What is the best way to protect the authority of international commercial arbitrations?  Is a party obliged to “play defence” and not ask the courts of the seat of the arbitration to interfere until after arbitration proceedings are commenced?  Or can a party “play offense” and ask those courts to take jurisdiction before any arbitration [...]

In Canada, the obligation of a tribunal to give reasons has become one of the hallmarks of justice.  But do arbitrators have an obligation to give reasons?  Not if the parties agree that no such reasons need be given and the arbitration is an international commercial arbitration conducted pursuant to the UNCITRAL Model Law.  That [...]

What margin of error does an arbitrator have?  Should an arbitral tribunal’s decision be set aside if it is legally incorrect?  Or should a wider deference be shown, so that a decision will only be set aside if it is unreasonable, or perverse? And how detailed does an arbitral decision have to be? Can it [...]

Every once in a while, an important decision comes along which should be put in your hip pocket so that it can be pulled out when needed.  Rainy Sky S.A. v. Kookmin Bank is such a decision.  In this decision, the U.K. Supreme Court (formerly the House of Lords) recently held that if there is [...]

Does an arbitral tribunal have authority to dismiss an arbitration claim for want of prosecution?  Some arbitration statutes expressly state that a tribunal has the power to do so.  Absent such an express power, the British Columbia Court of Appeal has held that the tribunal has no inherent authority to do so:  Premium Brands Operating [...]