In recent weeks, the effects of COVID-19 have been felt on many fronts, and the legal community has not been spared. On March 15, the Chief Justice of Quebec and the Minister of Justice issued a decree suspending civil proceedings and limiting judicial activity for as long as the government maintains the state of health emergency.
This indefinite suspension of non-urgent cases will create uncertainty around ongoing legal proceedings, and increase the already heavy backlog in the courts. It is in this context that alternative dispute resolution methods, such as arbitration, are particularly useful.
Arbitration is the process whereby the parties agree to submit an existing or potential dispute to the decision of one or more arbitrators outside the courts. The fact that legal proceedings are pending before the courts does not prevent the parties from submitting their dispute to arbitration.
This alternative dispute resolution method offers a number of advantages over the courts:
- The parties can choose who will be responsible for resolving their dispute. An arbitrator with in-depth industry knowledge or specific expertise could considerably speed up the resolution of the dispute.
- The parties can modulate the procedural framework of arbitration. Indeed, unlike the judicial process set up by the courts, arbitration allows the parties a certain degree of flexibility in the organization of preparatory conferences, in the presentation of various claims or in the handling of evidence at the hearing, all of which can take place remotely, in writing or by videoconference. This last aspect is all the more important at a time when social distance must be respected.
- As the arbitration process is not subject to the courts or to the time limits of the Code of Civil Procedure, the parties can expect a faster, more efficient resolution of their dispute. It should be noted that the arbitral award, which cannot be appealed, must be rendered within three months of the decision being taken.
- Arbitration is confidential. Parties who choose to prevent a dispute or to settle their differences through a private means (such as arbitration) and the third party who assists them (the arbitrator) undertake to preserve the confidentiality of what is said, written or done in the course of the process.
- Enforceability of the arbitral award. The arbitrator may issue orders to ensure the performance in kind of contractual obligations.
In light of the above, parties involved in current or future legal proceedings should strongly consider the option of submitting their disputes to arbitration. This alternative dispute resolution method, which is well-suited to disputes involving co-ownership, labor and employment or commercial law, should help to advance cases that will continue to be affected by the inactivity of the judicial system as a result of the state of health emergency currently decreed by the Government.
To find out more about this method of dispute resolution, you can visit the Department of Justice’s Dispute Prevention and Resolution (DPR) page, or contact your business lawyer.
