We would like to introduce the Investment Protection Council (IPC), one of the effective way to protect rights and interest of the investors and to resolve the disputes involving the foreign investors in Mongolia.
The Investor Protection Council needs to be established in concern with the facilitation of investment related dispute settlement and of favorable environment for the sustainable operation of investors. The Investor Protection Council is established based on an ordinance of the Prime Minister of Mongolia in Dec 2016. That council is composed of Chairman, 16 members, and Secretary. The main formation of the Council’s operation structure should be Council’s session. The decision will be made by majority of the Council members during the session.
The IPC’s Main Roles:
- Preview and make preliminary prognosis on foreign investment related issues that will be discussed by Cabinet Session
- Improve investment legal framework, remove duplications and breaches of laws, introduce investment related proposal that made by relevant organizations to Cabinet.
- Make proposals on implementation of laws and resolutions related to investment, and introduce it to Cabinet. The council should be supernumerary and the Council’s operation should be permanent.
In addition above, one of the main roles of IPC is to protect investors’ right, and solve their grievance (except the cases examined under court or arbitrage). So far 83 compliant and claims submitted by investors to this Council’s Secretariat. As we have been classifying these complaint and claims, there are 40% of them was related to mining, 20% for road, transportation, construction, manufacturing, 10% for information, communication, space technology, 10% for bank, finance, tax, 5% for land, land proprietorship, utilization, 5% for national development, planning, and remaining percentage was claims related to fair competition, as well as supervision, pressure and burden, registration, and authorization activities of the law enforcement agencies.
For example, in relation to the dispute related to the termination of the license of Mobicom Corporation with 100% – a business entity 100% owned by Japan, by the Communications Regulatory Authority, it was further discussed at the Investor Protection Council Meeting and it supported to resolve the investor’s claim. In doing so, KDDI, the Japanese investor, will make additional investments to expand Mobicom’s operations, which indeed has not been resolved over the past 10 years.
LehmanLaw Mongolia LLP suggests our clients this amicable mechanism to resolve the disputes involving them in Mongolia.