Subway Systems v Ireland

(2014) 46 VR 49; [2014] VSCA 142

Victorian Court of Appeal

Built by Barristers,
For Australian Law.

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Interrogate

Catchwords

1. Arbitration
2. › Commercial arbitration
3. › Arbitration agreement
4. › Stay of court proceedings
5. › Whether tribunal bound to refer parties to arbitration
6. › Whether tribunal is 'a court before which an action is brought'
7. › Commercial Arbitration Act 2011 (Vic), s 8
1. Statutory Interpretation
2. › Statute implementing international agreement
3. › UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration
4. › Special interpretive principles
5. › Certainty and uniformity of interpretation
6. › Interpretation unconstrained by technical rules
7. › Recourse to working documents of international body
8. › Whether omission of Model Law definition of 'court' narrows scope of domestic enactment
9. › Commercial Arbitration Act 2011 (Vic), ss 2, 2A, 8
1. Words and Phrases
2. › 'Court'
3. › Whether statutory tribunal (VCAT) is a 'court'
4. › Commercial Arbitration Act 2011 (Vic), s 8

Quick Take

VCAT is a 'court' for the purposes of s 8 of the Commercial Arbitration Act 2011 (Vic) and must refer parties to arbitration where a valid arbitration agreement exists and a party so requests. This extends to equivalent tribunals in other Australian jurisdictions with identical uniform legislation. Legislation implementing international model laws attracts special interpretive principles requiring that certainty and uniformity of application are paramount, and that interpretation be unconstrained by technical domestic rules.