LAST WORD

With the concept of globalisation, distances have shrunk, barriers of language and race have diminished and co-productions have become common. One party to the contract from one part of the world enters into partnership with another party from another part of the world. While the terms and conditions of the contracts may vary, film- related contracts basically would fall under the following broadcatagories:
1. performance contracts,
2.joint ventures,
3. contracts for sale and purchase,
4.sharing of profits,
5.service providing contracts,
6.deal for handling negligence,
7.commercial rights agreements,
8.distributorship agreements,
9.equipment sale agreements,
...and so on

Everything remains well till the going remains well. The question is what happens when the differences arise? It’s at those times that the written language in the deed becomes important.
Normally, the contracts that we make here read ”subject to Mumbai jurisdiction”. But when we talk of international contracts, we have to have an international jurisdiction for arbitration.
Arbitration is nothing but sorting out of a dispute between two parties to their satisfaction by an arbitrator who acts as a judge. The only difference between an Arbitrator and a Judge is that the first-mentioned is decided upon mutually by the parties whereas the latter is appointed by the court.

In terms of international arbitration, generally,in this part of the world, there are two ways to legal recourse- according to UN laws or the Singapore laws. Singapore Arbitration Laws are also basically based on the UN laws.Another thing to be considered is the amount/subject matter, the jurisdiction of the case and it’s enforceability. Singapore has a strong tradition of rule of law.The legal system is based on the English Common Law and is backed by a judiciary that receives top rankings in international surveys.Personal, property and contractual rights receive full protection of law with predictability and certainty.Another reason for Singapore being a great arbitration destination is that it is home for many of world’s leading multinational corporations- in industry, commerce, finance, banking and services.It is also excellent in transportation and communication providing all round connectivity. Singapore is a party to the1958 UN Convention on Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (New York Convention). Arbitral awards made in Singapore can be enforced in more than 120 countries worldwide. Similarly, awards made in any country which is a signatory to the New York Convention are readily enforced in Singapore. It’s here that the model laws of Internatinal Commercial Arbitration developed by the United Nations Commission on International TradeLaw (UNCITRAL) are adopted. The model law incorporates internationally- accepted norms and rules in international arbitration.
Let’s look at the reliefs a party can ask for in case of a dispute:
1. Stop court case from being carried on in breach of arbitration agreement.
2. Enforce foreign arbitral award made in countries, signatories to the New York Convention.
3. Preservation of subject matter of the dispute.
4. Interim injunctions and relief
5. Securing amount in dispute
6. Securing costs of arbitration etc.

Each case has a specific requirement and is unique in itself.Confidentiality of arbitration proceedings is fully
protected by law.

Parties have complete freedom to appoint arbitrators of their own choice. Only when they are unable to agree on appointment, they can hire an agency to step in and help them make the appointment of an arbitrator.Parties are free to choose the procedures to resolve their disputes.The default provisions of the law come into play to help move the arbitration forward only where the parties have not made a choice.Parties are also free to agree on the language of arbitration and the choice of law governing their contract.Parties have a right to be represented by counsel of their own choice,including lawyers from their own country. It is,of course,upto the parties to the contract to choose representation by experienced arbitratation lawyers from among the world’s leading international law firms with offices in countries of their choice.Fees for the internatinal arbitration are by law, generally, exempt from income tax..
In case the parties to the contract cannot organize the arbitration lawyers or proceedings etc.for themselves, they can avail of the services of an agency specialising in such services in the region. Such services would include:

1.appointment of arbitrators,
2.negotiating and fixing the terms of appointment of arbitrators
3.managing all financial aspects of arbitration,
4.monitoring and supervising the progress of the case,
5.performing all the duties and functions of the chairman,
6.facilitating the services of hearings,
7.attending to all clerical and administrative services

The UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules are a comperhensive, internationally-accepted set of rules which parties can adopt for arbitration. To make the UNCITRAL Rules work more effectively, parties at the time of adopting these rules,should carefully consider agreeing on an appointing authority. Failure to agree on an appointing authority may result in serious delays when difficulties arise in the arbitral process.

To avail of arbitration recourse parties to the international contracts must include an arbitration clause in their contractual deeds. These are standard clauses and are either available with lawyers practicing International Law or are downloadable from Arbitration sites on the web.

