Quebec Courts Confirm the Autonomy of Arbitral Procedure

In two recent cases, the Quebec Superior Court and Court of Appeal have confirmed that parties who are unhappy with the procedural decisions of arbitrators cannot seek to have the courts intervene in order to review those decisions. This is a desirable confirmation in Quebec law of the principle of the autonomy of arbitral procedure under the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration.

In Endorecherche Inc. et al v. Université Laval et al.¹ the petitioning parties sought to overturn a decision made by the arbitrators requiring the disclosure of various documents requested by the claimants. The contract between the parties provided for the disclosure of relevant documents upon the demand of the claimants. The petitioners argued that the arbitrators had exceeded the scope of the arbitration agreement in the extent of the documents ordered to be disclosed, which they claimed was a ground for annulment under the Quebec Code of Civil Procedure.