Arbitration Act and International Commercial Arbitration Act - foundational documents

Last revised February 20, 2024

Commercial Arbitration Legislation

Two provincial statutes govern the majority of arbitrations in BC, the Arbitration Act (Domestic Arbitration), and the International Arbitration Act (International Arbitration).

There is also federal legislation, the Commercial Arbitration Act RSC 1985, c 17 which applies to arbitrations where the federal government is a party and to maritime and admiralty matters.

The New York Convention 1958

On June 10, 1958, the United Nations Conference on International Commercial Arbitration adopted an important foundational document for international commercial arbitration. The UN Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, more commonly known as the “New York Convention” requires member states to commit to recognize and enforce arbitration agreements and awards.

Canada enacted legislation implementing the New York Convention in 1986. Currently, 169 nations are parties to the New York Convention.

The Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration 1985

In 1981 an international working group was established to draft a model law for commercial arbitration. The intention was to draft a model law to serve as an example of domestic legislation to be adopted by countries seeking a modern legal framework to encourage commercial arbitration. The Model Law was formally adopted by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), on June 21, 1985.

In 1986, Canada was the first country to adopt the Model Law with the federal Commercial Arbitration Act and BC was the first jurisdiction in the world to adopt the Model Law with the enactment of the International Arbitration Act.

Currently, legislation based on the Model law has been adopted in 118 jurisdictions around the world.

Updates to the Model Law and BC Arbitration Acts

In 2006 amendments were made to the Model Law to reflect new best practices.  The BC Arbitration Act was updated to bring it in line with these and other changes and came into force September 1, 2020.