
Revised: December 2002
Simplified Rule Time Period: Schedule "B"
Parties who agree to arbitrate under these National Arbitration Rules may use the following clause in their agreement:
Parties should examine the National Arbitration Rules to ensure that all the provisions are suitable and appropriate in the circumstances and conform to the law governing the Arbitration. With certain specified exceptions, the Rules may be varied, by agreement.
The purpose of the rules is to enable the parties to a dispute to achieve a just, speedy and cost effective determination of matters in dispute, taking into account the values which distinguish arbitration from litigation.
In the rules:
"Act" means any applicable arbitration legislation of the place of arbitration unless otherwise agreed by the parties.
"Arbitrator" means a person appointed to serve as an arbitrator of a dispute pursuant to the Rules."Chair" means the person elected or appointed to chair the Tribunal.
"Commencement date" means the date the arbitration is deemed to commence under Rule 13. "Institute" means the ADR Institute of Canada, Inc.
"Rules" mean the National Arbitration Rules and amendments made by the ADR Institute of Canada, Inc. from time to time.
"Statement of Claim" means the Statement of Claim referred to in Rule 27.
"Statement of Defence" means the Statement of Defence referred to in Rule 27.
"Tribunal" means either a sole Arbitrator or a panel of Arbitrators, as the case may be, appointed to serve as the arbitrator or arbitrators of a dispute pursuant to these Rules.
By agreeing to the Rules, the parties agree that the arbitration shall be administered by the Institute. The Institute shall prescribe from time to time fees to compensate it for its administrative services. The fees in effect when the fee or charge is incurred shall be applicable. The current administrative fees are set out in Schedule "A" All such fees are payable at the time specified for payment in Schedule "A".
Any document required by the Rules to be delivered may be delivered either by personal delivery, mail, e-mail or facsimile. If delivered by personal delivery, delivery shall be deemed to have been effected on the day of such delivery to a party at its regular place of business or mailing address or that of its legal counsel where applicable. If delivered by mail, except for confirmation copies of documents delivered by e-mail or facsimile, delivery shall be deemed to have been effected 2 days following the date of mailing. If by e-mail or facsimile, delivery shall be deemed to have been effected when sent. A confirmation copy of any such document shall be delivered by mail in the case of any electronic transmission.
Parties to an arbitration under the Rules may deliver any written communications required or permitted under the Rules by personal delivery, by mail, e-mail or by facsimile to a party at its regular place of business or mailing address. A confirmation copy of such communications shall be sent by mail in the case of any electronic transmission.
The parties shall provide to one another and to the Institute a full mailing address, telephone number, facsimile number and e-mail address, as may be applicable.
A party who knows that any provision of, or requirement under, the Rules has not been complied with and yet proceeds with the arbitration without promptly stating an objection shall, unless the Tribunal otherwise orders, be deemed to have waived its right to object.
Where a dispute falls under an arbitration clause or agreement, a party, as claimant, may submit that dispute to arbitration by delivering a written Notice of Request to Arbitrate to the respondent at the address specified by the respondent under the agreement or the last known mailing address or place of business of the respondent and to the Institute. The Notice of Request to Arbitrate shall contain:
Appended to the Notice of Request to Arbitrate shall be a copy of the arbitration clause or agreement relied upon and a copy of the contract, if any, in relation to which the dispute has arisen.
The arbitration is deemed to have commenced when a Notice of Request to Arbitrate or a Notice of Submission to Arbitration has been filed with the Institute and the initial filing fee has been paid. The Institute shall notify the parties when an arbitration has been commenced and shall deliver to them a Notice of Commencement of Arbitration.
Where the Institute is asked to appoint an Arbitrator, unless it determines otherwise, the following procedure shall apply:
In appointing an Arbitrator, the Institute shall have due regard to the qualifications requested by the parties, the nature of the contract, the nature and circumstances of the dispute and any other considerations likely to secure the appointment of a qualified, independent and impartial Arbitrator.
If an Arbitrator refuses to act, is incapable of acting, withdraws from office, is removed from office by order of the court, or dies, the Institute may, on submission of satisfactory evidence, declare the office vacant. A substitute Arbitrator shall be appointed according to the provisions of the Rules, or the agreement of the parties, that were applicable to the appointment of the Arbitrator being replaced.
Where a single Arbitrator or chair is replaced, any hearings previously held shall be repeated. Where any other Arbitrator is replaced, any hearings previously held may be repeated at the discretion of the Arbitrators.
