Dispute Resolution and Arbitration The following procedures shall be used in the resolution of disputes:
Governing Law; Dispute Resolution (a) This Limited Guarantee shall be interpreted, construed and governed by and in accordance with the Laws of the State of New York without regard to the conflicts of law principles thereof that would subject such matter to the Laws of another jurisdiction other than the State of New York.
(b) Any disputes, actions and proceedings against any party or arising out of or in any way relating to this Limited Guarantee shall be submitted to the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (the “HKIAC”) and resolved in accordance with the Arbitration Rules of HKIAC in force at the relevant time (the “Rules”) and as may be amended by this Section 10(b). The place of arbitration shall be Hong Kong. The official language of the arbitration shall be English and the arbitration tribunal shall consist of three arbitrators (each, an “Arbitrator”). The claimant(s), irrespective of number, shall nominate jointly one Arbitrator; the respondent(s), irrespective of number, shall nominate jointly one Arbitrator; and a third Arbitrator will be nominated jointly by the first two Arbitrators and shall serve as chairman of the arbitration tribunal. In the event the claimant(s) or respondent(s) or the first two Arbitrators shall fail to nominate or agree on the joint nomination of an Arbitrator or the third Arbitrator within the time limits specified by the Rules, such Arbitrator shall be appointed promptly by the HKIAC. The arbitration tribunal shall have no authority to award punitive or other punitive-type damages. The award of the arbitration tribunal shall be final and binding upon the disputing parties. Any party to an award may apply to any court of competent jurisdiction for enforcement of such award and, for purposes of the enforcement of such award, the parties irrevocably and unconditionally submit to the jurisdiction of any court of competent jurisdiction and waive any defenses to such enforcement based on lack of personal jurisdiction or inconvenient forum.
(c) Notwithstanding the foregoing, the parties hereto consent to and agree that in addition to any recourse to arbitration as set out in Section 10(b), any party may, to the extent permitted under the Laws of the jurisdiction where application is made, seek an interim injunction from a court or other authority with competent jurisdiction and, notwithstanding that this Agreement is governed by the Laws of the State of New York, a court or authority hearing an application for injunctive relief may apply the procedural Law of the jurisdiction where the court or other authority is located in determining whether to grant the interim injunction. For the avoidance of doubt, this Section 10(c) is only applicable to the seeking of interim injunctions and does not restrict the application of Section 10(b) in any way.
Governing Law; Arbitration This Agreement shall be governed and interpreted in accordance with the laws of the State of New York without giving effect to the conflicts of law principles thereof. Any dispute, controversy or claim (each, a “Dispute”) arising out of or relating to this Agreement, or the interpretation, breach, termination, validity or invalidity thereof, shall be referred to arbitration upon the demand of either party to the dispute with notice (the “Arbitration Notice”) to the other. The Dispute shall be settled by arbitration in Hong Kong by the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (the “HKIAC”) in accordance with the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre Administered Arbitration Rules (the “HKIAC Rules”) in force at the time when the Arbitration Notice is submitted. The seat of arbitration shall be Hong Kong. There shall be three (3) arbitrators. The complainant and the respondent to such dispute shall each select one arbitrator within thirty (30) days after giving or receiving the demand for arbitration (the “Selection Period”). Such arbitrators shall be freely selected, and the parties shall not be limited in their selection to any prescribed list. The chairman of the HKIAC shall select the third arbitrator. If either party to the arbitration fails to appoint an arbitrator with the Selection Period, the relevant appointment shall be made by the chairman of the HKIAC. The arbitral proceedings shall be conducted in English. To the extent that the HKIAC Rules are in conflict with the provisions of this Section 5.2, including the provisions concerning the appointment of the arbitrators, this Section 5.2 shall prevail. The award of the arbitral tribunal shall be final and binding upon the parties thereto, and the prevailing party may apply to a court of competent jurisdiction for enforcement of such award. In the event of the arbitration of any Dispute pursuant to this Section, the losing party in such arbitration shall pay to the prevailing party all expenses and fees (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) incurred in connection with the arbitration of such Dispute, and the arbitration order, ruling or award shall contain a specific provision providing for such payment.
Mediation and Arbitration 27.1 The parties will use their best efforts to negotiate in good faith and settle any dispute that may arise out of or relate to this agreement or any breach thereof. If such dispute cannot be settled amicably, through ordinary negotiations by the parties, the dispute shall be referred to the senior representative nominated by the Managing Director or Managing Partner of each party, who will meet in good faith in order to resolve the dispute. If the dispute is not resolved as a result of such meeting, either party may, within 7 (seven) days of its conclusion, propose to the other in writing that structured negotiations be entered into with the assistance of a mediator.
