern Mediterranean (MEDA) region, the European Union (EU) seeks to promote effective mechanisms of development through increased industrial cooperation in order to create a Euro-Mediterranean area of shared prosperity. The first Euro-Mediterranean Conference of Ministries of Industry, held in June of 1996 in Brussels, listed among its priority objects 1) the formation of a fair judicial and administrative framework for investment; and 2) the establishment and support of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) through the development of regional networks. However, recent reports on the world trade and investment describe the MEDA region as an area with low attractiveness for international investment. One of the obstacles preventing enhanced trade and investment in the MEDA countries, particularly for SMEs, originates from the lack of an efficient, effective, and reliable infrastructure to manage trade and investment disputes. Inadequately drafted contracts, insufficient or incompetent legal advice, and defective functioning of judicial systems evidence the unsatisfactory protection provided to EU-MEDA transactions. SMEs are likely to suffer the most since their access to domestic tribunals is severely limited. In addition, they are largely unfamiliar with alternative systems to prevent and management commercial disputes