Originally from:  World Arbitration Reporter - 2nd Edition

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I.  HISTORY AND BACKGROUND OF AIAC

The Asian International Arbitration Centre (“AIAC”) was established on 17th April 1978 as an independent, supranational arbitral institution with its own juridical personality hosted in Malaysia. It was set up under the auspices of the then Asian-African Legal Consultative Committee (“AALCC”) now known as the Asian-African Legal Consultative Organisation (“AALCO”).  

The then Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Hussein Onn officially inaugurated the Regional Centre for Arbitration Kuala Lumpur (“RCAKL”) on 17th October 1978. regional centre for international commercial arbitration in Malaysia. It was subsequently renamed as the Kuala Lumpur Regional Arbitration Centre (“KLRCA”) in April 2010 and then to the Asian International Arbitration Centre (AIAC) in February 2018.  

The AALCO was established on 15th November 1956 as the outcome of the Bandung Conference, which took place from 18th to 24th April 1955 in Bandung, Indonesia. It was initially formed to serve as an advisory board to member states on matters relating to international law.

AALCO later assumed the role of assisting member states in drafting constitutions, model legislation and bilateral agreements upon request. It also provided expertise and assisted member states in the appointment of arbitrators and other matters relating to arbitral proceedings as well as capacity building in alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and training of arbitrators in its regional centres.