An Arbitrator may be challenged if circumstances exist that give rise to justifiable doubts as to his or her independence or impartiality, or if he or she does not possess the qualifications agreed upon by the parties.
A party who intends to challenge an Arbitrator shall, within 7 days after becoming aware of the appointment, or after becoming aware of any circumstances referred to in this Rule, send a written statement of the challenge and the reasons for the challenge to the Tribunal, if it has been fully constituted, and to the Institute. If the challenged Arbitrator withdraws or the other party agrees to the challenge, the mandate of the Arbitrator terminates.
In the case of an arbitration with a single Arbitrator, if the Arbitrator challenged does not withdraw and the other party does not agree to the challenge, the single Arbitrator shall decide on the challenge. If there is a three-person panel the chair, if he or she is not challenged, shall decide the challenge. If the chair is challenged, all the Arbitrators may decide the challenge.
Where a party intends to be represented or assisted by a lawyer, that party shall, in writing, advise the other party and the Institute of the lawyer's name, address, telephone number, facsimile number, e-mail address and the capacity in which he or she is acting at least 5 days before any scheduled hearing or meeting.
The parties may agree in writing on the place of arbitration. If no place is agreed upon, the place of arbitration shall be at the discretion of the Tribunal. The Tribunal may meet at any other place it considers convenient or necessary for consultation, to hear witnesses, experts or the parties or for the inspection of documents, goods, or other property. Part or all of the arbitration may be conducted by telephone, e-mail, internet or electronic communication if agreed by the parties.
The parties may agree, in writing, on the language of the arbitration. In default of any such agreement the Tribunal may specify the language of the arbitration.
Within 14 days of its appointment, the Tribunal shall convene a pre-arbitration meeting, unless the parties deliver to the Institute a notice, in writing, that they do not wish a pre-arbitration meeting.
At the pre-arbitration meeting the parties shall:
The pre-arbitration meeting may take place by conference telephone call, video conferencing or other electronic means.
The Tribunal shall record any agreements or orders made at the pre-arbitration meeting and shall, within 7 days of that meeting, send a written record of such agreements or Orders to each of the parties and file a copy with the Institute.
The Tribunal may rule on its own jurisdiction, including ruling on any objections with respect to the existence or validity of the arbitration agreement, and for that purpose,
A party is not precluded from raising a jurisdictional issue by the fact that it has appointed, or participated in the appointment of an Arbitrator.
The Tribunal may:
At the time of commencement of the arbitration, or within 14 days thereafter, the claimant must deliver a written statement (Statement of Claim) to the respondent, the Tribunal and to the Institute setting out the material facts supporting its claim, the points in issue, and the relief or remedy sought, provided however that if no Tribunal has been appointed, then a copy of the Statement of Claim must be delivered to the Tribunal forthwith upon its appointment.
Within 14 days after the respondent receives the Statement of Claim, the respondent shall deliver a written statement outlining its defence (Statement of Defence) and a written statement of any counterclaim (Counterclaim), to the claimant, the Tribunal and the Institute. A Statement of Defence or Counterclaim sets out the material facts supporting the defence or counterclaim, the points in issue, and the relief or remedy sought. Any counterclaim shall be accompanied by payment to the Institute of the required administrative fee calculated in accordance with Schedule "A". The claimant shall deliver to the Tribunal and the Institute its defence to the Counterclaim within 14 days after receiving the Counterclaim.
If a respondent, or a claimant, fails to deliver a Statement of Defence or a Defence to the Counterclaim, as the case may be, it shall be deemed to deny the allegations in the Statement of Claim or Counterclaim as the case may be.
Each party shall submit with its statement a preliminary list of relevant documents in accordance with Rule 29 taking into account Rule 1. The type, date, author, recipient and subject matter of each document must be specified. Documents not so identified may be subject to exclusion from the proceedings at the discretion of the Tribunal.
The Tribunal upon such terms as are deemed by it to be appropriate, may allow a party to amend or supplement its claim or counterclaim or defence during the course of the arbitration unless the Tribunal considers the delay in amending or supplementing the claim to be prejudicial to a party or unless it considers that the amendment or supplement goes beyond the terms of the arbitration agreement or submission to arbitrate.
