Tag Archives: Dispute Resolution

Domain Name Dispute Settlement in Mongolia



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Recently, one of our clients had been seeking our advice on Mongolian communications law, particularly on the domain name registration and dispute settlement issue. Meanwhile providing legal analysis to our client’s inquiry, we have decided to provide the post in concern with background of the domain name monitor in Mongolia.

Communications Regulatory Commission of Mongolia (CRC) is the government authority that is responsible to monitor the implementation for registration and usage of domain name. Only one company, a Datacom LLC, has the authority from the CRC to register domain name in Mongolia. Datacom LLC’s website has a WHOIS owner database.

One of the powers of the CRC is resolving disputes between a domain name registrant (domain name holder) and a third party. In 2020 CRC adopted a “Regulation on registration and use of domain names”. This Regulation specifically provides for that “CRC will follow laws and regulations of Mongolia when processing requests and complaints. When dealing with issues not specified in laws of Mongolia and this Regulation, CRC may follow relevant parts of the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy adopted by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (UDRP)”.

Pursuant to Regulation on registration and use of domain names, after the third party (other than domain name registrar and domain name registrant) submits a request or complaint, provided that all required documents are submitted along with request or complaint, CRC shall notify domain name registrar, domain name registrant and other relevant parties and obtain relevant response from them within 14 days from the date of submission of request or complaint. CRC will resolve the request or complaint within 21 days from the date of receipt of relevant responses. Depending on the content of request or complaint CRC may appoint a panel consisting of 3 experts with the purpose of carrying out an expert opinion on the matter. In such case the time to process a request or complaint against domain name will be longer. Pursuant to this Regulation, if CRC deems necessary, complaining party and domain name registrant may participate in the dispute resolution hearing.

Domestic Arbitration for Foreign Companies in Mongolia



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Our Mongolian lawyers frequently assist clients engaged in a range of international business. One of the questions asked by our clients is about domestic arbitration proceeding in Mongolia.

Domestic arbitration in Mongolia is arbitration proceedings other than international arbitration proceeding. If parties have agreed to solve their dispute by domestic arbitration or such agreement is provided in the contract, any disputes related to the contract will be settled by the Mongolian International Arbitration Centre in Mongolia.

The claimant shall submit a written claim which should state the facts supporting the point at issue and the relief or remedy sought and the respondent is required to state his/her defense in respect of these particulars within the period of time agreed by parties or determined by the arbitration tribunal, unless the parties have otherwise agreed. Within 30 days of receiving a notice of arbitration initiation notice, the parties are entitled to appoint an arbitrator from the list of international arbitrators in Mongolia. If the parties did not appoint within a specified time frame, the presiding arbitrator of the tribunal appoints an arbitrator. Following this, a preliminary hearing will be held to establish procedures for resolving arbitration cases, and the following issues will be discussed in the hearing. Among them:

  • Whether an arbitration proceeding has been negotiated between the parties,
  • Whether the dispute subjects to jurisdiction of an arbitration,
  • Place of arbitration proceedings and hearings,
  • Judicial norms for dispute resolution and proceedings,
  • Arbitration language,
  • Basic and additional costs of arbitration,
  • Resolving requests such as summoning a witness, appointing an expert, including an interpreter, a translator, and providing evidence;
  • Whether the arbitration proceedings will be open or closed,
  • The date of the arbitration hearing.

Arbitration will be conducted in accordance with the agreed procedures of the parties, the Arbitration Act, and the rules of arbitration proceeding.

Judicial Recusal



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Articles 91-93 of the Civil Procedure Law of Mongolia regulate grounds for recusal of a judge, submission of a request for recusal, resolution thereof, and consequences of recusal by a judge. In this blog, we will mention some practical difficulties and issued encountered in judicial recusal.

Firstly, in general a judge is obligated to reach a decision in a matter before it.

When the parties to the case make a motion for recusal of the judge, they usually base the request on issues or concerns which raise doubt as to whether the case can be resolved fairly. In this ground, one of the participants in the case must have provided information with certain facts about the judge being influenced by the other party.

However, according to the court practice, the requests made on this basis are related to the violation of the rights of the participants in the case, the restriction of their rights, and the violation of the case procedure.

In the course of the proceedings, the judge himself/herself manages the proceedings, granting or refusing to grant requests made by the parties to the case on the basis of the law.

There are also cases where withdrawing from a judge on the grounds that refusing to accept the request is considered to be interfering to the process of case review by judge.

On the other hand, in the course of the proceedings, there are cases where the judge gives too much priority to one of the parties involved in the case and makes a decision that is beneficial to that party.

It is very difficult to prove the above-mentioned grounds for recusal of a judge, and in practice, in most cases, even if a request for recusal of a judge is made, the request will be always denied or not accepted. 

Another reason for refusing a judge is that lawyers use the tactics of delaying the court hearing and delaying the court processing.

