Baku, Azerbaijan, June 14
By Anvar Mammadov – Trend:
Legal issues that may arise in the free trade zone (FTZ), being created in Azerbaijan, should be addressed in the country’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry, believes economy expert, Farhad Amirbayov.
He told Trend that creation of the free trade zone’s own arbitration system in its territory can lead to undesirable problems within the framework of Azerbaijan’s single national legal system.
“Residents of the FTZ may have legal issues not only among themselves, but also with other residents carrying out activity in Azerbaijan,” Amirbayov said. “Certain misunderstandings and conflicts may arise, so I propose another option – to address any legal issue in Azerbaijan’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which has an arbitration court and all the mechanisms that allow carrying out pre-trial proceedings without conflicts. From my point of view, when foreign corporations want to enter the Azerbaijani market, they should become members of Azerbaijan’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry.”
Earlier, the Dubai-based DP World, one of the world’s major port operators providing consulting services for creation of the FTZ in Azerbaijan, proposed to create an independent arbitration system within the FTZ. The arbitration system will be guided not only by the Azerbaijani, but also the international law.
Regarding the FTZ which is being created in the Alat township in Azerbaijan, the expert noted that this is a good tool for attracting large corporations to the country.
The free trade zone covering the territory of the Baku International Sea Trade Port in the Alat township of Baku’s Garadagh District is being created in accordance with a decree signed by Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev March 17, 2016.