Piraeus

The regular annual General Meeting of the Association for Maritime Arbitration took place on Wednesday, 10 March 2010, at its offices (Notara 131. Piraeus).

It is well known that the purpose of the Association is to develop maritime arbitration in Greece and esp. in Piraeus and to form a pool of individuals, whether from Greece or abroad, capable of successfully operating as arbitrators in the settlement of maritime disputes.

Our effort aims at rendering this arbitration a reliable alternative, with international acceptance and recognition and also able to produce high quality results at a lower cost and within a shorter time than arbitrations conducted in other maritime centres.

Arbitrations conducted under the auspices of the Association, are governed by the Maritime Arbitration Rules, which are an annex to the Statute of the Association and have been drafted in accordance with international standards and the UNCITRAL Model Law for International Commercial Arbitration, adopted in the Greek law by Law no. 2735/1999. Arbitration Rules of such an “international caliber”, to which arbitration clauses of maritime contracts and esp. charter-parties will refer, are essential for such an arbitration to gain international recognition.

During the General Meeting it was stressed that some shipbrokers and maritime lawyers managed to insert in various shipping contracts our Association’s model arbitration clause providing for arbitration in Piraeus. Nevertheless, it is of importance to brief a wider range of institutions and individuals in the shipping industry on the respective advantages, in terms of time and cost, offered by the suggested arbitration. Offering broad and proper information to interested parties will increase the number of disputes referred to arbitration in the international shipping centre of Piraeus and considerably save costs otherwise falling on vessels and cargoes, while it will substantially benefit the Greek economy and enhance our legal culture.
                              

Press officer
Jenny Pournara (BoD Member)
Tel./Fax: 210 8672051
Mob.: 6944 141505
e-mail: jennypb@otenet.gr