History

Established in 1986, BCICAC is an organization committed to making available to organizations, businesses and individuals various avenues to resolve disputes without the need of resorting to the courts.

British Columbia was among the first governments to accept the arbitration model proposed by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL Model Law). Working with the United Nations, the B.C. Legislature developed its International Commercial Arbitration Act. Enacted in 1986, the legislation embodies two strongly held principles: minimum of judicial intervention and a significant degree of autonomy for parties engaged in arbitration.

The modernization of arbitral law in B.C. is also rooted in the 1958 adoption of the United Nations Arbitration Convention (the “New York Convention“), formally entitled the “UN Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Arbitral Awards”. This Convention provides mechanisms by which arbitral awards can be enforced easily between signatory countries. Canada went a step further and announced that all arbitral awards would be recognized and enforced in Canada according to the terms of the New York Convention regardless of whether the countries involved were signatories.

The Centre is operated by BCICAC Foundation, a non-profit Foundation incorporated under the Society Act of B.C.. The Bylaws of the Foundation provide for representatives of the University of British Columbia Law Faculty, the Vancouver Board of Trade and the Attorney General’s Department of British Columbia to serve on their Board of Directors.

The Centre was established by the Government of the Province of British Columbia in 1986 with additional funding from the Federal Government of Canada. It was part of the initiative of the public and private sectors to position Vancouver to become a leading Centre for international commerce and finance.