Alberta Court Of Appeal Clarifies Procedure For Appealing An Arbitration Award

In a recent decision, Esfahani v Samimi, 2022 ABCA 178, the Alberta Court of Appeal settled the procedure for appealing an arbitration award under the Alberta Arbitration Act.

Appealing an arbitration award

Appealing an arbitral award is a difficult task. The goal of arbitration is to obtain a fair resolution of a dispute by an impartial tribunal without unnecessary cost or delay. Since the parties to an arbitration agreement have agreed to resolve their disputes by way of arbitration, it is rare for the courts to interfere with a decision of an arbitral tribunal.

Under the Arbitration Act, an appeal of an arbitral award depends on the language in the arbitration agreement. Parties may agree to allow appeals on question of law, questions of fact, or questions of mixed law and fact (see s. 44(1)). However, if the arbitration agreement is silent on the question of the right to appeal, the Arbitration Act requires a party to seek permission of the court to