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ACICA appointed as nominating authority under the International Arbitration Act
Practical Law Legal Update 8-505-4753 (Approx. 3 pages)
ACICA appointed as nominating authority under the International Arbitration Act
| Published on 31 Mar 2011 • Australia, International |
Andrew Robertson (Partner), Piper Alderman
The Australian government has, through the International Arbitration Regulations 2011 (Regulations), prescribed the Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration (ACICA) as the default nominating authority under the recently amended International Arbitration Act 1974 (IAA). The IAA amendments came into force in July 2010 (see Legal update, Australia advances arbitral law reform) and the Regulations came into force on 2 March 2011.
Previously only the courts could appoint an arbitrator under the IAA, but as the explanatory statement accompanying the Regulations noted, industry bodies are likely to have more direct knowledge of who would be an appropriate arbitrator or arbitrators to resolve a particular dispute. The ACICA maintains a panel of arbitrators on their website, but the discretion granted by the regulations to ACICA is apparently not limited to this panel. The panel consists of both Australian and foreign arbitrators.
In welcoming the decision, ACICA President, Professor Doug Jones AM said: "Having a single, centralised body will substantially reduce cost and delay and ensure certainty of process and make the appointment procedures clearly known and understood by all stakeholders".
The idea of ACICA, or some other organisation, acting in this role was canvassed in the review undertaken by the Attorney-General in late 2008 (see Article, Australia: round up 2010/2011). In implementing this change, the Federal Government is continuing to focus on promoting Australia's arbitral laws as attractive for international users.