Clayton Utz international arbitration specialist wins prestigious global appointment

Sydney, 17 January 2005: International arbitration specialist and Clayton Utz partner Doug Jones AM has been elected as the Australasian representative to the Board of Trustees of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, a worldwide arbitral organisation based in the UK.

Mr Jones is the first Australian to be elected to the Board, which comprises 12 members drawn from the UK, Australasia, East Asia, Africa, the Americas, Europe and the Indian sub-continent. The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators recently adopted a new constitution and Board structure to reflect the organisation's increasingly international membership base, with as many international as UK members.

This is a prestigious appointment for Mr Jones, who heads the International Arbitration practice at national law firm Clayton Utz. Mr Jones has spent the last two and a half years as Chairman of the Australian Branch of the Chartered Institute, a position from which he steps down this March when his term ends.

Mr Jones said demand for arbitration services was growing not just in the UK but in other parts of the world, particularly the Asia-Pacific region. Mr Jones said he had observed an increasing trend towards the use of private dispute resolution services in Australia, mirroring the UK experience. The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators runs a number of domestic dispute resolution schemes in the UK alongside government schemes in areas such as telecommunications services and Mr Jones said there may well be scope for such schemes to be developed in Australia.

"I think the development of schemes that are managed by an independent body that understands its way through the maze of dispute resolution options and provides a level of credibility and independence is certainly growing," Mr Jones said.

Mr Jones has a wealth of experience in the arbitration arena, having acted as counsel and arbitrator in major international arbitrations. His experience was recognised in 1999 when he was made a Member of the Order of Australia for services to Dispute Resolution, as well as Construction Law. His other appointments include the Australian Centre for Commercial Arbitration (Senior Vice-President) and the Asia-Pacific Council London Court of International Arbitration (Vice-President).

The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators was founded in 1915 and aims to be the world's leading centre of excellence for the promotion and facilitation of dispute resolution. It has 10,500 members from more than 90 countries and 30 branches around the world. Members must qualify for membership through an intensive accreditation process.

Mr Jones will attend the first meeting of the Board of Trustees in Cyprus in February.