In May 2018, a new venue wherein
arbitration hearings may be conducted opened in
The main focus of the JIDRC is to allow
parties to engage in institutional or ad hoc arbitrations based on mutually
agreed upon rules and procedures. This
is not limited to disputes between a foreign entity and a Japanese company or
agency, but may be used by two domestic (Japanese) entities or two foreign entities
who desire to conduct such negotiations in a neutral venue. There are plans to
open a second JIDRC in
It is anticipated that the JIDRC will be
useful for dispute resolution, especially in Standard Essential Patent (SEP)
cases that will arise as technological advances continue, particularly, as we
head into the 5G era. The center will
also be useful for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) to conduct negotiations
such as licensing in hope that expensive litigation, which is problematic for many
SMEs, can be avoided or reduced.
1)
Use
of the JIDRC facilities
1.
An annual fee is required. The general annual fees are 50,000¥ ($463*) for a
Corporate membership1 and 10,000¥ ($93) for an Individual
membership.
2.
Room Rental Fees. At present the JIDRC-Osaka branch has three rooms which can be
rented for the above proceedings. The rooms may be rented daily from 9:00am
until 1:30pm (Morning session) or 1:30pm until 6pm (Afternoon session).
The
cost per 4.5 hour session varies depending on which room** is used.
Main
room |
50,000¥
/ session |
Medium
room |
10,000¥
/ session |
Small
room |
5,000¥
/ session |
*Based on 108 yen = $1 US. Rate as of January
2020.
**At
the time that this article was written, no information regarding how many
persons each room can comfortably accommodate was available. The JIDRC website
(Japanese and English) can be found at http://www.idrc.jp
1Multiple memberships are recommended for corporations,
and in this case, the room rental fees may be reduced by 60%.
Amendments made to the rules
governing arbitration at the JIDRC were enacted January 1, 2019. We highlight
some of these amendments below.
1)
The pool of potential arbitrators was expanded to include persons who are not
members of the Japan Commercial Arbitration Association (JCAA), and at the same
time, a requirement that the arbitrator(s) must declare that they are clearly
impartial and without extenuating conflicts prior to and during arbitration of
a case was enacted.
2)
The duration from the start of arbitration to the granting of an award or
decision was extended from 6 to 9 months.
3)
In expedited cases, the maximum amount in dispute is set to less than
50,000,000 yen ($462,963) unless a higher amount is agreed to by both parties.
4)
With regards to selection of the presiding arbitrator, an arbitrator appointed
by one party may not have further ex parte communication with the appointing
party, unless agreed to by both parties in the dispute.
In addition, a series of “Interactive Arbitration
Rules” were enacted. These rules require the arbitrators to present an initial
document to both parties describing the position of both parties in the case
and pertinent laws and issues which are critical to the dispute. Later, the
arbitrators will present to the parties, a second document indicating the
arguments and legal issues deemed to be useful in providing a preliminary
analysis in order to facilitate the smooth progression of the arbitration.
Much latitude exists by
which the arbitration rules may be changed, amended, eliminated, etc., upon
mutual consent by both parties in the dispute.
Update:
The Foreign Lawyers Act has been amended so as to permit a greater range of services which may be performed by foreign lawyers particularly with respect to arbitration hearings and mediation proceedings conducted in Japan. The amendment eases restrictions which had limited foreign lawyers from being registered in Japan so as to increase their participation in international arbitration hearings and promotes cooperation between foreign and Japanese lawyers.
An international arbitration hearing is classified as one in which either party has their headquarters or main offices in any jurisdiction other than Japan (foreign parties which are non-Japanese entities but which have a physical presence in Japan would also qualify), or the laws being used to arbitrate the case are other than Japanese laws.