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LEGAL REPORT/ADR Getting the word out O Canada is an international centre for arbitration but stands to lose business if it doesn't better promote its well-earned reputation. BY PAUL BRENT ver the years, Canada has earned its reputation as a destination for interna- tional arbitration. Canada was the first country to adopt and implement the United Nations' UNCITRAL Model Law implementation statutes 25 years ago as well as the first to sign on to the New York Convention, an international treaty covering foreign arbitration awards. The country has also prospered as a place to carry out com- mercial arbitration due to its proximity to the United States, its bilingual and multicultural status, reputation for fair- ness and neutrality, common and civil law systems, and a court system supportive of arbitration. Arbitration practitioners in Canada can take satisfaction in the fact their field of practice seems to be growing and healthy. The number of cases heard in Canada continues to grow each year, arbitration is increasingly being chosen over court actions among parties, and courts have made a number of judg- ments in support of arbitration. The main centres for international arbitration in Canada are Montreal, Toronto, Calgary, and Vancouver. Arbitration practitioners also can't help but regularly read about Canada as about one-third of the cases worldwide that interpret UNCITRAL model law or deal with it come out of this country — a testa- ment to all the jurisdictions that deal with arbitration. According to the UNCITRAL Secretariat, which maintains a database of case law on UNCITRAL texts, of the 316 decisions reported, 112 emanate from Canadian courts. The Supreme Court of Canada has also made a series of judgments favouring arbi- tration including Yugraneft Corp. v. Rexx Management Corp.; Union des consomma- teurs c. Dell Computer Corp.; Desputeaux c. Éditions Chouette (1987) inc.; and Seidel v. TELUS Communications Inc. Just how well respected Canada is as a location for international arbitration was illustrated in a recent Global Dispute Resolution report conducted by Taylor Wessing. The report ranked Canada third behind Switzerland and Australia in a list of 21 countries as a place for arbitration. Canada, along with the U.K., Australia and Singapore, "were found to be predict- able and reliable jurisdictions in which to determine disputes . . . " the study concluded after its authors surveyed 300 international respondents in mid-2009. Canadian universities are also doing their part to maintain Canada's place on the world arbitration stage. This year, a team of law students from the University of Ottawa won the 18th annual Willem C. www.CANADIAN Lawyermag.com SEPTEMBER 2011 39 DuShAN MILIC