The following criteria shall be considered by the Directors in approving admission to a Panel.

The Vancouver International Arbitration Centre (“Centre”) has established a panel of arbitrators (“Panel”) for the assistance of parties to arbitration and their counsel.  The Panel is comprised of the Domestic Arbitration Panel (“Domestic Panel”) and the International Commercial Panel (“International Panel”).  In these Rules “Panel” means either or both of the Domestic Panel or the International Panel as the context may require.  Inclusion on the Panel is subject to the following rules:

Panel Selection

1.The following criteria shall be considered by the Directors in approving admission to VanIAC’s arbitral panels.  An applicant must:

(a) have sufficient training and experience in arbitration to competently initiate, carry out, and complete and engagement as a panelist, keeping in mind the substantive and procedural knowledge required for appointment to the particular panel(s) for;

(b) confirm that the applicant will at all times be impartial and independent and conduct themselves free from bias and prejudice and from conflicts of interest;

(c) complete the current application form on the Centre’s website; and

(d) confirm in writing that the applicant has current Professional Errors & Omissions Liability Insurance (minimum $1 million) or the equivalent for an arbitrator.

2. The Directors may require additional material to be submitted in order to assess the suitability of a particular applicant, such as letters of recommendation. Unless requested by the Directors, such material is optional. 

3. A Panelist accepted for inclusion on the Panel shall pay the fee established by the Centre no later than 15 days after receiving notice of acceptance for membership on the Panel.

4. A Panelist accepted for inclusion on a Panel is appointed until December 31 of the current year and must renew the appointment each year by submitting a renewal application and paying the Centre’s then current fee.  Every 5^th year a Panelist must submit a Renewal of Appointment application under Rule 1.

5. A Panelist may resign from the Panel at any time by a notice in writing delivered to the Centre but, except in the case of hardship, no part of the annual fee shall be refunded.

Duties of a Panelist

6. A Panelist shall at all times

(a) comply with the Centre’s Domestic Rule 15 or International Article 10 in any arbitration conducted by the Panelist, whether the arbitration is administered by the Centre or not, and whether the Centre’s Domestic Rules or International Rules apply or not;

(b) comply with:

(i) the rules applicable to an arbitration conducted by the Panelist;

(ii) the provisions of the Arbitration Act or the International Commercial Arbitration Act, as the case may be;

(iii) the law respecting the conduct of arbitrators and these Rules; and

(iv) the Code of Ethics of the Centre for arbitrators.

(c) advise, in writing, the Centre and the parties to an arbitration of any conflict of interest which comes to the attention of the Panelist at any time during an arbitration;

(d) advise the Centre in writing of any judicial decision setting aside an award, in which the Panelist participated, on the basis of arbitral misconduct on the part of any of the arbitrators who participated in making the award.

Management of the Panel

7. The Centre by its Board of Directors, or by a committee established by the Board of Directors, shall manage the membership of the Panel.

8. Subject to these Rules the Centre may:

(a) appoint an applicant to the Panel;

(b) suspend the appointment of a Panelist from the Panel for

(i) a specified period; or

(ii) until the Panelist has met criteria established by the Centre;

(c) terminate the appointment of a Panelist to the Panel and establish criteria for any application for re-admission to the Panel by the Panelist;

(d) suspend the Panelist’s inclusion on lists of arbitrators delivered by the Centre pursuant to Domestic Rule 16 or International Rule 8; and

(e) require a Panelist to re-apply for membership on the Panel.

In the event of suspension or termination of the appointment of a Panelist, no part of the annual fee shall be refunded.

9. The Centre may, by its Board of Directors or a committee established by the Board of Directors, on its own motion or upon a complaint or notice from a person, subject to these Rules:

(a) conduct a review of the conduct of a Panelist to determine if the Panelist:

(i) has failed to comply with Rule 6 in an arbitration, whether administered by the Centre or not;

(ii) has acted in an arbitration in a manner inconsistent with Rule 6;

(iii) has had an award in which the Panelist participated set aside by a court on the basis of arbitral misconduct on the part of any of the arbitrators who participated in making the award; or

(iv) has:

1. been disbarred or suspended from the practice of law, if a lawyer;
2. had a professional designation revoked or suspended as a result of professional misconduct;
3. been convicted of a criminal offence; or
4. been convicted of a regulatory offence for a matter which is inconsistent with Rule 6.

(b) In conducting a review of the conduct of a Panelist the Centre:

(i) shall give notice to the Panelist in writing of the matter to be reviewed;

(ii) shall provide the Panelist with an opportunity to respond to such matter in accordance with timelines set by the Centre;

(iii) may impose a temporary suspension under Rule 8 (b) until the matter is heard by the Centre if the circumstances of the matter fall within Rule 9 (a) (iv);

(iv) may conduct a hearing, and shall conduct a hearing if requested by the Panelist; and

(v) take any step permitted under Rule 8 (b) through (e) including setting any criteria under subrules 8, 8(b), 8(c) and 8(e).