The ADRIC Med-Arb Rules are now available!

As part of ADRIC’s roles of protecting the public and promoting best practices in ADR, the need became apparent for specialized rules of procedure for med-arb, so a Task Force was formed with a dedicated working group of med-arb professionals. The Task Force completed an initial draft of the Rules, which were then referred to the Rules Committee for its consideration.

The Committee followed past practice by consulting with the membership at large as the Rules were being reviewed, and a discussion draft of the ADRIC Med-Arb Rules was presented to the membership at ADRIC’s Annual Conference in November 2019. The Committee received extensive and very helpful feedback. The Committee also followed past practice by sending the draft ADRIC Med-Arb Rules for “wordsmithing” by a plain language specialist and many of the recommended plain language revisions were adopted.

Med-Arb is not merely the merging of separate mediation and arbitration processes, but a unique process designed to meet the needs of particular disputants. It involves nuances and complexities that can be fine-tuned to the needs of the parties as a customized dispute resolution process, which requires a high level of practitioner competence to do successfully.

The Rules are designed to work in tandem with ADRIC’s existing Mediation Rules and Arbitration Rules, integrating seamlessly.

Download the ADRIC Med-Arb Rules:

For a printed booklet, please visit the ADRIC Shop (fee: $7 to cover shipping/handling)
Please note: Orders will be shipped once per week as staff have not yet returned to the office full time. Thank you for your patience.

Designation: We have also developed criteria for a specialized designation: the Chartered Med-Arb

Course: We have worked with course designers to develop the Med-Arb Foundational Course. The first session was held September 16-18, 2020. See the training schedule.

Note: This course is presented in English. We hope to be able to offer this training in French in the new year. Anyone experienced in Med-Arb and in Adult training and interested to be an instructor, please send a message to admin@adric.ca. We will be in touch in the new year.

ADRIC is grateful for the exceptional work of the following volunteers who gave so generously of their time and expertise to develop the Rules and Designation Criteria:

Sara Ahlstrom, C.Med
Anik Béland
Glen Bell, C.Arb
Colm Brannigan, FCIArb, C.Arb, C.Med
Genevieve Chornenki, C.Arb, C.Med
Olivier Després, C.Med, C.Arb
Barry Effler
Martina Faith
Angus Gunn, Q.C.
Arlene Henry, Q.C., C.Med
Jim McCartney, C.Arb, C.Med
David McCutcheon, C.Arb
Gerry Nera, C.Med, Q.Arb
Louise Novinger Grant, Q.C.
Elton Simoes, C.Med, Q.Arb
Marjorie Lee Thompson
Rick Weiler
Michael Welsh, Q.C., FCIArb, C.Med, Q.Arb

MODEL DISPUTE RESOLUTION CLAUSE

Parties who agree to submit disputes under the Med-Arb Rules may use this clause in their agreement:

All disputes arising out of or in connection with this agreement, or in respect of any legal relationship associated with or derived from this agreement, will be finally resolved by Med-Arb under the Med-Arb Rules of the ADR Institute of Canada, Inc. The Seat of Arbitration under the ADRIC Arbitration Rules will be [specify]. The language of the Med-Arb will be [specify].

TYPES OF DISPUTES TO WHICH THE MED-ARB RULES APPLY

Although the Med-Arb Rules were drafted to assist in resolving domestic commercial disputes, parties may want to apply them to international or non-commercial disputes.[1]

Parties should examine the Med-Arb Rules to ensure that their provisions are appropriate and conform with applicable legislation.

[1] In Québec, Article 2639 of the Civil Code of Québec, CQLR, c. CCQ-1991, provides that disputes over the status and capacity of persons, family matters, or other matters of public order may not be submitted to arbitration.

How can I comment to enhance the next revision?
Send email or correspondence to the Executive Director: executivedirector@adric.ca

ADRIC ADMINISTRATION SERVICES

To commence a med-arb, send the Notice of Request to med-arbitrate to each Respondent under the Agreement and to ADRIC at arb-admin@adric.ca, and courier the Commencement Fee as set out in Schedule A of the Rules plus HST to ADRIC. Cheques are to be made payable to ADR Institute of Canada.

The Case Service Fee is to be remitted by the Respondent(s) with their Statement of Defence and/or Counterclaim (see Schedule A).

Additional Resources

ADRIA Webinar about the ADRIC Med-Arb Rules and Designations

Templates: We regret we are not able to provide templates as the content of any such agreements would need to be the subject of legal advice.