New Zealand – increased attractiveness as an international arbitral seat When the Arbitration Act 1996 came into force on 1 July 1997 it fundamentally changed New Zealand’s existing legal framework for arbitrations by incorporating the UNCITRAL Model Law into New Zealand Law. When the Arbitration Amendment Act 2007 came into force on October 2007, New Zealand became the first country in the world to adopt the whole of the new United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) legislative provisions on interim measures and preliminary orders with only a few minor modifications. It also introduced a number of relatively technical amendments to the Arbitration Act 1996 to strengthen arbitration as a means of private dispute resolution in New Zealand and enhance the use of arbitration as an agreed method of resolving commercial and other disputes. It significantly improved the skeletal confidentiality provisions of the Arbitration Act 1996, eliminated appeals which attempt to “dress up” questions of fact as questions of law and enhanced consumer rights and improved consumer protection. On 1 March 2017, further amendments to the Arbitration Act 1996 came into force broadening the definition of arbitral tribunal to include arbitral institutions and emergency arbitrators and creating a body to carry out appointment functions instead of the High Court where an appointment needs to be made under s11 of the Act. These reforms and the further amendments proposed in the Bill are to be welcomed. They have, and will, improve the law, they will set New Zealand apart from other jurisdictions – in particular in relation to trust arbitration, and in doing so, will increase the attractiveness of, and define New Zealand as, an international arbitral seat for parties in the trans-Pacific – Australasian region. * The Bill has passed its first Reading and is currently with the Select Committee
JOHN GREen John is a professional arbitrator, adjudicator and mediator based in Auckland, New Zealand. He has been appointed in more than 1,200 building, construction and infrastructure disputes over the past 26 years relating to residential, commercial and industrial construction projects, power stations, gas fields, manufacturing and processing plants, stadiums, hotels, land subdivisions, roading, railways, wharves, marinas, drainage, wastewater treatment plants, recycling plants, mining, services, and utilities, involving domestic and internationally based parties, complex technical and legal matters, and sums in dispute exceeding $100M.