Unless the Tribunal otherwise orders, at least 15 days prior to the hearing, or at such other time as the Tribunal may direct, each party shall disclose all documents relating to the matters in issue in the arbitration that are or have been in the possession, control or power of the party. Where the Tribunal considers that the disclosure of all such documents is unnecessary, unduly costly, or burdensome or for other reasons is inconsistent with Rule 1, the Tribunal may give directions to limit the scope of disclosure of documents.
The Tribunal may, on application, order a party to produce any documents the Tribunal considers relevant to the arbitration within a time it specifies and where such an order is made the other party may inspect those documents and take copies of them.
The Tribunal may on such terms as it deems just and appropriate, order a party or a representative of a party to submit to an oral examination under oath or to respond by sworn statement to written interrogatories, on such issues as may be ordered by the Tribunal taking into account Rule 1. The Tribunal shall at the time of making any such order determine the use which may be made of the evidence taken on any such examination or in responses.
The parties shall, within a period of time specified by the Tribunal, identify those facts which are not in dispute and submit to the Tribunal and file with the Institute an agreed statement of facts.
The Tribunal shall set the dates for any interim hearings or meetings, whether oral or not, and shall, except in cases of urgency, give at least 4 days' written notice thereof to the parties and the Institute.
The parties, the witnesses, and the Arbitrators shall treat all meetings and communications, the proceedings, documents disclosed in the proceedings, discovery and the awards of the Tribunal as confidential, except in connection with a judicial challenge to, or enforcement of, an award, and unless otherwise required by law. Nothing in this Rule shall preclude disclosure of such information to a party's insurer, auditor, lawyer or other person with a direct financial interest in the arbitration.
The parties may offer such evidence as is relevant and material to the dispute and shall produce such evidence under oath as the Tribunal may deem necessary to an understanding and determination of the dispute. Strict conformity to legal rules of evidence shall not be necessary. All evidence shall be taken in the presence of the Tribunal and all of the parties, except where any of the parties is voluntarily absent, in default or has waived the right to be present.
The Tribunal shall determine the admissibility, relevance and materiality of the evidence offered and may exclude evidence deemed by the Tribunal to be repetitive.
The Tribunal shall take into account applicable principles of legal privilege, such as those involving the confidentiality of communications between a lawyer and client.
The Tribunal may determine the manner in which witnesses are to be examined, and save for a party or the person nominated as that party's representative for the purpose of the arbitration, may require witnesses to absent themselves from an oral hearing during the testimony of other witnesses.
Where the evidence of a witness is presented by written statement or sworn declaration, the Tribunal may order that the witness be present at an oral hearing for cross examination.
If the parties agree, the Tribunal may appoint one or more independent experts to report on specific issues to be determined by the Tribunal and may require a party to give the expert any relevant information or to produce, or to provide access to, any relevant documents, goods or other property for its inspection.
The Tribunal shall communicate the expert's terms of reference to the parties. Any dispute as to the terms of reference, the relevance of the required information, or production of it, shall be referred to the Tribunal for decision. The cost of any such expert shall be borne by the parties on a basis determined by the Tribunal.
Upon receipt of the expert's report in writing, the Tribunal shall deliver a copy of it to the parties who shall be given the opportunity to challenge all or any part of the report in a manner determined by the Tribunal.
The expert shall, on the request of a party, make available to that party for examination all documents, goods or other property in the expert's possession which the expert has used to prepare the report and shall provide that party with a list of all documents, goods or other property not in the experts' possession, but which were provided in order to prepare the report, and a description of the location of those documents, goods or other property.
An expert shall, after delivery of the report, be required to attend for the purpose of cross examination on some or all of the contents of that report, unless the parties agree that such cross-examination is not required.
Where a party, without sufficient cause, fails to appear at a hearing or to produce evidence, the Tribunal may continue the arbitration after satisfying itself that a reasonable attempt has been made to communicate with the defaulting party. The Tribunal shall make an award based upon the evidence before it.
At any time before the hearing on the merits, a party may deliver to the other party an offer marked "Without Prejudice" to settle one or more of the issues between it and any other party on the terms specified in the offer. An offer to settle may specify a time within which it may be accepted and it will expire if not accepted within that time.
The Tribunal shall take into consideration the offer, the time at which the offer was made and the extent to which it was accepted when dealing with questions of costs and interest.
The Tribunal may be informed by a party of the fact that an offer had been made under this Rule at the time of making any submission on the question of costs, but not before.
The parties may deliver written offers marked "with prejudice" at any time, which offers may be put in evidence at the arbitration hearing.