27.2 If the parties are unable to agree on a mediator, or if the mediator agreed upon is unwilling or unable to act, any party may within 7 (seven) days from the date of the proposal to appoint a mediator, or within 7 (seven) days of notice to any party that is unwilling or unable to act, apply to the Arbitration Foundation of South Africa (AFSA) to appoint a mediator.
27.3 The parties will, within 7 (seven) days of the appointment of the mediator, meet with him in order to agree on a program for the exchange of any information and the structure to be adopted for the negotiation to be held in Pretoria or Johannesburg.
27.4 All negotiations connected with the dispute will be conducted in complete confidentiality and the parties undertake not to divulge details of such negotiations, except to their professional advisors, who will also be subject to such confidentiality and will be without prejudice to the rights of the parties in future proceedings.
27.5 If the parties accept the mediator’s recommendations, or otherwise reach agreement on the resolution of the dispute, such agreement shall be reduced to writing and once, it is signed by the duly authorised representatives, shall be final and binding on the parties.
27.6 Failing agreement, any of the parties may invite the mediator to provide a non-binding, but informative opinion in writing as to the merits of the dispute and the rights and obligations of the parties. Such opinion will be provided on a without prejudice basis and will be private and confidential to the parties and may not be used in evidence in any proceedings commenced pursuant to the terms of this agreement, without the prior written consent of all the parties.
27.7 Should the parties fail to reach agreement in the structured negotiations within 30 (thirty) days of the mediator being appointed, such a failure shall be without prejudice to the right of any party, subsequently to refer any dispute or difference to arbitration, but the parties agree that, before resorting to arbitration, the structured negotiations in accordance with this clause shall have taken place.
27.8 That arbitration shall be held – 27.8.1 with only the parties and their representatives including their legal representatives, present thereat; 27.
Dispute Resolution and Governing Law 13.1 The parties agree to attempt in good faith to resolve any dispute arising out of or relating to this Agreement promptly by negotiations as follows:
(a) Either party may give the other party written notice of any dispute not resolved in the normal course of business. Executives of each of the parties will meet at a mutually acceptable time and place within thirty (30) days after delivery of the notice, and thereafter for as long as they reasonably deem necessary. The purpose of this meeting is for the executives to exchange relevant information and to attempt to resolve the dispute.
(b) If the matter has not been resolved by the executives within forty-five (45) days of the notice, or if the parties fail to meet within the thirty (30) day period, the dispute will be resolved by arbitration as set forth below.
13.2 Any controversy or claim arising out of or relating to this Agreement or the validity, inducement, enforcement, or breach thereof, which is not resolved as set forth in Section 13.1 shall be resolved by binding arbitration before a single arbitrator in accordance with the International Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) then pertaining, except where those rules conflict with this provision, in which case this provision controls. The parties hereby consent to the jurisdiction of the federal district court for the district in which the arbitration is held for the enforcement of this provision and the entry of judgment on any award rendered hereunder. Should such court for any reason lack jurisdiction, any court with jurisdiction shall enforce this clause and enter judgment on any award. The arbitrator shall be an attorney who has at least 15 years of experience with a law firm or corporate law department of over 10 lawyers or was a judge of a court of general jurisdiction. The arbitration shall be held in Minneapolis, Minnesota and in rendering the award the arbitrator must apply the substantive law of Minnesota (except where that law conflicts with this clause), except that the interpretation and enforcement of this arbitration provision shall be governed by the Federal Arbitration Act. The arbitrator shall be neutral, independent, disinterested, impartial and shall abide by The Code of Ethics for Arbitrators in Commercial Disputes approved by the AAA. Within 45 days of initiation of arbitration, the parties shall reach agreement upon and thereafter follow procedures assuring that the arbitration will be concluded and the award rendered within no more than eight months from selection of the arbitrator. Failing such agreement, the AAA will design and the parties will follow procedures that meet such a time schedule. Each party has the right before or, if the arbitrator cannot hear the matter within an acceptable period, during the arbitration to seek and obtain from the appropriate court provisional remedies such as attachment, preliminary injunction, replevin, etc., to avoid irreparable harm, maintain the status quo or preserve the subject matter of the arbitration. THE ARBITRATOR SHALL NOT AWARD ANY PARTY PUNITIVE, EXEMPLARY, MULTIPLIED OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, AND EACH PARTY HEREBY IRREVOCABLY WAIVES ANY RIGHT TO SEEK SUCH DAMAGES. NO PARTY MAY SEEK OR OBTAIN PREJUDGMENT INTEREST OR ATTORNEYS’ FEES OR COSTS.
13.3 This Agreement shall be governed by, and interpreted and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Minnesota, USA, excluding: (a) the conflict of law provisions now or hereafter in force; and (b) the provisions of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods dated April 11, 1980.