Package includes:

On Demand Module  l  Electronic booklet  l  PowerPoint Presentation

Package Fee (incl GST)

• $125 - NZLS members and Associate members
• $175 - Non-members

Note: Access to the online files is via your "My CPD" page. If you would like to purchase multiple packages, please contact us here.

On Demand Module

Presentation time: 120 minutes

In terms of effective dispute resolution, going to court is costly, the process can take years, and returns can be less than what was put in. Done well, arbitration offers an efficient alternative route to a binding and enforceable outcome – not just for large commercial cases, but for civil disputes of all kinds. This seminar looks at the ways in which arbitration can be put to work in resolving everyday civil disputes.

This seminar will include:

• What arbitration is and why it is not mediation
• Why arbitrate
• What to do, what to think about, pitfalls and avoiding the danger
• What resources are available
• What to do once you have an award.

Please contact us if you use a dial up internet connection.

Learning objectives

By completing this module you will:

• Evaluate the advantages of arbitration and advise clients appropriately.
• Confidently initiate arbitration and secure the appointment of an Arbitrator.
• Gain an understanding of arbitration procedure, so that you can represent your client effectively.
• Understand the practicalities of challenging or enforcing an award.

Electronic paper 

Authors: Mark Colthart, Anna Kirk
Published: 11 August 2020
Pages: 20

Introduction

This seminar explores the potential of arbitration for dealing with civil disputes – not just in large scale commercial matters that are most often associated with arbitration, but in civil disputes of all kinds.

We practice in an era in which the costs and delays of accessing the courts in order to get a decision after consideration of the merits of the substantive issues has put litigation beyond the reach of most ordinary citizens. Litigators owe it to their clients to be aware of the alternatives, to be able to advise of the possibilities, and to be in a position to commence and then pursue an arbitral process to the point of obtaining an enforceable outcome (or, if for a respondent, of answering an arbitral claim) proficiently.

At the risk of stating the obvious, while arbitration depends on agreement to arbitrate and is an alternative to court process, arbitral awards do not depend on consensus – arbitration is not mediation. Far from it. Once embarked upon, arbitration leads to an outcome that will determine disputed facts, apply the law, and produce a reasoned award that can be enforced if necessary.

This seminar is not an academic discussion about the law relating to arbitration. Nor is it in the nature of an update about recent case law on arbitration. It does not focus much on international arbitration either. Instead, the aim is to offer some practical guidance that will encourage practitioners to see arbitrating under the Arbitration Act 1996 (the Act) as a real alternative to court process, and something that ought at least be considered whenever a new claim arrives in the office.

NZLS CLE last presented a seminar on the effective use of arbitration in 2015.¹ Since then, there have been significant amendments to the Act,² most notably in relation to the process for the appointment of arbitrators, and to the process for raising jurisdictional issues. This seminar updates and expands upon the key issues traversed in the 2015 paper. The contribution of Royden Hindle to the preparation and delivery of the 2015 seminar is acknowledged with gratitude.

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¹ M Colthart & R Hindle: Making Use of Arbitration (NZLS CLE, April 2015).
² Arbitration Amendment Act 2016 and Arbitration Amendment Act 2019.

PowerPoint Presentation

These are the slides included in the presentation.