Frédéric Bachand

Website: Consensual Arbitration in Quebec
Twitter feed: twitter.com/ArbitrageQuebec

Biography

Frédéric Bachand is an Associate Professor of Law at McGill University, where he teaches in the areas of legal interpretation, extrajudicial dispute resolution, international investments, civil procedure and civil evidence.

In April 2013, he was appointed a Norton Rose Faculty Scholar in Arbitration and Commercial Law for a two year term.

Professor Bachand came to McGill after having practiced law for several years with the law firm of Ogilvy Renault in Montreal. He holds doctoral degrees from Université Panthéon-Assas (Paris II) and Université de Montréal, as well as an LL.M. from the University of Cambridge, where he spent a year after clerking for Justice Gérard V. La Forest of the Supreme Court of Canada.

His award-winning scholarship focuses on domestic and international arbitration, with a particular emphasis on the role national courts play in the arbitral process.

An active member of McGill's Private Justice and Rule of Law research team (mcgill.ca/pjrl), he is also the co-director of the McGill Summer Program in Arbitration, the general editor of a bilingual website on consensual arbitration in Quebec which he launched in 2004 (mcgill.ca/arbitration), and one of three experts retained by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law to contribute to its Digest of Case Law on the Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration.

A former co-general editor of the Stockholm International Arbitration Review and member of the NAFTA Advisory Committee on Private Commercial Disputes, Professor Bachand is currently a member of the Scientific Committee of the Revue de l'arbitrage, the Academic Council of the Institute for Transnational Arbitration, the World Bank’s Arbitrating Disputes Expert Consultative Group, the Executive Committee of the International Law Section of the Canadian Bar Association (Quebec Division) and the Supreme Court of Canada Advocacy Institute. He is also a director of FRANCARBI as well as a National Correspondent for the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law's CLOUT case reporting project.

A member of the Quebec Bar since 1995, Professor Bachand recently served as sole arbitrator in an ICC arbitration that proceeded to a final award. He frequently acts as a consultant both locally and internationally. His advice has been sought in connection with numerous Canadian and foreign judicial proceedings relating to domestic and international arbitrations, and he has served as an expert on Quebec and Canadian law in foreign judicial and arbitral proceedings.

He has also been called upon on several occasions to provide advice to Canadian governments and foreign States (including China, Russia, Vietnam, Turkey, Haiti, Rwanda, Burkina Faso, the Central African Republic, Bangladesh, South Sudan and Egypt) in relation to judicial training or law reform initiatives in the fields of international arbitration and private international law.

Education

Doctorat en droit, Université Panthéon-Assas (Paris II), 2004; Doctorat en droit, Université de Montréal, 2004; The Hague Academy of International Law, private international law program, 2001; LL.M., Cambridge University, 1997; École professionnelle du Barreau du Québec, 1995; LL.B., Université de Montréal, 1994; D.E.C., Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf, 1991; D.E.S., Collège Notre-Dame, 1989.

Employment

McGill University, Faculty of Law, Assistant Professor, 2003-2010, Associate Professor, 2010-; Ogilvy Renault (Montreal), student-at-law, articling student and litigation associate, 1994-1995, 1997-1999; Supreme Court of Canada, law clerk to Justice Gérard V. La Forest, 1995-1996.

Areas of interest

Domestic and international commercial arbitration, international investment law, mediation, comparative civil procedure and evidence, private international law, legal interpretation.

Publications

Forthcoming

• “Court Intervention in International Arbitration: The Case for Compulsory Judicial Internationalism”, forthcoming in (2011) Missouri University Law Review
• “Judicial Internationalism and the Interpretation of the Model Law: Reflections on Article 2A”, in F. Bachand and F. Gélinas, The UNCITRAL Model Law After 25 Years (forthcoming) (Huntington, Juris, 2012)
• Les 25 ans de la réforme du droit québécois de l'arbitrage (forthcoming) (Cowansville, Éditions Yvon Blais, 2012) (co-editor with Fabien Gélinas)
• The UNCITRAL Model Law After 25 Years (forthcoming) (Huntington, Juris, 2012) (co-editor with Fabien Gélinas)
• “Vers une nouvelle réforme du droit québécois de l’arbitrage conventionnel”, in F. Bachand and F. Gélinas, Les 25 ans de la réforme du droit québécois de l'arbitrage (forthcoming) (Cowansville, Éditions Yvon Blais, 2012)

