Case number: 117
Article number: model arbitration law / 35
Thessaurs issue:
Country of decision: Canada
Year of decision: 1994
Type of decision: Judicial decision

Case 117: MAL 35
Canada: Ontario Court of Justice, General Division (Somers J.) 19 December 1994
Murmansk Trawl Fleet v. Bimman Realty Inc.
Original in English
Unpublished

The plaintiff sought to enforce in Ontario a final arbitral award issued in New York with regard to a dispute arising from its contract with the defendant. The application was made after the right to appeal the award in New York State had expired but the defendant argued that the award should not be enforced in Ontario, since no steps had been taken to have it confirmed (made binding) under New York law.

The court held that it was not necessary that the foreign award be confirmed in order to be enforceable in Ontario. The court, referring to the decision on Case 30, based this conclusion on a public policy favouring the avoidance of delays that were ensuing from court proceedings and providing for a more efficient dispute resolution where the parties have chosen arbitration.