Article 1

Scope of application

1. The rules herein shall apply where parties have agreed that disputes between them in respect of any legal relationship shall be referred to ad hoc arbitration under the OHADAC Arbitration Rules. The parties shall be presumed to have referred to the rules in effect on the date of commencement of the arbitration, unless they have previously agreed to apply the rules in force on the date of the conclusion of the arbitration agreement.

2. These rules shall also apply where the parties have expressly agreed that arbitration shall be administered by the OHADAC Caribbean Center of Arbitration, in accordance in this event, with the provisions of PART II which sets out the rights and obligations of the said Center where acting as administrator in such procedure.

3. These rules shall govern the arbitration, except that where any of these rules is in conflict with a provision of the law applicable to the arbitration from which the parties cannot derogate, that provision shall prevail.

Article 2

Definitions

The following definitions apply to these rules:

1. “Rules”, the present OHADAC Arbitration Rules.
2. “CCA”, or the “Center”, the OHADAC Caribbean Center of Arbitration.
3. “Claimant” and “respondent”, one party or more than one party, respectively acting as claimants or as respondents.
4. The “party” or “parties”, the claimants and respondents.
5. “Appointing party”, independent third party responsible, at the request of the parties, for appointing the sole arbitrator or the third arbitrator, where the CCA has not been requested to do so.
6. “Secretariat”, the CCA Secretariat.
7. “Arbitral tribunal” means the sole arbitrator or the three arbitrators appointed to resolve the dispute.

Article 3

Notice of arbitration

1. The party or parties initiating recourse to arbitration (hereinafter called "the claimant") shall communicate to the other party or parties (hereinafter called "the respondent") a notice of arbitration.

2. In the event of institutional arbitration, the party initiating recourse to arbitration shall communicate such notice to the Secretariat of the CCA.

3. Arbitral proceedings shall be deemed to commence on the date on which the notice of arbitration is received by the respondent or, where applicable, by the institution administering the arbitration.

4. The notice of arbitration shall be made in the form of a written statement and shall contain the following information:

1. a request to submit the dispute to arbitration;
2. the names and contact details of the parties;
3. identification of the arbitration clause or the separately concluded arbitration agreement invoked, where applicable;
4. identification of the contract out of or in relation to which the dispute arises;
5. a statement of the facts supporting the claim;
6. the points at issue and an indication of the monetary amount claimed, where applicable;
7. a proposal as to the number of arbitrators (i.e., one or three), if the parties have not previously agreed thereon in the arbitration agreement.
8. the place of arbitration.
9. the language to be used in the proceedings.
10. the nomination of the sole arbitrator or of a co-arbitrator.

5. The notice of arbitration may include the statement of claim.

6. The date of receipt of the notice of arbitration by the respondent or, where applicable, by the institution administering the arbitration, shall be the date of commencement of the arbitral proceedings.

Article 4

Notice and periods of time

1. Any notice may be transmitted by any means of communication that provides or allows for a record of its transmission. A notice, including any communication, request or notification by a party, shall be directly addressed to the other party, plus one copy for each arbitrator.

2. In the event of institutional arbitration, the parties shall submit their communications, including any request or notification, to the Secretariat, with one copy for each arbitrator and one for each of the adverse parties.

3. Any notice from the Secretariat and the arbitral tribunal shall be made to the last recorded address of the party. Such communications may be delivered by certified mail with acknowledgment of receipt, by certified mail, courier, telefax or by any other means of communication that provides or allows for a record of their transmission.

4. If a party fails to designate or allow an address for the purpose of notification, any notice shall be deemed to be effected where:

1. the documents have been delivered to the addressee in person,
2. they have been delivered to the place of business, residence or postal address of the addressee or,
3. if the notice could not be sent in either of the aforesaid manners, where the documents have been delivered to the last known place of business, or to the last residence or last known domicile of the party.

5. Any notice shall be deemed effected on the date the documents have been delivered, or on the date their delivery has been attempted in accordance with the methods described in the previous paragraphs. Communications via email shall be deemed received on the date they are recorded by the server or the date they reach the recipient's email address.

6. The calculation of time limits shall begin on the day following their notification. The calculation shall take into account any holidays or non-working days within the prescribed period. Nevertheless, should the date of the deadline fall on a holiday or a non-working day in the place of destination of the notification, the time limit shall be extended to the next local working day.

Article 5

Response to the notice of arbitration

1. The respondent shall submit a statement of defense within thirty days from the commencement of the arbitration, responding to the claimant and to any other party where applicable, with respect to the issues raised in the notice of arbitration.

2. Upon submitting a statement of defense, the respondent may also file a counterclaim or request a set-off with respect to any claim under the arbitration agreement, and in this event the claimant may, within thirty days, file a replication in response to the respondent and to any other party, where applicable.

3. The respondent shall respond to the claimant and to any other parties within thirty days from the commencement of the arbitration, regarding all of the proposals that the claimant may have made in respect to the number of arbitrators, the nomination of an arbitrator, the place and language of arbitration, except under prior agreement by the parties.

4. In the event of institutional arbitration under CCA rules, the notice of arbitration and the response thereto may be delivered directly, or through the institution administering the arbitration. Prior to the composition of the arbitral tribunal, the Center may extend any of the deadlines provided for in the present article if it considers that such extension is justified. In any event, the extension of time shall not affect any decision regarding the legal basis for arbitration, the number of arbitrators, the appointment of a sole arbitrator or a co-arbitrator where applicable, or the place and language of arbitration.