Commercial contracts often provide mechanisms for parties to
resolve disputes outside the orthodox court process. Parties will
often include these alternative dispute resolution clauses for a
range of reasons, but the underlying reasons usually include
confidentiality concerns, cost or the need for expedient resolution
of disputes.
One such mechanism for dispute resolution is for the parties to
submit to arbitration through what is referred to as an
'arbitrations clause', which intends to solely refer the
parties to arbitration for disputed matters. The drafting of such
clauses is critical to determining whether the intended referral to
arbitration will be enforceable.
In the recent case of Lin & Anor v Lee [2021] QSC
336 (Lin), Martin J clarified the use of
dispute resolution clauses in commercial agreements to be
classified as an 'arbitration agreement' in accordance with
section 7 of the Commercial Arbitration Act 2013 (Qld)
(the Act).
