Canadian Supreme Court Sends Dispute to Arbitration Despite the Filing of a Defence in Court Litigation
Canada’s highest court, the Supreme Court of Canada, recently considered whether a party had waived its right to rely on arbitration and forum selection clauses by submitting a statement of defence on the merits in an Ontario court litigation in which it also pleaded the clauses. The Court ruled that there had been no waiver.
In Momentous.ca Corp. v. Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball Ltd., 2012 SCC 9, the Supreme Court unanimously upheld the decision of the Ontario Court of Appeal and dismissed the appeal in a short decision.
The Supreme Court said that “when another forum – an arbitration panel, a tribunal or another court – has the exclusive jurisdiction to d [...]
To Specialize or Not: How Should National Courts Handle International Commercial Arbitration Cases?
So far in 2010, at least two jurisdictions have established specialized courts to handle international arbitration matters ─ Australia (in the state of Victoria) and India (in Bombay).
Australia: Within Australia’s federal structure, international arbitration matters are in the jurisdiction of state supreme courts. In 2009, Australia’s Parliament gave the Federal Court concurrent jurisdiction over international arbitration. In addition, a practice note recommended the appointment of an “Arbitration Coordinating Judge” for each registry. In January 2010, the Supreme Court of Victoria made such an appointment, creating an arbitration list (“List G”) that centralizes arbitra [...]
Why Canada Leads as the Model Law Turns 25
It is true that Canada did not qualify for FIFA’s World Cup and did not dominate at the Winter Olympics. However, when it comes to the UNCITRAL Model Law on Commercial Arbitration, Canada is a leader.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Model Law. Since becoming the first state signatory to the Model Law in 1986, Canada has played a key role in the Model Law’s development and judicial interpretation. Indeed, of the 316 decisions reported by the UNCITRAL Secretariat on the Model Law, over one-third (112) emanate from Canadian courts.
At this silver anniversary of the Model Law, it is timely to reflect on the significance of Canada’s contributions, and on what the Canadian expe [...]
