Initiating arbitration

On this page, you will find information on how to initiate both ad hoc arbitrations, ie arbitration under the Arbitration Act 1996 and arbitration under the NZDRC Arbitration Rules.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact our Registry staff, who will be able to assist.

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Ad hoc arbitration

Find out how to initiate an ad hoc arbitration under the Arbitration Act 1996

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Institutional arbitration

Find out how to initiate arbitration under the NZDRC Arbitration Rules.

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Ad hoc arbitration

STEP ONE: Before proceeding, the parties will need to agree to arbitrate. This can be done in one of two ways:

  • there may be a clause in the contract under which the parties’ dispute has arisen which states that the parties have agreed to refer any dispute to arbitration, for example:

“Any dispute or difference arising out of or in connection with this contract, or the subject matter of this contract, including any question about its existence, validity or termination, shall be referred to and finally resolved by arbitration in accordance with the Arbitration Act 1996. The arbitral tribunal shall be appointed from the panel of arbitrators maintained by the New Zealand Dispute Resolution Centre and, inthe event the parties are unable to agree on the composition of the arbitral tribunalwithin seven days of written notice of the dispute being given, the arbitral tribunalshall be appointed by the New Zealand Dispute Resolution Centre upon applicationby any party to this agreement.

The number of arbitrators shall be one. [or may choose three]

The language to be used in the Arbitration shall be English. [or choose another language]The governing law of the contract shall be the substantive law of New Zealand. [or choose another country]”

Or

  • parties to an existing dispute, whether or not there is an arbitration clause in any underlying contract, may agree to refer that dispute to arbitration at any time by signing an Arbitration Agreement.

There are four forms of Arbitration Agreement the parties can adopt depending on whether they wish to agree on the arbitral tribunal or prefer NZDRC to make the appointment, and whether asole arbitrator is required or a three-person arbitral tribunal. Copies of those template agreements can be downloaded from our resource hub.

STEP TWO: Once an agreement to arbitrate is in place, the parties (typically the claimant) can then complete our online application form to get the process started.

Apply now for ad hoc arbitration

Institutional arbitration under the NZDRC Arbitration Rules

STEP ONE: Before proceeding, the parties will need to agree to arbitrate using the NZDRC Arbitration Rules. This can be done in one of two ways:

  • there may be a clause in the contract under which the parties’ dispute has arisen which states that the parties have agreed to refer any dispute to Arbitration under the NZDRC Arbitration Rules, for example:
    • Any dispute or difference arising out of or in connection with this contract, or the subject matter of this contract, including any question about its existence, validity or termination, will be referred to and finally resolved by arbitration in accordance with the arbitration rules of the New Zealand Dispute Resolution Centre.

Or

  • parties to an existing dispute, whether or not there is an arbitration clause in any underlying contract, may agree to refer that dispute to Arbitration under the Arbitration Rules of the New Zealand Dispute Resolution Centre by signing the Arbitration Agreement at Appendix 2 to the NZDRC Arbitration Rules.

NOTE: if a party is relying on the Arbitration Agreement found in a clause in the underlying contract, they will need to serve a Notice of Arbitration on the other party or parties to the dispute prior to applying for Arbitration. This is not required where the parties have signed the NZDRC Arbitration Agreement.

Copies of both the NZDRC Arbitration Agreement and the Notice of Arbitration can be downloaded from our resource hub.

STEP TWO: Once an agreement to arbitrate is in place, the parties (typically the claimant) can then complete our online application form to get the process started.

Apply now for arbitration under the NZDRC Arbitration Rules