MEDIATION AND ARBITRATION: PROSPECTS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF HYBRID FORMS OF INVESTMENT DISPUTE RESOLUTION IN UZBEKISTAN
Keywords:
investment disputes, mediation, international commercial arbitration, Arb-Med-Arb, Med-Arb, competence-competence, online dispute resolution (ODR), UNCITRAL, UNCTADAbstract
The article analyzes the legal prospects for implementing and developing hybrid mechanisms for resolving investment disputes that combine mediation and arbitration in the Republic of Uzbekistan. The legal nature of multi-stage reservations and the enforceability of agreements reached through mediation, as well as their transformation into an arbitral award on terms agreed upon by the parties, are investigated. Particular attention was paid to ensuring confidentiality, maintaining public order, and determining the competence of the arbitration panel. The features of interaction between hybrid procedures and international investment agreements are analyzed using the 2024 bilateral investment agreement between India and Uzbekistan as an example, as well as taking into account data from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). Additionally, the potential for digitalizing dispute resolution procedures is being considered. The methodological basis of the study is made up of comparative legal, formal-legal, and systemic methods, as well as an analysis of international treaties, national legislation, and arbitration practice. As a result of the study, it was established that the legal system of the Republic of Uzbekistan contains the necessary institutional and regulatory prerequisites for developing hybrid mechanisms for resolving investment disputes, including the mandatory mediation stage, modern arbitration regulation, and mechanisms for the transboundary recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards. It is substantiated that the most legally stable model for Uzbekistan is the consistent application of mediation and arbitration, with the subsequent formalization of the reached agreement in the form of an arbitral award on terms agreed upon by the parties. Proposals have been formulated to ensure a balance between the autonomy of the parties’ will, the protection of public interests, and the efficiency of investment arbitration.
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