I. MOCK SCENARIO

 

Baobao East Africa (BEA), a joint venture incorporated in

Talindi, a rapidly developing country in eastern Africa, is

negotiating a concession agreement with Talindi’s Department of

Transportation. Under the agreement, BEA would construct a

new airport terminal in Talindi in exchange for revenues that

would be collected by BEA over a 30-year concession period.

Baobao Inc., based in Beijing, holds a majority interest in the joint

venture.

 

 

Baobao Inc.’s in-house counsel and outside counsel are

meeting to discuss options for certain dispute settlement

provisions that will be included in the concession agreement.

Counsel began discussing alternatives for a provision that will

select – in the event a dispute arising from the concession

agreement is submitted to arbitration – the arbitral seat. A

private investigator also participates in the discussion.

 

 

The two outside counsel bring different perspectives to the

discussion. One outside counsel recommends selecting London or

Paris as the seat, given that each city has an established track

record as an arbitration-friendly venue. The other outside

counsel would prefer Hong Kong, Singapore or Mauritius, which

combine an arbitration-friendly environment with the

convenience, for the disputing parties, of an Asian or African

location. The investigator notes that, based on prior research,
Talindi-owned enterprises located in Bahrain, India, and Miami