Leading international and domestic arbitration lawyer Doug Jones AM has warned states and territories that if they do not adopt the new arbitration model law “they will be left behind”.

Jones, speaking at the launch of his new guide to arbitration, Commercial Arbitration in Australia at Clayton Utz where he is a partner, said it was his aim to contribute to the momentum around domestic arbitration by educating practitioners and increasing the stock of arbitrators in Australia.

NSW introduced new domestic arbitration laws late last year, after the Standing Committees of Attorneys-General (SCAG) agreed in principal to adopt the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL). Victoria's Attorney-General Robert Clark has also said he would look to introduce the laws soon. “Real reform of the process will only be achieved with the combined support of dispute resolution practitioners, lawyers, their clients and the availability of deploying suitable dispute resolution processes different to court proceedings, expeditious, designed to suit the particular dispute, and fair,” said Jones.

The official launch was attended by a raft of present and former legal heavyweights including Attorney-General Robert McClelland, who provided the keynote speech at the event, federal court chief justice Patrick Keane, retired NSW chief justice James Spigelman, and former NSW Attorney-General John Hatzistergos.

“The field of arbitration at a domestic and international level has come a very long way very quickly in the last few years,” said McClelland. "These developments in arbitration are as a result of the drive of a number of committed people, but none more so than Doug Jones. Their enthusiasm for reform of commercial arbitration laws means that we are literally entering a new era."

Commercial Arbitration in Australia was published by Thomson Reuters, the publisher of this website.