Journal articles

• “La favor arbitrandum remise en cause par la Cour suprême du Canada”, (2011) Revue de l’arbitrage 533
• "Kompetenz-Kompetenz, Canadian-Style", (2009) 25 Arbitration International 431
• "Overcoming Immunity-Based Objections to the Recognition and Enforcement in Canada of Investor-State Awards", (2009) 26 Journal of International Arbitration 59
• “The Canadian Courts’ Contribution to the International Arbitration System—A Brief Assessment”, (2009) 18 Canadian Arbitration and Mediation Journal 18
• « L’arrêt Dell et le contrôle de la compétence arbitrale au stade du renvoi à l’arbitrage » (coauteur avec Pierre Bienvenu), (2007) 37 Revue générale de droit 477
• « Le traitement en appel des questions de fait, questions de droit et questions mixtes de fait et de droit », (2007) 85 Canadian Bar Review 97
• « Does Article 8 of the Model Law Call for Full or Prima Facie Review of the Arbitral Tribunal’s Jurisdiction? », (2006) 22 Arbitration International 463
• Note sous Cour d’appel du Québec, 30 mai 2005, Dell Computer Corporation c. Union des consommateurs, (2006) (1) Stockholm International Arbitration Review, 114
• « Recent Developments on Grounds for Annulment and Non-Enforcement of International Awards in Canada », (2006) 13 Southwestern Journal of Law and Trade in the Americas 107
• « English High Court Renders Fundamental Decision on Nature of Investment Treaty Arbitration », (2005) 16(9) World Arbitration & Mediation Report
• « L’effet d’une clause compromissoire invoquée à l’encontre d’un appel en garantie et l’effet en droit interne de la Convention de New York », note sous Cour suprême du Canada, 22 juillet 2005, GreCon Dimter Inc. c. J.R. Normand Inc., [2005] Revue de l’arbitrage 1084
• « Must An ICC Tribunal Comply With an Anti-Suit Injunction Issued by the Courts of the Seat of Arbitration? », (2005) 20(3) Mealey’s International Arbitration Report 16
• « The ‘Proof’ of Foreign Normative Which Influence Domestic Rules », (2005) 43 Osgoode Hall Law Journal 269
• « ICSID Tribunal Constituted Under Switzerland-Philippines BIT Split on Impact of Forum Selection Clause on Its Jurisdiction », (2004) 15(10) World Arbitration & Mediation Report 292
• « L’efficacité en droit québécois d’une convention d’arbitrage ou d’élection de for invoquée à l’encontre d’un appel en garantie », (2004) 83(2) Revue du Barreau canadien 515
• « Pour l’abandon par les tribunaux québécois de la notion de clause compromissoire parfaite et des formalités s’y rapportant », (2004) 64 Revue du Barreau 121
• « Recent Developments in NAFTA and ICSID Arbitration », (2004) 15(12) World Arbitration & Mediation Report 366
• « Arbitrabilité d’un différend touchant au droit d’auteur et conformité d’une sentence à l’ordre public », note sous Cour suprême du Canada, 21 mars 2003, Éditions Chouette (1987) Inc. v. Desputeaux, [2003] Revue de l’arbitrage 473
• « Assujettissement d’un tribunal arbitral conventionnel au pouvoir de surveillance et de contrôle de la Cour supérieure et contrôle judiciaire d’ordonnances de procédure rendues par les arbitres », (2001) 35 Revue juridique Thémis 465
• « Une clause compromissoire ne visant expressément que les différends relatifs à l’interprétation du contrat est-elle applicable à ceux portant sur son exécution ? », (2001) Revue juridique Thémis 789
• Note Cour supérieure du Québec, 15 février 2000, Air France c. Libyan Arab Airlines, (2000) 3(4) Model Arbitration Law Quarterly Reports 1
• Note sous Cour de l’Ontario (Division générale), 4 novembre 1998, Noble China Inc. c. Lei, (2000) 4(1) Model Arbitration Law Quarterly Reports 43
• Note sous Cour supérieure de l’Ontario, 22 septembre 1999 et Cour d’appel de l’Ontario, 15 septembre 2000, Corporation Transnational de Inversiones, S.A. de C.V. c. STET International, S.P.A. , (2000) 4(1) Model Arbitration Law Quarterly Reports 5
• « Restitution of Unlawfully Levied Taxes : Survey and Comparative Analysis of Developments in Canada, Australia and England », (2000) 38 Alberta Law Review 960

Books and monographs

• UNCITRAL, 2012 Digest of Case Law on the Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration (New York, United Nations, 2012) (one of three main contributors, alongside Lawrence Boo and Stefan Kröll)
• Fifteen Years of NAFTA Chapter 11 Arbitration, IAI Series No. 7 (Huntington, Juris, 2011) (editor)
• International Arbitration Court Decisions, 3rd ed. (Huntington, Juris, 2011) (co-editor with Stephen Bond)
• L'intervention du juge canadien avant et durant un arbitrage commercial international, préface de Ch. Jarrosson, Paris, L.G.D.J., 2005/Cowansville, Éditions Yvon Blais, 2005

