Preamble BEFORE repealed by 2018-8-1, effective May 17, 2018 (Royal Assent).
Preamble
WHEREAS British Columbia, and in particular the City of Vancouver, is becoming an international financial and commercial centre;
AND WHEREAS disputes in international commercial agreements are often resolved by means of arbitration;
AND WHEREAS British Columbia has not previously enjoyed a hospitable legal environment for international commercial arbitrations;
AND WHEREAS there are divergent views in the international commercial and legal communities respecting the conduct of, and the degree and nature of judicial intervention in, international commercial arbitrations;
AND WHEREAS the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law has adopted the UNCITRAL Model Arbitration Law which reflects a consensus of views on the conduct of, and degree and nature of judicial intervention in, international commercial arbitrations;
THEREFORE HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of British Columbia, enacts as follows:
Section 1 (2) BEFORE amended by 2018-8-2, effective May 17, 2018 (Royal Assent).
(2) This Act, except sections 8, 9, 35 and 36, applies only if the place of arbitration is in British Columbia.
Section 2 (1) definitions of "arbitral award" and "B.C. Arbitration Centre" BEFORE repealed by 2018-8-3(a) and (c), effective May 17, 2018 (Royal Assent).
"arbitral award" means any decision of the arbitral tribunal on the substance of the dispute submitted to it and includes
(a) an interim arbitral award, including an interim award made for the preservation of property, and
(b) any award of interest or costs;
"B.C. Arbitration Centre" means the British Columbia International Commercial Arbitration Centre located in Vancouver, British Columbia;
Section 2 (1) definition of "arbitration" BEFORE amended by 2018-8-3(b), effective May 17, 2018 (Royal Assent).
"arbitration" means any arbitration whether or not administered by the B.C. Arbitration Centre or any other permanent arbitral institution;
Section 2 (2) BEFORE amended by 2018-8-4, effective May 17, 2018 (Royal Assent).
(2) Where this Act, except section 28, leaves the parties free to determine a certain issue, that freedom includes the right of the parties to authorize a third party, including the B.C. Arbitration Centre or any other institution, to make that determination.
Section 2 (1) definition of "Chief Justice" BEFORE amended by 2023-10-376, effective March 30, 2023 (Royal Assent).
"Chief Justice" means the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court or his or her designate;
Section 6 BEFORE re-enacted by 2018-8-5, effective May 17, 2018 (Royal Assent).
Construction of Act
6 In construing a provision of this Act, a court or arbitral tribunal may refer to the documents of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law and its working group respecting the preparation of the UNCITRAL Model Arbitration Law and must give those documents the weight that is appropriate in the circumstances.
Section 7 (1), (4) and (5) BEFORE amended by 2018-8-6, effective May 17, 2018 (Royal Assent).
(1) In this Act, "arbitration agreement" means an agreement by the parties to submit to arbitration all or certain disputes which have arisen or which may arise between them in respect of a defined legal relationship, whether contractual or not.
(4) An arbitration agreement is in writing if it is contained in
(a) a document signed by the parties,
(b) an exchange of letters, telex, telegrams or other means of telecommunication which provide a record of the agreement, or
(c) an exchange of statements of claim and defence in which the existence of an agreement is alleged by one party and not denied by the other.
(5) The reference in a contract to a document containing an arbitration clause constitutes an arbitration agreement if the contract is in writing and the reference is such as to make that arbitration clause part of the contract.
Section 7 (5) BEFORE amended by 2018-39-12, effective October 31, 2018 (Royal Assent).
(5) The requirement that an arbitration agreement be in writing is met by an electronic communication if the information contained in the electronic communication is accessible so as to be useable for subsequent reference.
Section 8 (1) BEFORE amended by 2010-6-61, effective July 1, 2010.
(1) If a party to an arbitration agreement commences legal proceedings in a court against another party to the agreement in respect of a matter agreed to be submitted to arbitration, a party to the legal proceedings may, before or after entering an appearance and before delivery of any pleadings or taking any other step in the proceedings, apply to that court to stay the proceedings.
Section 8 (1) BEFORE amended by 2018-8-7, effective May 17, 2018 (Royal Assent).
(1) If a party to an arbitration agreement commences legal proceedings in a court against another party to the agreement in respect of a matter agreed to be submitted to arbitration, a party to the legal proceedings may, before service of any pleadings or taking any other step in the proceedings, apply to that court to stay the proceedings.
Section 11 (2) BEFORE amended by 2018-8-8, effective May 17, 2018 (Royal Assent).
(2) Subject to subsections (6) and (7), the parties are free to agree on a procedure for appointing the arbitral tribunal.
Section 11 (6) (c) BEFORE amended by 2020-2-76, effective September 1, 2020 (BC Reg 160/2020).
(c) a third party, including an institution, fails to perform any function entrusted to the third party under that procedure,
Section 12 (1) and (2) BEFORE amended by 2023-10-377, effective March 30, 2023 (Royal Assent).
(1) When a person is approached in connection with his or her possible appointment as an arbitrator, the person must disclose any circumstances likely to give rise to justifiable doubts as to the person's independence or impartiality.
