What to do when the deal
turns sour
Paris, 23
June 2000 - When the
champagne corks pop and handshakes seal the deal, the idea that things could
go wrong is far from all minds. Yet business relationships sometimes turn sour.
Prudence dictates that parties to the contract should heed the still small voice
of caution - and be prepared for that rare eventuality.
From 18 - 22 September in
Paris, the ICC Institute of World Business Law will stage a seminar that will
help company lawyers and business executives to make the right decisions for
the bottom line and corporate reputations when confronted with what nobody wants
- a contractual relationship that is falling apart.
The International Commercial
Arbitration seminar takes the form of a simulation, a tale of business woe involving
Company X, from central Europe and Company Y, from West Africa. The two companies'
respective presidents, Mr Lubovic and Mr Kouakou, come to rue the day they met
at the Berlin Trade Fair.
All is sweetness and light
at first with the contract for exclusive distribution in West Africa of the
central European company's sophisticated computer peripheral for office workstations.
Deliveries are on time, the peripherals find a ready market, and payment is
on the nail.
After a couple of years,
payments start to slip and then peter out altogether. The central European manufacturer
markets an upgrade and doesn't even tell his West African partner, even though
the contract specifies that Company Y had the exclusive right to market any
improvements to the wonder peripheral. Both Mr Kouakou and Mr Lubovic feel that
the other has not lived up to his end of the bargain. The relationship turns
sour.
What should they do? How
is Mr Lubovic going to get paid on time? How does Mr Kouakou exert his rights
over the improved product? Does the contract provide any recourse? Renowned
experts in international commercial arbitration will provide the answers at
the Paris seminar.
Visitors to this website
won't learn how the story ends. To find out, they should sign up for the seminar
in Paris. They could save themselves many times the cost of the trip if, like
Mr Lubovic and Mr Kouakou, they find themselves in a business relationship that
is not working out and threatens to cost them a bomb.
The seminar, involving a
mock arbitration under the rules of the ICC International Court of Arbitration,
is one of the PIDA series aimed at executives and corporate lawyers involved
in international business. The seminar is tailored to meet the needs of lawyers,
executives and corporate counsel representing companies involved in international
trade. It is of special interest to participants from developing countries and
emerging economies.
The above facts, and
names of persons and companies cited in the simulated arbitration case are in
all respects hypothetical and have been designed purely for the needs of the
PIDA seminar "Study of a mock case under the 1998 ICC Rules of Arbitration"
in Paris on 18-22 September 2000. Any resemblance with facts kn
own to the reader
are entirely coincidental.
Unless otherwise authorized,
these facts may not be used for any purpose.
How
will the story end?
Sign
up for the seminar
Institute
of World Business Law