	International Co-productions, Disputes and Arbitration by Ashok Kumar

	With the concept of globalisation, distances have shrunk, barriers of language and race have diminished and co-productions have become common. One party to the contract from one part of the world enters into partnership with another party from another part of the world. While the terms and conditions of the contracts may vary, film- related contracts basically would fall under the following broadcatagories: 1. performance contracts, 2.joint ventures, 3. contracts for sale and purchase, 4.sharing of profits, 5.service providing contracts, 6.deal for handling negligence, 7.commercial rights agreements, 8.distributorship agreements, 9.equipment sale agreements, ...and so on Everything remains well till the going remains well. The question is what happens when the differences arise? It’s at those times that the written language in the deed becomes important. Normally, the contracts that we make here read ”subject to Mumbai jurisdiction”. But when we talk of international contracts, we have to have an international jurisdiction for arbitration. Arbitration is nothing but sorting out of a dispute between two parties to their satisfaction by an arbitrator who acts as a judge. The only difference between an Arbitrator and a Judge is that the first-mentioned is decided upon mutually by the parties whereas the latter is appointed by the court. In terms of international arbitration, generally,in this part of the world, there are two ways to legal recourse- according to UN laws or the Singapore laws. Singapore Arbitration Laws are also basically based on the UN laws.Another thing to be considered is the amount/subject matter, the jurisdiction of the case and it’s enforceability. Singapore has a strong tradition of rule of law.The legal system is based on the English Common Law and is backed by a judiciary that receives top rankings in international surveys.Personal, property and contractual rights receive full protection of law with predictability and certainty.Another reason for Singapore being a great arbitration destination is that it is home for many of world’s leading multinational corporations- in industry, commerce, finance, banking and services.It is also excellent in transportation and communication providing all round connectivity. Singapore is a party to the1958 UN Convention on Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (New York Convention). Arbitral awards made in Singapore can be enforced in more than 120 countries worldwide. Similarly, awards made in any country which is a signatory to the New York Convention are readily enforced in Singapore. It’s here that the model laws of Internatinal Commercial Arbitration developed by the United Nations Commission on International TradeLaw (UNCITRAL) are adopted. The model law incorporates internationally- accepted norms and rules in international arbitration. Let’s look at the reliefs a party can ask for in case of a dispute: 1. Stop court case from being carried on in breach of arbitration agreement. 2. Enforce foreign arbitral award made in countries, signatories to the New York Convention. 3. Preservation of subject matter of the dispute. 4. Interim injunctions and relief 5. Securing amount in dispute 6. Securing costs of arbitration etc. Each case has a specific requirement and is unique in itself.Confidentiality of arbitration proceedings is fully protected by law. Parties have complete freedom to appoint arbitrators of their own choice. Only when they are unable to agree on appointment, they can hire an agency to step in and help them make the appointment of an arbitrator.Parties are free to choose the procedures to resolve their disputes.The default provisions of the law come into play to help move the arbitration forward only where the parties have not made a choice.Parties are also free to agree on the language of arbitration and the choice of law governing their contract.Parties have a right to be represented by counsel of their own choice,including lawyers from their own country. It is,of course,upto the parties to the contract to choose representation by experienced arbitratation lawyers from among the world’s leading international law firms with offices in countries of their choice.Fees for the internatinal arbitration are by law, generally, exempt from income tax.. In case the parties to the contract cannot organize the arbitration lawyers or proceedings etc.for themselves, they can avail of the services of an agency specialising in such services in the region. Such services would include: 1.appointment of arbitrators, 2.negotiating and fixing the terms of appointment of arbitrators 3.managing all financial aspects of arbitration, 4.monitoring and supervising the progress of the case, 5.performing all the duties and functions of the chairman, 6.facilitating the services of hearings, 7.attending to all clerical and administrative services The UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules are a comperhensive, internationally-accepted set of rules which parties can adopt for arbitration. To make the UNCITRAL Rules work more effectively, parties at the time of adopting these rules,should carefully consider agreeing on an appointing authority. Failure to agree on an appointing authority may result in serious delays when difficulties arise in the arbitral process. To avail of arbitration recourse parties to the international contracts must include an arbitration clause in their contractual deeds. These are standard clauses and are either available with lawyers practicing International Law or are downloadable from Arbitration sites on the web.