Delays in proceedings and delays in court hearings depend on many factors, but one of them is the delay related to the process of resolving a request to recuse a judge, a panel of judges, or all judges of a given court. 445 cases or 7.8% of cases were delayed due to requests for recusal by judges in civil courts of first instance.

Freezing Assets in Mongolian Litigation



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A frequent issue in litigation is the risk that the defendant may liquidate or transfer assets during the court proceeding, so that when the court award is finally granted the defendant has no assets on paper.

In order to prevent this situation, Mongolian courts allow for a process of freezing a defendant’s assets or bank account at the start of the court proceeding. Such an asset freeze will prohibit the defendant from transferring assets and cash to other parties in an attempt to avoid the negative consequences of a judgment against them. To initiate such an asset freeze, Mongolian courts require payment of a deposit, or bond by the Plaintiff into an account controlled by the court, in an amount equal to the claim.

An asset freeze of this kind requires a formal petition to the court. In most cases the court will grant a plaintiffs request for an asset freeze. There is no legal timeline for the freeze, but in most cases it will be implemented quickly to avoid any transfers by the defendant to evade the freeze. However, there are certain situations in which actual implementation of the freeze is delayed due to administrative issues, or delay by the Court Enforcement Bureau.

There is also the issue of appeal of the court’s decision regarding the freeze of assets.

The defendant has the right to appeal the decision of the court within 10 days, and the court must decides on the appeal within 14 days. The law does not regulate whether or not the Judge’s order on freeze of assets will be suspended until the complaint is resolved, or will be effective during the appeal process. This situation sometimes creates confusion and differences in actual implementation. Of course, if the actual impact of the asset freeze is not enforced until 24 days after the order, the defendant will have a lot f time to potentially transfer or hide the targeted assets.

Although, there is no specific regulation on the liability for failure to comply with the Judge’s order on measures to secure implementation of court decision, the law does allow for penalty in the form of a fine, and in some cases potential imprisonment.

COVID-19 and Force Majeure



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The current quarantine measures hold by the Government of Mongolia have become increasingly difficult for the legal entities and individuals conducting business operation in Mongolia due to the Coronavirus epidemic (COVID-19), which is being declared as a pandemic by the World Health Organization.

This recent quarantine creates the risk/problem that business entities will not able to timely fulfill their contractual obligations, such as loan payments, interest and rent payments etc.

In circumstances of force majeure and hardship, the situations which are unable to fulfill their contractual obligations are considered as respectful grounds. In this case, there will be issues that contractual parties have to deal with their obligations, responsibilities and risks to be distributed under the agreement.

Therefore, we provide our clients with legal service and support that seeks to overcome this difficult time with less harm and a release from contract liability in order to the respectful ground as force majeure. The evidence which allow to release the contractual obligation is the certificate proofing the force majeure.

The Mongolian National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (“MNCCI”) has entited to certify force majeure and hardship condition in accordance with the Article 6.6 of the Law on the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Mongolia.

Therefore, in the event of unforeseen circumstances occurring between parties during the performance and fulfillment of the contract regardless of the  control or willing of the parties, the MNCCI provides a certificate proofing the force majeure and a hardship.

The business entity shall submit the following documents for the MNCCI for the certificate:

  • request letter
  • a notarized copy of the contract (in Mongolian)
  • a notarized copy of state registration certificate / incorporation certificate of business entity
  • other documents proving the force major and hardship situation

If you would like us to assess the rights and liabilities of your personal situation, please contact us to arrange a consultation with one of our experts.

Legal Opportunities to Defer an Arbitration Hearing



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As provided in the Procedure for Arbitration proceeding of the Mongolian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Parties are entitled to submit the request on the deferral of the hearing only on the grounds stated in law or justified reasons.

The Law on Arbitration does not provide an interpretation on what occasions shall be deemed as the justified reasons. However it may include the instances such as being sick, getting a medical treatment, taking care of a sick person, having a business travel inland or abroad, taking part in the training, joining the public mobilization, to be imprisoned in zone of public quarantine due to serious contagious disease, sudden fire and natural dangers or force majeure events (flood, drought, zud, dangerous snow and dust storms, earthquake, etc.).

Moreover, pursuant to the Procedure for Arbitration proceeding stipulated, if the Arbitration composition may defer the arbitration hearing if they deem that new evidences are required. On the other side, the Parties may also file the request to the appoint an expert for the case, and in such case the arbitration composition may assign an expert if they deem it is inevitable for the accurate detection of the arbitration case.

Finally, one shall also note that it is almost impossible to defer the hearing by means of challenging the arbitrator once the hearing has already taken place. This right to challenge is granted to the Parties only for 7 days after the receipt of the statement on the neutrality of the arbitrator and this way you can defer the hearing.

Issuing Court Decisions



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Rendering the decision

The judge will announce a recess of the court session and to issue its decision. During the recess session parties will leave the court room.

 Decision

The first instance court will issue one of the following decisions.  

