Model Clause: Canadian Commercial Arbitration Centre

The Canadian Commercial Arbitration Centre recommends that all parties wishing to make reference to arbitration by the Centre in their contracts use the following standard clause:

" Any dispute which arises in the course of or following the performance of the present contract will be definitively settled under the auspices of The Canadian Commercial Arbitration Centre, by means of arbitration and to the exclusion of courts of law, in accordance with its General Commercial Arbitration Rules in force at the time this contract is signed and to which the parties declare they have adhered. "

Contracting parties may provide for mediation in their agreements. For instance, the Centre suggests the following clause:

"Any dispute which arises in the course of or following the performance of the present contract will be referred, prior to any other proceedings, to mediation under the auspices of the Canadian Commercial Arbitration Centre in accordance with its Conciliation and Mediation Rules in force at the time of the mediation and to which the parties declare they have adhered."

Note: The agreement may also specify the requisite qualities of the mediator, the language of mediation, the place of the meetings and any other subject of interest to the parties.

Parties who have not specified a mediation clause under the auspices of the Centre at the time they concluded their contract may nonetheless resort to this service by agreeing on the following clause once a disagreement has occurred:

"The parties to this contract refer the dispute described hereafter to mediation under the auspices of the Canadian Commercial Arbitration Centre in accordance with its Conciliation and Mediation Rules."

Note: The agreement may also specify the requisite qualities of the mediator, the language of mediation, the place of the meetings and any other subject of interest to the parties.

The parties may also amend most of the Rules to suit their individual needs.

Parties are well advised to provide that if mediation should fail, they then will resort to arbitration. In this instance, the following clause is suggested:

"Should the mediation provided under section ... fail, the dispute referred to by this clause shall be definitively decided under the auspices of the Canadian Commercial Arbitration Centre, through arbitration and excluding courts of law, in accordance with its Commercial Arbitration Rules in force at the time this contract is signed and to which the parties declare they have adhered."

The CCAC recommends that all parties wishing to make reference to arbitration in their contracts use the following standard clause.

"All disputes arising out of or in connection with the present contract, in particular concerning its formation, existence, validity, effects, interpretation, implementation, violation, resolution or annulment, shall be finally resolved by means of arbitration in accordance with the International Arbitration Rules of the Canadian Commercial Arbitration Centre."

It is in the interest of the parties to add the following provisions to their clause:

"• The number of arbitrators shall be ... [one or three];

• The seat of the arbitration shall be ... [city and country];

• The language(s) of the arbitral proceedings shall be..."

The parties may also consider the inclusion of a stipulation as to the rules of law governing their contract.