[Recap] Technical track Cross-border Contracting in the Asian Context – Trips, Traps and Tips

ABLI is delighted to have the opportunity to present at the technical track titled Cross-border Contracting in the Asian Context – Trips, Traps and Tips, drawing upon our studies of contract laws of select Asian jurisdictions. The session is part of the Next Frontier of Lawyering – From ESG to GPT.

The session started with a presentation by ABLI’s Deputy Executive Director where he talked about some key issues of cross-border contracting in Asia, including the use of terms of art, such as “consequential loss”, “gross negligence” and “good father of the family”, that are unique to different legal traditions in Asia as well as conflict of laws issues, such as borrowing statutes and notice provisions, which cannot be avoided in cross-border contracting.

In the panel discussion that followed, Dr Cameron Ford OAM, JJ Disini (the Philippines), Dr Ngyen Quoc Vinh (Vietnam) and Zhang Chengyang (China) had a lively discussion about topics such as contracting culture between the East and the West, length of contracts in common law and civil law worlds, the language used in drafting (especially when English is not the official language), choice of governing law in cross-border contracts, and preferred dispute resolution methods, among others. The speakers also shared quirks of their own systems when it comes to contracting with overseas parties.

ABLI is heartened by the very positive feedback from attendees, including the session being “extremely informative”, the tips shared being “very practical and helpful”, the session enabling them to learn “new perspectives from different jurisdictions”, etc.

More about our Contracts Project can be learnt here. Outputs under the Project can be accessed here.