global commercial and legal landscape. NZIAC is committed to providing parties to international commercial disputes with the widest capacity to adopt dispute resolution processes and procedures that are fair, prompt, and cost effective, and which provide a proportionate response to the amounts in dispute and the complexity of the issues involved. In recent times, delays in obtaining awards and the cost of international arbitration have made many cross-border disputes uneconomic for parties to pursue. To redress that situation, NZIAC developed a new suite of rules, published in 2018, to govern the delivery of its international dispute resolution services that are robust and certain, yet innovative in their commercial commonsense approach to challenging issues such as appointment, urgent interim relief, expedited procedures, summary procedures for early dismissal of claims and defences, joinder, consolidation, multiple contracts, confidentiality, representation, mediation, arbitral secretaries, expert evidence, appeals, costs, and combining arbitration and mediation in a single unified Arb-Med process that ensures the principles of natural justice are observed and a just, final, and binding decision is made. The Rules contain a number of visionary innovations intended to address the needs of the modern international business community for efficient and effective dispute resolution and to assert NZIAC’s position as the premier forum for the settlement of international trade, commerce, investment, and cross-border disputes in the Trans-Pacific Region. The Rules provide both a framework and detailed provisions to ensure the efficient and cost effective resolution of disputes and reflect a modern and fresh approach to legal drafting. They are set out in a manner designed to facilitate ease of use and may be adopted by agreement in writing at any time before or after a dispute has arisen. The Rules are tailored to meet the needs and requirements of global and regional commercial parties and are purposively directed to ensuring the resolution of international disputes in a manner that is efficient, cost-effective, and certain. While the Rules have been developed in New Zealand, they are appropriate for use by parties from any country and may be applied in any jurisdiction through NZIAC.
About the Author
Catherine Green
Catherine graduated with a BA and LLB from the University of Auckland in 2005. She also holds a Graduate Diploma of Business Studies (dispute resolution), a Postgraduate Diploma of Business Administration (dispute resolution), and is an Associate of the Arbitrators' and Mediators' Institute of New Zealand.
Catherine has her own private practice as an arbitrator, adjudicator, and mediator taking appointments with respect to both commercial and construction disputes. She is also the Executive Director of the New Zealand International Arbitration Centre (NZIAC) as well as its related domestic registry services which cover a full spectrum of commercial, building and construction, and family and relationship disputes.