ARBITRATION
ADRIAN KEARNEY, CHARTERED ARBITRATOR AND CONSTRUCTION DISPUTE EXPERT, EXCLUSIVELY REPORTS ON HOW HE PLAYED A HAND IN SHAPING THE NEW, ALL-IRELAND ARBITRATION LAWS...
In plainEnglish
Adrian Kearney.
D uring 2019 -2020, a small core of CIArb Fellows were tasked with modernising and rewriting rules for Arbitration, where Arbitrators are appointed by the CIArb in Ireland (North and South). By happenstance, I was included in the authorship, after I pointed out that if there were to be new rules, Ireland has two legal jurisdictions and the rules could reflect in one document the needs of both legal jurisdictions. Not to be outdone, the committee set to its task and have developed a client and legal facing document. The objective was ultimately met in the all-Ireland mandate with the core objective of not only producing rules in a modern format, but with legal certainty and aligned within the two Arbitration Acts, which are creatures of Statute. The format is straightforward with the Rules 1-29 covering all aspects of the Arbitration, jurisdiction and operation, with a further appendix of six schedules each guiding the Arbitrator and end-users in plain speech in: A Jurisdiction and powers of the Arbitrator B Preliminary meeting and case management
C Conduct of Arbitration proceedings D Statement of claim, defence and reply, rejoinder E Disclosure of documents F Witness statements
are cumbersome and arcane, I would certainly recommend the legal fraternity and our end-users - the parties - to have a look. They can be obtained on the CIArb Irish Branch webpage. If you need a copy, contact the author. Thanks also go to Messrs Murphy, Bouchier-Hays, Kelly and Wren for their sterling efforts and time, all of which were freely given. Adrian Kearney is a Chartered Arbitrator and expert in civil engineering and construction dispute both local and internationally. He has presided in over 250 Arbitrations and attended court in many cases spanning over 25 years. He can be contacted at adrian@kearneyconsult.com or +44 (0)28 90388395.
The initiative was graciously supported by the two senior
members of the commercial courts north and south. The two learned judges who are closely connected with the commercial law - the Honourable Mr Justice Horner (NI) and Mr Justice David Barniville (IRL) - could not have been more supportive, both reading drafts and providing encouragement plus generous forewords to the current edition. USER FRIENDLY It is clear that both jurisdictions now have the tools to take on both local and international dispute resolution by way of Arbitration and even fast-track processes can be accommodated to compete in the market-place. User friendliness and a ‘plain English’ written style all assist as was the purpose of the re-write. Not biased or anything, but having looked at other sets of rules which
“…both jurisdictions nowhave the tools to take on both local and international dispute resolution by way of Arbitration.”
www.northernbuilder.co.uk
FOLLOW US ON:
NI BUILDER | 41
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online