PHILIPPINES Law and Practice Contributed by: Ricardo Ma P G Ongkiko, John Christian Joy A Regalado and Ma Patricia B Paz-Jacoba, SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan
• cost of expert advice and other assistance required by the arbitral tribunal; • travel and other expenses for witnesses, to the extent that such expenses are approved by the arbitral tribunal; • cost of legal representation and assistance for the successful party, to the extent deemed reasonable by the arbitral tribunal, if such costs are claimed; and • any fees and expenses for the appointing authority. Under the ADR Act’s IRR, the costs of arbitration shall, in principle, be borne by the unsuccessful party. How - ever, taking into account the circumstances of the case, the arbitral tribunal may apportion each of these costs between the parties if it deems this reasonable. For costs of legal representation and assistance, particularly the costs of expert advice and of other assistance required by the arbitral tribunal, the arbitral tribunal is free to determine which party bears these costs. Alternatively, having taken into account the cir - cumstances of the case, it may deem it reasonable to apportion the costs between the parties. The arbitral tribunal may also refuse to grant such costs of legal representation and assistance if none of the limited grounds for the grant of attorney’s fees under the Civil Code are present. An arbitral award in an international commercial arbi - tration cannot be appealed merely on the ground that the arbitral tribunal committed errors of fact or errors of law. Rule 19.7 of the Special ADR Rules provides that an agreement to refer a dispute to arbitration means that the arbitral award shall be final and binding. The same provision prohibits a party to an arbitration from filing an appeal or petition for certiorari to question the merits of an arbitral award. Specifically, Rule 12.5 of the Special ADR Rules expressly prohibits the filing of an appeal, petition for review or petition for certiorari against an international commercial arbitration award. However, the losing party may file a petition to set aside the arbitral award in an international commercial 11. Review of an Award 11.1 Grounds for Appeal
arbitration no later than three months after receiving the award. This is the exclusive recourse against such an arbitral award. The courts can vacate or set aside the arbitral award only on the grounds cited under the UNCITRAL Model Law, to wit: • incapacity of a party to the arbitration agreement; • invalidity of the arbitration agreement under the law to which the parties have subjected it or, failing any indication thereof, under Philippine law; • lack of proper notice of an arbitrator’s appointment or of the arbitral proceedings; • inability of the party making the application to set aside the arbitral award to present their case; • the award being beyond the scope of the arbitra - tion agreement or resolving a dispute outside the scope of the submission to arbitration; • the arbitration procedure or the composition of the arbitral tribunal not being in accordance with the parties’ agreement or, in the absence of such agreement, not being in accordance with Philippine law; • incapability of the subject matter of the dispute being settled by arbitration under Philippine laws; and • the recognition or enforcement of the award being contrary to Philippine public policy. Philippine courts are mandated to disregard any grounds to set aside or vacate the arbitral award other than those listed. Procedure for Setting Aside the Arbitral Award A verified petition must be filed with the proper regional trial court within three months of receiving the arbitral award; it cannot be filed after the three- month period has elapsed. If a petition to recognise and enforce the arbitral award is already pending, the petition to set aside shall be filed in opposition to the petition to recognise. Failure to file a petition to set aside shall preclude a party from raising grounds to resist enforcement of the award. If the petition filed is sufficient in both form and sub - stance, the court shall issue notice to the other party
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