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Commercial Arbitration (National Uniform Legislation) Act 2011
27BRefusal or failure to attend before arbitral tribunal or to
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27B Refusal or failure to attend before arbitral tribunal or to
produce document
(1) For the purposes of this section, a person is a person in default in
relation to proceedings before an arbitral tribunal under an
arbitration agreement if the person:
(a) refuses or fails to attend before the arbitral tribunal for
examination when required under a subpoena or by the
arbitral tribunal to do so; or
(b) refuses or fails to produce a document that the person is
required under a subpoena or by the arbitral tribunal to
produce; or
(c) when appearing as a witness before the arbitral tribunal:
(i) refuses or fails to take an oath or to make an affidavit
when required by the arbitral tribunal to do so; or
(ii) refuses or fails to answer a question that the witness is
required by the arbitral tribunal to answer; or
(d) refuses or fails to do any other thing which the arbitral tribunal
may require.
(2) Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, the Court may, on the
application of a party or the arbitral tribunal, order a person in
default to do any or all of the following:
(a) attend the Court to be examined as a witness;
(b) produce the relevant document to the Court;
Part 5 Conduct of arbitral proceedings
Commercial Arbitration (National Uniform Legislation) Act 2011 26
(c) do the relevant thing.
(3) A party may only make an application to the Court under
subsection (2) with the permission of the arbitral tribunal.
(4) The Court must not make an order under subsection (2) in relation
to a person who is not a party to the arbitral proceedings unless:
(a) before the order is made, the person is given an opportunity to
make representations to the Court; and
(b) the Court is satisfied that it is reasonable in all the
circumstances to make the order.
(5) A person must not be compelled under an order made under
subsection (2) to answer any question or produce any document
which the person could not be compelled to answer or produce in a
proceeding before the Court.
(6) If the Court makes an order under subsection (2), it may in addition
make orders for the transmission to the arbitral tribunal of any of the
following:
(a) a record of any evidence given under the order;
(b) any document produced under the order or a copy of any such
document;
(c) particulars of any thing done under the order.
(7) Any evidence, document or thing transmitted under subsection (6)
is taken to have been given, produced or done (as the case
requires) in the course of the arbitral proceedings.
Note for section 27B
There is no equivalent of this section in the Model Law.