PHILIPPINES Law and Practice Contributed by: Leland R Villadolid J, Gilberto D Gallos, Antonio Jose Gerardo T Paz and Leo Frederick Z Cruz, Angara Abello Concepcion Regala & Cruz (ACCRALAW)
After pretrial, the court directs the parties to compul- sorily submit to court-annexed mediation. If mediation at that level fails, but the original court determines that settlement is still possible, it may further refer the parties to another court for judicial dispute resolution (JDR). Only after the failure of JDR shall the case be referred to the original court for trial. Under the guidelines issued by the Supreme Court for the conduct of court-annexed mediation and JDR, parties who fail to appear before the mediator or the JDR judge, or who exhibit contemptuous conduct during mediation or JDR, may be sanctioned upon the recommendation of the mediator or the JDR judge. Sanctions include (among others): • the dismissal of the case, when the plaintiff fails to appear without valid cause; or • the ex parte presentation of the plaintiff’s evidence and dismissal of the defendant’s counterclaims, when the defendant fails to appear without valid cause. 12.3 ADR Institutions Outside the regular court system, institutions offering and promoting ADR are well established and organ- ised. The main arbitration institutions in the Philip- pines include: • the Philippine Dispute Resolution Center, Inc: • the Philippine International Center for Conflict Resolution; and • the Construction Industry Arbitration Commission. These provide not only ADR services but also training and resources to promote ADR.
pines is also a party to the 1958 New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbi- tral Awards (the “New York Convention”). Domestic arbitration continues to be governed by Republic Act No 876 (the “Arbitration Law”). The ADR Act is supplemented by its Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR, promulgated by the Department of Justice) and the Special Rules of Court on ADR (the “Special ADR Rules”, promulgated by the Supreme Court). The Special ADR Rules are signifi- cant in that they distinguish the manner of recognising and enforcing, and setting aside, an arbitral award made in an ICA depending on whether the seat of arbitration is the Philippines or another state, and, in the case of the latter, whether such other state is a party to the New York Convention. Construction disputes are governed by the Construc- tion Industry Arbitration Law. The recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards is governed by the New York Convention. The Special ADR Rules govern the procedural aspects before the regular courts relating to arbitration, includ- ing (among other things): • relief on the issue of existence, validity or enforce- ability of the arbitration agreement; • referral to ADR; • interim measures of protection; • recognition and enforcement, and setting aside, arbitral awards; and • confidentiality/protective orders. 13.2 Subject Matters Not Referred to Arbitration The following cannot be the subject of arbitration in the Philippines: • labour disputes; • the civil status of persons; • the validity of marriage; • any ground for legal separation; • the jurisdiction of courts;
13. Arbitration 13.1 Laws Regarding the Conduct of Arbitration
Republic Act No 9285, or the Alternative Dispute Resolution Act (the “ADR Act”), institutionalised the use of ADR in the Philippines and governs arbitration in the country. The ADR Act provides that the 1985 UNCITRAL Model Law (the “Model Law”) will govern international commercial arbitration (ICA). The Philip-
• future legitime; • future support; • the validity of legal separation;
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