A new reform is in sight for the current legal regime on arbitration in Colombia. If approved by Congress it would be the first in nearly fifteen years.

Late last year the Colombian Ministry of Government and Justice appointed a commission of experts to reform the legal system of national and international arbitration. The President of the Commission is Director at the Universidad Externado de Colombia, Doctor Fernando Hinestrosa and notorious lawyers, teachers and Colombian experts in local and international arbitration are members of the same.

From the history of failed projects of reform in the past, it is very likely that the Commission has the adoption of the Model Law issued by United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) as a basis for discussion.

The previous international arbitration law was issued in 1996 and it has become imperative to change it, among other reasons, in order to ensure that Bogotá is an ideal site for international arbitration. It is likely that the project will be presented by the Colombian Government to Congress the next term in March and in July the country will finally have a new law on arbitration (national, or at least applicable to international arbitration).