The name is catchy: P.R.I.M.E. Finance, an acronym for "Panel of Recognised International Market Experts in Finance," the official name of this Foundation. The Foundation formally launched its arbitration and mediation services on 16th January 2012.
Everything about this institution is impressive. To begin with, the panel was set up by the World Legal Forum following a meeting of lawyers, financial experts, regulators and central bank representatives from the U.S., Europe, and Asia in 2010. Indeed, the panel of neutrals is truly impressive.
P.R.I.M.E. Finance is headquartered at the Peace Palace in The Hague, home of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), the International Court of Justice, the Hague Academy of International Law, and the host, the Carnegie Foundation.
Ambitious? Very ambitious, as its goal is to provide services for large financial institutions, as well as for states having a dispute with financial institutions. Do they want to compete with PCA, the World Bank? Yes, they do.
“National courts and ad hoc arbitration until now haven’t succeeded in unambiguous, authoritative jurisprudence,” Jeffrey Golden, chairman of the management board for the new Panel of Recognized International Market Experts in Finance, said in a statement. It generally is not the task of ADR organizations to create case law. The goal, the message, is to convince states and world-leading financial institutions that they will be heard by some the foremost financial authorities in the world.
Unprecedented institutional support, a gathering of brilliant minds in the finance industry, and impressive offices augur a bright future for this new Foundation.
