EARLY NEUTRAL EVALUATION MODEL CLAUSE

If a dispute has already arisen and there is no agreement between the parties to refer the dispute to Early Neutral Evaluation, the parties may enter into an agreement for those purposes and the following clause is recommended. The words in square brackets should be deleted/completed as appropriate.

“[Name of first party] and [Name of second party and Ors] hereinafter referred to as the parties, are parties to [[a contract entered into on or about [enter date]] or [ proceedings in the [ ] Court referred to as CIV- ]].

The parties have agreed that all matters in dispute between them shall be referred to Early Neutral Evaluation by [Name of Evaluator] in accordance with the Agreement for Early Neutral Evaluation and Rules for Early Neutral Evaluation of the New Zealand Dispute Resolution Centre (NZDRC) which procedures and rules are deemed to be incorporated by reference herein.

[if the parties are unable to agree upon the identity of an Evaluator within five (5) working days from the date of this agreement, then the Evaluator shall be appointed by NZDRC upon the application of any party.]”