KUALA LUMPUR: The Asian International Arbitration Centre (AIAC) handles between 800 and 900 cases annually, most involving construction payment disputes, as it seeks to attract more international commercial disputes to Malaysia.
Its chief executive officer Datuk Danesh Chandran Velaitham said most of the cases were resolved through adjudication under the Construction Industry Payment and Adjudication Act 2012.
He said AIAC was also expanding access to dispute resolution through its free commercial mediation service, which had received nearly 20 cases since its launch in May.
The government had asked AIAC to study raising the service's RM250,000 claim limit to RM500,000, he said.
AIAC launched its Pro Bono Commercial Mediation Initiative on May 18, covering 26 categories of commercial disputes.
Danesh was speaking to reporters at a press conference during the eighth edition of Asia ADR Week 2026, which brings local and international speakers to Kuala Lumpur this week to discuss international commercial dispute resolution.
He said the conference was organised in collaboration with stakeholders in the alternative dispute resolution industry, including local and international law firms.
"They will work with us, and we will organise it," he said.
The five-day conference began on Monday, with sessions co-organised by law firms. It continues until Friday, with the final day focusing on the construction industry.
Danesh said the conference's tagline, "The World Resolves Here", reflected AIAC's aim of attracting cases from around the world.
"We want the world to refer to us and use the facilities here, the services here, to resolve their disputes.
"And this is true because today we receive many requests from abroad," he said.
He said events such as Asia ADR Week were important to raise awareness of AIAC's services internationally.
"A lot of awareness is needed. This kind of event, proceeding and convention is important to tell the world, to tell the people that we exist," he said.
"Many do not know that AIAC has been based in Malaysia for 50 years," Danesh said.
He said the government had committed to continuing its support for AIAC to administer disputes impartially and neutrally.
AIAC was established in 1978 under a host country agreement between Malaysia and the Asian-African Legal Consultative Organisation.
The conference also marked the launch of AIAC's road to its 50th anniversary in 2028, in the presence of Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof and Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd