LAW No. 11/1995 REGARDING JUDICIAL ARBITRATION WITH RESPECT TO CIVIL
AND COMMERCIAL MATTERS
Article 1
There shall be formed at the Court of Appeal headquarters one or more
arbitration panels consisting of three judges and two arbitrators.
Each dispute party - even if there are several parties - shall select
one of the arbitrators listed in the respective rolls at the
Arbitration Department of the Court of Appeal or elsewhere. Should
either arbitration party fails to do so within the next ten days
following the arbitration departments order to him to select his own
arbitrator, the said department shall appoint the next arbitrator on
the rolls of arbitrators specialized in the dispute subject matter to
be a member of the panel. The panel shall be presided over by the
oldest judge who should be a consultant.
The panel secretary shall be one of the staff of the Court of Appeal.
The panel shall hold its session at the Court of Appeal headquarters
or at any place specified by the panel president. Appointment of
judge arbitrators shall be made through a decision by the higher
judicial council for two years as of its date of issue.
Article 2
The arbitration panel shall have the following powers:
1- Decide the disputes which the concerned parties agree to the
referral thereof to the panel. It is also concerned with deciding the
disputes resulting from contracts concluded after this law effective
date, including the settlement thereof through arbitration, unless
otherwise provided for in the respective contract or in a respective
arbitration regulations.
2- Solely decide the disputes arising between ministries or
government authorities or public corporate persons and the companies
wholly owned by the state or between these companies.
3- Decide the arbitration applications filed by individuals or
private corporate persons against the ministries or public bodies or
corporate persons in the disputes arising between them. These bodies
shall be bound with arbitration unless the dispute is already filed
to the courts. The panel shall decide the disputes referred to it
free of charge.
Article 3
The arbitration application shall be submitted to the Arbitration
Department. This department shall register such application in the
respective role on the submission date. The request shall be
presented within the next three days following the selection of other
arbitrators, to the president of arbitration panel to assess the
amount which each arbitration party shall deposit for account of the
legal fees in case of lack of prior notice from the arbitrator that
these fees have been paid. The arbitration dept. shall request the
arbitration parties to the deposit amount required from them into the
treasury of the arbitration dept. within the following ten days. In
case of failure to do so in time, the arbitration dept. shall notify
the other party within the following five days thereof. He - if he
desires to continue arbitration procedures - may deposit the required
amount within the following ten days. If this time passed without
deposit thereof by any litigant, the arbitration dept. shall present
the arbitration application to the arbitration panel president for
reservation thereof and refund of whatever amount which a litigant
may have deposited under account of the legal fees.
Article 4
Arbitration dept. shall present the arbitration application within
the next three days following the deposit of the amount allocated for
the fees of selected arbitrators to the arbitration panel president
to set a session for deciding it. It shall notify both parties about
such session and the full panel formation within the following five
days and set a date for them to submit their documents and memos as
well as their defenses. Such notice shall be made as stipulated in
Article 179 of the Civil & Commercial procedures Law unless the
dispute parties agree otherwise.
Article 5
The arbitration panel shall decide the initial matters presented to
it in respect of the dispute as covered within the jurisdiction of
civil or commercial courts and the pleas related to lack of
jurisdiction, including those based on lack of arbitration agreement
or cancellation or invalidity or non coverage or the dispute matter.
These pleas should be insisted on before dealing with the subject
mater. Furthermore, the plea for non coverage or arbitration
agreement of the other party demands during the dispute trial should
be insisted on, immediately upon presentation thereof, otherwise the
right thereto will be cancelled.
The arbitration panel shall in all cases accept delayed pleas if it
deems that delay is justified. The arbitration panel shall decide the
said pleas before deciding the subject matter or annex them together
for joint decision. It may issue verdicts and orders refer to in
paragraphs a, b and c of Article 180 of civil & commercial procedures
law.
The arbitration panel shall decide the summary matters related to the
dispute matter under the parties expressly agree otherwise.
Article 6
The Court of Cassation shall decide any demand for rejection of any
arbitration panel member and file the rejection demand by means of a
report to be lodged to the Clerk Dept. of the Court of Cassation
within five days as of the notice date to the rejection applicant
about the formation of arbitration panel or the date of rejection
cause or the date his knowledge thereof if subsequent thereto.
The submission of rejection application shall not result in the
supervision of arbitration procedures. If the rejection is approved,
the arbitration procedure which are carried out including the
arbitration panel verdict for referral of the rejection demand may
not be challenged by any way of challenge.
In case of verdict to reject any arbitrator or his resignation or
dismissal for whatever reason, his substitute shall be appointed
subject to the same procedures upon appointment of the former.
Article 7
The arbitration panel verdict shall be issued without time limitation
as on exception to Article 8 of civil procedures law.
The arbitration panel verdict shall be made by majority of votes and
shall be announced at a public hearing notified to the arbitration
parties. It shall include in particular the brief agreement of
arbitration the brief litigation sayings and their documents, the
verdict reasons and text, issue date, place of issue and arbitrators
signatures. The draft verdict containing such reasons and signed by
arbitrators upon recital thereof shall be deposited also. If one or
more arbitrators refused to sign the verdict, this should be referred
to. A verdict shall be valid if signed by the majority of arbitrators
even if one or more of them resigned or was dismissed after
reservation of the case for decision and deliberation beginning. The
original verdict putting an end to the litigation shall be lodged
with the original agreement of arbitration at the Clerk Dept. - Court
of Appeal within the next five days of the issuance date thereof. The
arbitration panel verdict nor part thereof may not be published
except under both parties agreement.
Article 8
The arbitration panel shall correct the material errors whether of
written or accounting nature in its verdict and interpret it if its
text contains ambiguity or confusion. It shall also decide the
objective demands which it omitted. This shall be done in accordance
with rules stipulated in Articles 124, 125 and 126 of Civil &
Commercial procedures law. If this is impossible, these matters shall
be within the jurisdiction of the court originally competent to
decide the dispute. If the verdict is cosseted, the court of
cassation shall be solely competent to correct the verdict material
errors or interpretation thereof.
Article 9
The verdict issued by the arbitration panel shall be deemed as a
binding order and enforceable as per the stipulated procedures of
civil and commercial procedures law after endorsement of the writ of
execution on the verdict by the Clerk Dept. - Court of Appeal.
Article 10
The verdict issued by the arbitration panel may be cosseted in the
following cases:
a) Violation, misapplication or misinterpretation of law.
b) If the verdict or its subsequent procedures are invalid.
c) If the arbitration panel ruled to the contrary of a previous
verdict between the same litigants.
d) If it is executive and binding, if it is issued by ordinary courts
or an arbitration panel.
e) In case of fulfillment of a reason which may lead to the
submission of a petition for reconsideration.
The verdict issued by the arbitration panel may not be challenged by
any other way of appeal.
Article 11
By virtue of Article 130 of civil and commercial procedures law,
challenge shall be filed to the court of cassation in accordance with
the stipulated procedures of the said law, within 30 days from the
issuance date of the arbitration panel verdict in the cases stated in
paragraph a, b and c of the preceding article. This period shall
start in the cases which fulfill one of the reasons stated in
paragraph (d) of the said article as per article 149 of Civil and
Commercial Procedures law. The appellant shall deposit 100 Dinar as a
bail upon submission of appeal. The challenge for cassation shall be
listed and decided as per the procedures of objection for cassation
as per civil and commercial procedures law.
Article 12
The provisions of this law shall come into force in respect of
arbitration panel contained herein and shall be subject to the
provision of civil and commercial procedures law as long as not in
contradiction with the provisions hereof. Article 177 of civil and
commercial procedures law is hereby cancelled.
Article 13
The Minister of Justice shall issue necessary decisions to enforce
this law provided that the same should include the provisions related
to the regulation of arbitration dept. - court of appeal - as well as
registration in the arbitrators roles and procedures of their
selection, replacement and fees assessment.
Article 14
This law shall be published in the official gazette. It shall come
into force one month after its issuance date. Ministers - each within
his powers - shall execute this law