(2) An arbitrator, from the time of his or her appointment and throughout the arbitral proceedings, must, without delay, disclose to the parties any circumstances referred to in subsection (1) unless they have already been informed of them by the arbitrator.
Section 13 (5) BEFORE amended by 2020-2-77, effective September 1, 2020 (BC Reg 160/2020).
(5) If a request is made under subsection (4), the Supreme Court may refuse to decide on the challenge, if it is satisfied that, under the procedure agreed on by the parties, the party making the request had an opportunity to have the challenge decided on by other than the arbitral tribunal.
Section 14 (1) (a) BEFORE amended by 2020-2-78, effective September 1, 2020 (BC Reg 160/2020).
(a) the arbitrator becomes de jure or de facto unable to perform the arbitrator's functions or for other reasons fails to act without undue delay, and
Section 15 (3) (b) BEFORE amended by 2020-2-79, effective September 1, 2020 (BC Reg 160/2020).
(b) if an arbitrator, other than the sole or presiding arbitrator is replaced, any hearings previously held may be repeated at the discretion of the arbitral tribunal.
Section 16 (5) and (6) BEFORE amended by 2018-8-10, effective May 17, 2018 (Royal Assent).
(5) The arbitral tribunal may rule on a plea referred to in subsections (2) and (3) either as a preliminary question or in an award on the merits.
(6) If the arbitral tribunal rules as a preliminary question that it has jurisdiction, any party may request the Supreme Court, within 30 days after having received notice of that ruling, to decide the matter.
Section 16 (1) (b) BEFORE amended by 2020-2-80, effective September 1, 2020 (BC Reg 160/2020).
(b) a decision by the arbitral tribunal that the contract is null and void must not entail ipso jure the invalidity of the arbitration clause.
Section 17 BEFORE re-enacted by 2018-8-11, effective May 17, 2018 (Royal Assent).
Interim measures ordered by arbitral tribunal
17 (1) Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, the arbitral tribunal may, at the request of a party, order a party to take any interim measure of protection as the arbitral tribunal may consider necessary in respect of the subject matter of the dispute.
(2) The arbitral tribunal may require a party to provide appropriate security in connection with a measure ordered under subsection (1).
Part 4.1, sections 17.01 to 17.10 (including section 17) were enacted by 2018-8-11, effective May 17, 2018 (Royal Assent).
Section 24 (5) BEFORE repealed by 2018-8-14, effective May 17, 2018 (Royal Assent).
(5) Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, all oral hearings and meetings in arbitral proceedings are to be held in private.
Section 27 BEFORE re-enacted by 2018-8-15, effective May 17, 2018 (Royal Assent).
Court assistance in taking evidence and consolidating arbitrations
27 (1) The arbitral tribunal, or a party with the approval of the arbitral tribunal, may request from the Supreme Court assistance in taking evidence and the court may execute the request within its competence and according to its rules on taking evidence.
(2) If the parties to 2 or more arbitration agreements have agreed, in their respective arbitration agreements or otherwise, to consolidate the arbitrations arising out of those arbitration agreements, the Supreme Court may, on application by one party with the consent of all the other parties to those arbitration agreements, do one or more of the following:
(a) order the arbitrations to be consolidated on terms the court considers just and necessary;
(b) if all the parties cannot agree on an arbitral tribunal for the consolidated arbitration, appoint an arbitral tribunal in accordance with section 11 (8);
(c) if all the parties cannot agree on any other matter necessary to conduct the consolidated arbitration, make any other order it considers necessary.
(3) Nothing in this section is to be construed as preventing the parties to 2 or more arbitrations from agreeing to consolidate those arbitrations and taking any steps that are necessary to effect that consolidation.
Section 28 (4) BEFORE amended by 2018-8-17, effective May 17, 2018 (Royal Assent).
(4) The arbitral tribunal must decide ex aequo et bono or as amiable compositeur if the parties have expressly authorized it to do so.
Section 31 (6) and (8) BEFORE amended by 2018-8-18, effective May 17, 2018 (Royal Assent).
(6) The arbitral tribunal may, at any time during the arbitral proceedings, make an interim arbitral award on any matter with respect to which it may make a final arbitral award.
(8) Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, the costs of an arbitration are in the discretion of the arbitral tribunal which may, in making an order for costs,
(i) the fees and expenses of the arbitrators and expert witnesses,
(iii) any administration fees of the B.C. Arbitration Centre or any other institution, and
(iv) any other expenses incurred in connection with the arbitral proceedings, and
(i) the party entitled to costs,
(ii) the party who must pay the costs,
(iii) the amount of costs or method of determining that amount, and
Section 37 BEFORE repealed by 2018-8-22, effective May 17, 2018 (Royal Assent).
Power to make regulations
37 The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations
(a) exempting from an enactment, or any provision of it, a person or class of persons who acts in a professional capacity in an international commercial arbitration and is not entitled under the enactment to practise that profession in British Columbia, and
(b) imposing different conditions on exemptions granted under paragraph (a) to different persons or classes of persons.