No business today can ignore the commercial benefits of mediation. And yet, this method of dispute resolution is only a few decades old as a common mechanism used by companies to resolve their business disputes. It is one of the means that facilitates investment and job creation. We met Slim Kaâbi, manager of the RAI office (Representation, Assistance and Intermediation), who tells us regarding the importance of banking mediation and arbitration in the business world.
Today and more than ever, unemployment has become the main occupation of the State, which is why young people and adults, graduates or not, leave the country in search of jobs. In order to remedy this scourge, the issue of investment, the main means of job creation, has been the focus of all attention (radio and television sets, written press, etc.). Unfortunately, time passes and the expected goals have not been achieved. Slim Kaâbi, manager of the RAI office, sheds light on the subject and tells us that following the independence of the country, the State created organizations to assist young promoters in the creation of their projects.
Among these structures, he cites the Agency for the Promotion of Industry, the Center for the Promotion of Exports, the nine sectoral technical centers, the Tunisian Agency for Foreign Investment, the incentive funds for young promoters, such as as the Industrial Promotion and Decentralization Fund (Foprodi), the Crafts and Trades Promotion Fund (Fonapram), the Export Promotion Fund (Foprodex), in addition to development investment premiums offered to young promoters and which can reach 30% of the cost of the project.
Reactivate the Tunisian Investment Fund
Unfortunately, the new law relating to the investment code of September 30, 2016 was considered quite complex compared to the old laws and decrees established and promulgated, and this, from Independence until today.
Kaâbi points out that the various incentive funds have become the responsibility of the Tunisian Investment Fund (FTI), which is not yet operational following 8 years of its creation in 2016. However, the text of the law specifies that the activities of this fund should start “gradually” in 2022. To do this, an envelope of 71 million dinars has been devoted to the fund, including 70 million dinars as premiums which will be distributed to eligible investors. This is one of the three pillars of investment governance in Tunisia, as enacted by the investment law published in 2016. The Tunisian Investment Fund, it should be remembered, is a fund intended to support investment and business creation. To do this, the fund’s mission is to release bonuses and financial incentives to companies. He is also responsible for underwriting in mutual funds, venture capital funds and seed funds in a direct or indirect manner. The FTI is a public body endowed with legal personality and administrative and financial autonomy which exercises its functions under the control of a supervisory commission, chaired by the minister in charge of investment. According to the investment law, the management of the resources of this fund will be in accordance with national development priorities.
As the creation of a project goes through three stages (the study of the project, the financing and finally the exploitation), the promoter must contact the various aforementioned assistance organizations in order to obtain a clear answer to his aspirations.
Banking mediation and the role of the Ccat
On the other hand, Kaâbi specifies that in the event of a dispute with a bank, the problem can be resolved with a banking mediator, i.e. the Observatory of banking services, whose website is: (www.osb.tn ) instead of resorting to the courts, whose trial processing times are very long. Reporting to the Central Bank of Tunisia, this structure is responsible for monitoring the quality of banking services, providing information on all banking products and their costs and carrying out studies on their quality. The observatory also has the task of measuring the cost of banking services and the degree of customer satisfaction, and producing an annual report on banking mediation.
Also, in the event of a problem with a customer or a supplier, the investor can resort to an institution called the Conciliation and Arbitration Center of Tunis (Ccat), and this, following agreement of the parties in conflict.
About the Conciliation and Arbitration Center of Tunis, Slim Kaâbi indicated that the Conciliation and Arbitration Center of Tunis is a non-profit Tunisian private law association, created on June 23, 1996.
Among the objectives assigned to it by its founders, particular emphasis should be placed on the need to work on the training of economic operators and the dissemination of the culture of mediation, conciliation and arbitration, as well as on the obligation to act with a view to developing relations of cooperation and partnership with all national or international institutions active in the field of arbitration. The Center is administered, according to its statutes, by a management office, responsible for appointing an executive office and a Scientific Council for Conciliation and Arbitration. This Council plays the role of an Arbitration Court charged with supervising the regularity of the arbitration proceedings administered by the Centre. He is, in particular, responsible for ensuring compliance, by the arbitral tribunals, with the provisions of the Tunis Conciliation and Arbitration Rules.
Among its objectives is the training of arbitrators, the dissemination of the culture of mediation, conciliation and arbitration and the strengthening of relations of cooperation and partnership with national and international arbitration institutions.
To conclude, Kaâbi notes that companies having a dispute with a Tunisian or foreign customer or supplier should opt for mediation and arbitration in order to obtain concrete solutions as soon as possible.