The Tribunal may, directly or through the Institute, from time to time, require the parties to deposit by cash, certified cheque, or irrevocable letter of credit, to the Institute in trust, equal amounts as an advance for the anticipated costs and expenses of the arbitration including the Tribunal's fees and expenses.
If the required deposits are not made within 15 days after receipt of the request, the Tribunal or the Insitute shall inform the parties in order that the other party may make the required payment.
If the required deposits are not made, the Tribunal may order the suspension or termination of the proceeding.
The Institute may, from time to time, pay to the Tribunal from any deposit it holds, any amount it considers reasonable and appropriate for fees earned or expenses incurred by the Tribunal.
After the final award has been made, a settlement has been reached or the arbitration abandoned or otherwise finally disposed of, the Institute shall apply any deposits it holds to the costs of the arbitration, including any unpaid Tribunal fees and administrative fees, render an accounting to the parties of the deposits received and applied and return any unexpended balance to the parties in proportion to their contributions or as may be directed by the Tribunal in the final award.
Where the parties have, on inquiry, advised they have no further evidence to give or submissions to make, or the Tribunal considers further hearings to be unnecessary or inappropriate, the Tribunal may close the hearings.
On its own motion or on the application of a party, the Tribunal may, in exceptional circumstances, re-open the hearings to receive evidence or other submissions concerning a matter at any time before the issuance of a partial or final award concerning that matter.
The Tribunal may encourage settlement of the dispute and, with the written agreement of the parties, may order that mediation, conciliation or other procedures be used by the parties at any time during the arbitration proceedings to encourage settlement.
If, during the arbitration proceedings, the parties settle the dispute, the Tribunal shall, upon receiving confirmation of the settlement or determing that there is a settlement, terminate the proceedings and, if requested by the parties record the settlement in the form of an arbitration award on agreed terms.
The Tribunal may make a partial final award finally determining an issue or part of a dispute.
The Tribunal may make an interim award that shall subsequently be incorporated into and become part of a final award.
The Tribunal shall make its final award with respect to the matters determined in the award, within 60 days after the hearings have been closed or such further period as may:
Awards of the Tribunal shall be in writing and shall, unless the parties otherwise agree, state the reasons upon which they are based. The Tribunal shall deliver to the Institute sufficient originally signed copies of any award for each party. Upon payment of all outstanding Institute and Tribunal fees and expenses, copies of the award will be delivered to the parties by the Institute.
Where the Tribunal consists of more than two Arbitrators, the award shall be made by a majority of the Tribunal. Where there is no majority decision, the decision of the Chair of the Tribunal shall be the award.
The Tribunal may order interest to be paid in an award for such time and in such amount as it considers just and reasonable.
The Tribunal shall be entitled to fix the costs and expenses of the arbitration including reasonable legal fees, the costs and expenses of the arbitration and the Tribunal, and the fees of the Institute. If costs and expenses are awarded, such costs and expenses shall be made part of the award. The Tribunal shall be entitled to make separate awards for legal costs and the fees and expenses of the arbitration and shall be entitled to apportion costs and expenses between the parties.
A Tribunal may, on the application of a party or on its own initiative, amend or vary an award or interim award to correct:
An amendment or variation shall not, without the consent of the parties, be made more than 30 days after the parties have been notified of the award.
A party may, within 15 days after being notified of the award, apply to the Tribunal for clarification of the award, and the Tribunal may clarify the award where it considers it appropriate, in which case the clarification becomes part of the award.
A party may, within 30 days after receiving the award, apply to the Tribunal to make an additional award with respect to claims presented in the proceedings but omitted from the award.
An amended, varied or additional award shall be filed by the Tribunal with the Institute.
Unless otherwise agreed, the award of the Tribunal shall be final and binding and there shall be no appeal.
Neither the Institute nor the Tribunal shall be liable to any party for any act or omission in connection with any arbitration conduct under these Rules. The Tribunal and the Institute shall have the same protections and immunity as a Judge of the Superior Court in the province or territory in which the arbitration takes place.
Under the fee schedule, an Initial Filing Fee, payable by the filing party, and a Case Service Fee, payable by each party filing a defence or counterclaim, will cover all ADR Institute services from the time a case is filed until it is awarded or settled. In addition, if no hearing takes place, the Case Service Fee, which is collected in advance of the first scheduled hearing, will be refunded. This fee schedule eliminates hearing and postponement fees and miscellaneous expenses.
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