Articles/chapters in books and monographs

• “Un tribunal arbitral peut-il prononcer des injonctions?”, in S. Guillemard (ed.), Mélanges en l’honneur du professeur Alain Prujiner (Cowansville: Éditions Yvon Blais, 2011) p. 1
• “Le non-rattachement de l’arbitrage international à l’ordre juridique du siège : réalité et conséquences”, in G. Bras Miranda et B. Moore, Mélanges Adrian Popovici – Les couleurs du droit (Montreal, Éditions Thémis, 2010) p. 387
• “Les rapports entre juridictions nationales et tribunaux arbitraux internationaux”, in Internationalisation du droit, internationalisation de la justice – 3ième Congrès de l’AHJUCAF (Paris, AHJUCAF, 2010) p. 59
• “When—If Ever—Should Failure to Challenge an Award Before the Courts of the Seat Amount to a Waiver of New York Convention Defences?”, in K. Hober, A. Magnusson and M. Öhrström, Between East an West—Essays in Honour of Ulf Franke (Huntington, Juris, 2010) p. 1
• “A Canadian Perspective on Controversial International Arbitration Issues”, in N. Eksi, T. Kalpsüz and M. Yilmaz (ed.), Proceedings of the Istanbul Conference on International Dispute Resolution—A Global Perspective (Istanbul, Beta, 2008) p. 41 (also published in Turkish)
• “Should No-Class Action Arbitration Clauses be Enforced?”, in Arthur W. Rovine (ed.), Contemporary Issues in International Arbitration and Mediation – The Fordham Papers 2008 (Leiden, Martinus Nijhoff, 2009) p. 153
• « L’exception d’arbitrage soulevée dans le contexte d’un recours collectif: quelques réflexions sur le rôle de l’ordre public », dans N. Antaki et E. Darankoum (dir.), La justice en marche : du recours collectif à l’arbitrage collectif – Journées Maximilien-Caron 2006, Montréal, Éditions Thémis, 2007, p. 93
• « Le mythe du caractère fondamentalement inéquitable des clauses d’arbitrage insérées dans les contrats de consommation – Observations critiques sur l’article 11.1 de la Loi sur la protection du consommateur », dans P.-C. Lafond (dir.), Le droit de la consommation sous influences (Cowansville : Éditions Yvon Blais, 2007) p. 163
• "Coming in From the Cold -- 20 Years of UNCITRAL Model Law in Canada" (coauteur avec Damien Nyer), dans N. Eksi, P.J. Martinez-Fraga et W.K. Sheehy, International Commercial Arbitration -- A Comparative Survey, Istanbul Chamber of Commerce, 2007, p. 21
• « The UNCITRAL Model Law’s Take on Anti-Suit Injunctions », dans E. Gaillard, dir., Anti-Suit Injunctions in International Arbitration, IAI Series on International Arbitration nº 2, Huntington, Juris Publishing, 2005, p. 87

Other papers and publications

• “The Supreme Court of Canada: Pro-Arbitration No More”, Kluwer Arbitration Blog, March 31, 2011
  Links: The Supreme Court of Canada: Pro-Arbitration No More
• Factum submitted to the Supreme Court of Canada on behalf of the London Court of International Arbitration (co-author with Pierre Bienvenu), Yugraneft Corp. v. Rexx Management Corp., 2010 SCC 19
• “Arbitration and Mediation as Means of Resolving Commercial Disputes in the United States and Canada”, research report presented to the Canadian International Development Agency (Vietnam Legal Reform Assistance Project), April 2008
• « Recent Developments on Grounds for Annulment and Non-Enforcement of International Awards in Canada », Rapport au Comité 2022 de l’ALÉNA, juin 2006
• Factum submitted to the Supreme Court of Canada on behalf of the London Court of International Arbitration (co-author with Pierre Bienvenu), Dell Computer Computer Corporation v. Union des consommateurs, 2007 SCC 34
• Report to the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law commenting on Articles 1 to 5 of the Draft Digest on the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration
• "The Canadian Anti-Globalization Consortium v. The Attorney General of Canada", 2004-2005 Laskin Moot Official Problem
• « Current Developments – Canada », obs. sous Cour suprême du Canada, 21 mars 2003, Éditions Chouette (1987) Inc. c. Desputeaux et Cour d’appel du Québec, 31 mars 2003, Compagnie nationale Air France c. Mbaye, International Bar Association, Committee D News – Newsletter of the Arbitration and ADR Committee of the Section on Business Law, septembre 2003 (coauteur avec Pierre Bienvenu)
• Factum submitted to the Supreme Court of Canada on behalf of the Canadian Commercial Arbitration Centre (co-author with Pierre Bienvenu), Desputeaux v. Éditions Chouette (1987) Inc., 2003 SCC 17
• « Jurisdiction and the Internet – Are Traditional Rules Enough ? » (coauteur), texte présenté à la Conférence pour l’harmonisation des lois au Canada, juillet 1998

Media articles

• “Une critique troublante” (op-ed piece concerning the Supreme Court of Canada decision in the Chaoulli case), La Presse, Montreal, June 15, 2005