As an international arbitration practitioner, one of the initial inquiries we make when discussing the choice of arbitration seat with clients is whether the prospective jurisdiction has adopted the UNCITRAL Model Law. This question holds significant importance. We are only about 45 minutes into this conference, and we have heard extensive discussion of the Model Law already, and I think that is for a good reason. The Model Law really does reflect the state of the art in international arbitration practice as Christina Pak alluded to earlier. When a country adopts a version of the UNCITRAL Model Law as its own national arbitration law, it sends an immediate signal to investors and members of the business community that the law is a good and reliable law, i.e., the type of law that one needs to help to develop that jurisdiction as a strong seat of arbitration and facilitate the attraction of foreign investment and trade. In the instance of Uzbekistan, when practitioners in Uzbekistan and in the region and internationally ask whether the country has an arbitration law based on the UNCITRAL Model Law, of course, the answer to that question now is “yes”.
It is a strange and widely held belief that literature, like all art, is merely a game of imagination, enjoyable enough, like a new novel, but lacking in serious or practical value. The opposite could not be further from the truth. Literature protects a people's values, and ideas—love, religion, duty,
friendship, freedom, and reverence—are the most valuable aspects of human life. The Greeks were a magnificent people, but we retain only a few ideals from their enormous achievements, ideals of beauty in perishable stone and ideals of truth in imperishable prose and poetry. The Greeks, Hebrews, and Romans were defined by their ideas, which were maintained in their writings, and which dictated their value to future generations