Arbitration is the principal method for resolving international commercial disputes. It is also an increasingly common choice for domestic disputes in New Zealand, including construction, shareholder, supply chain and trust disputes. This course examines the law and practice of commercial arbitration, with New Zealand as the seat and with reference to the leading international seats and institutions.
The course follows the life of a dispute. It begins with the arbitration agreement: how it is drafted, which law governs it, what it covers, and which disputes are capable of arbitration. It then examines the constitution of the tribunal, the independence and impartiality of arbitrators, the tribunal’s power to rule on its own jurisdiction, the conduct of proceedings, interim measures and confidentiality. It concludes with the award, the limited rights of appeal on questions of law, setting aside, and recognition and enforcement under the New York Convention. The final part of the course introduces investment treaty arbitration between foreign investors and states, including New Zealand’s treaty practice and the current debate on reform.
The primary sources are the Arbitration Act 1996, which incorporates the UNCITRAL Model Law, the New York Convention, and the rules of arbitral institutions such as the ICC, SIAC, HKIAC and AMINZ. Students will study recent developments, including the Arbitration Amendment Acts of 2016 and 2019, the arbitration of trust disputes under the Trusts Act 2019, recent decisions of the New Zealand and United Kingdom courts, the Arbitration Act 2025 (UK), and the use of artificial intelligence and third-party funding in arbitral practice.
The course is practical in focus. Students will draft an arbitration clause and advise a client on it, prepare written submissions on a contested application in a moot arbitration, and present those submissions orally to a tribunal. These are the core tasks of an arbitration practitioner.