Canada

The legal framework for arbitration

General Information

  • UNICITRAL Model- Law based: Yes

  • Legal Provisions:

    • All of Canada's provinces and territories are common law jurisdictions, with exception of Quebec, which is a civil law jurisdiction;

    • Commercial Arbitration Act (R.S.C., 1985, c.17) (2nd Supp.), applies only if the federal government is involved or in relation to maritime or admiralty matters. An English version available here.

    • Each province has its own arbitration legislation, one that governs international arbitration and one governing all other arbitrations;

    • Quebec (civil law jurisdiction): Book VII, Title II Code of Civil Procedure and the Civil Code of Quebec. An English translation is available here.

Arbitral Institutions

  • ADR Institute of Canada (ADRIC)

  • Canadian Commercial Arbitration Centre (CCAC)

  • British Columbia International Commercial Arbitration Centre

  • ADR Chambers Canada

  • ICDR Canada

 

Multilateral Conventions

  • New York Convention: Yes (accession: 12 May 1986); reservations: The Government of Canada declares that it will apply the Convention only to differences arising out of legal relationships, whether contractual or not, which are considered as commercial under the laws of Canada, except in the case of the Province of Quebec where the law does not provide for such limitation.

  • ICSID- Convention: Yes (ratification: 1 November 2013).

  • Energy Charter Treaty: No.

 

Last updated February 2019