  • satisfy the claim’s demand;
  • satisfy part of the claim’s demand and dismiss the rest of it; or
  • dismiss the whole claim.

Announcing the decision and closing the court session

The judge will announce the decision, explain the other essential matters if necessary, and close the court session. The decision shall come into force immediately upon presentation.

The decision will be written within 7 days after its issuance and the judge will sign it. After the issuance of written decision and parties will come to court and get the decision within 14 days.  

Litigants, third parties, their representatives or defense lawyers may file a complaint of appeal to the courts within 14 days after receiving the decision of the court of first instance. 

Presenting Evidence and Witness Testimony at Mongolia Court



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Continuing our look at general procedures for trying a case before court in Mongolia.

2.2 Examination of documentary and real evidence

A Court shall examine evidence and documents collected in the case. The written evidence which it considers necessary and requested by participants and judge will be read out at the requested page or section to the court. 

2.3 Asking questions

The judge will ask questions from both parties and the claimant and respondent will ask questions to each other and answer each other’s questions.

2.4 Examination of a witness

The judge shall bring witnesses into the courtroom and warn him/her of his duties and liabilities to be imposed on him/her and to sign the minutes of court session on this. Each witness is questioned separately. The judge, claimant and respondent will each ask questions from the witness.  

A witness who has not yet testified may not be in the Court room during the process of the court session. A witness who has been questioned remains in the Court room unless the judge permits him/her to leave.

A Court may conduct preliminary testimony of a witness or may reexamine the witness.

2.5 Reading out conclusions of an expert

The conclusions of an expert are read out at the court session. An expert will explain his/her conclusions at the court session. Questions may then be put to the expert. In the event of the expert’s conclusions being doubtful or unclear or contradictory, the court will order another expert to provide conclusions.

2.6 Additional clarifications from persons taking part in the case

After examining the evidence, the judge asks the litigants whether they have issues that need additional clarification. In this event, parties may ask questions and answer and explain more about their arguments which have not been presented.

 Also, both parties will present final conclusions of their sides.

Trying a Case in Mongolia Court



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The case proceeding begins with a report from the judge on a case. The judge then asks whether the plaintiff persists in his/her demands/claim, whether the defendant admits the plaintiff’s demands/claim, and whether the parties wish to conclude a settlement. The plaintiff may withdraw his/her claim without obtaining permission from defendant. A defendant may admit the plaintiff’s claim in whole or in part or litigants may agree to settlement before the Court issues its decision.

If both parties settled before the hearing and if settlement does not violate rights, freedom and interests of other persons protected by law and/or obstruct the law, the Court may issue a decision confirming settlement between litigants and dismissing the case.

The Court decision shall state that the Court costs and the state stamp duty are to be paid by a plaintiff if he/she withdraws his/her claim or by a defendant if he/she admits and accepts the claim’s demand or is to be divided between litigants if they have concluded settlement.

If both parties would not be settled before the hearing parties will proceed to the main litigation.

2.1 Oral arguments between litigants

Before the oral arguments of the litigants, the judge will remind them of their rights and duties and advise them to give truthful explanations.

First, the plaintiff will explain the facts and introduce the claim and legal grounds of claim. After that, the defendant will present their refusal to accept the claim’s demand and explain the legal grounds of refusal.

Again, the claimant must prove the demand of the claim, disputed events and evidence, guilt of the defendant and grounds for the denial of the defendant’s refusal to accept/acknowledge the claim. Afterwards, defendant side will present the grounds and evidence for refusal to admit the claim’s demand. Debate between claimant and defendant will continue 3-4 times depending on the case.

Summary Of Civil Procedure Of The First Instance Court: Preliminary Stage



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A practical review of how court proceedings are conducted.

Firstly, the judge opens the court session, announces the case which is to be heard and gives permission to participants in the Court hall to sit down.

Then the secretary of the court will check attendance of the court session, those who are participating in the trial and will report to the judge which of the persons summoned for the case have appeared. If the claimant or respondent have not appeared in the court hearing, the secretary will check whether writs were served on the person who have not appeared, and reason to causes of their non-appearance.

After that, the court will check the identity of the participants appearing and the authorizations of officials and representatives.

Then, the judge announces the composition/components of the Court and introduces such as secretary of the court session, the interpreter, any experts and explains to all the parties, third parties and their attorneys and representatives who are taking part in the case and their right to withdraw any components of the Court. The judge also explains to the parties taking part in the case their rights and duties specified in law.

Afterwards, the judge asks if there are any requests from the parties. If any of parties has a request (such as to postpone the hearing etc), they will introduce it to the court and the judge will decide on it immediately. With respect to compiling new evidence and on all other questions connected with the case, everything will be decided by a judge immediately after hearing the opinions/requests of the parties taking part in the case.

The parties may present additional explanations and new evidence significant to the case resolution during the court session; if the court considers them to be important to the case and accepts them for further investigation, the judge may adjourn the court session.