Zodiak International v. Polish People's Republic

[1983] 1 SCR 529 Court SCC Decision date 1983-05-17 Docket 16739 English

PartiesZodiak International Productions Inc. Appellant

Counsel (4)

Gordon Zelman, for the appellant.
Jan Zascinski, for the respondent.
Solicitors for the appellant: Mendelson, Gross, Pinsky, Dizgun, Zelman, Montreal.
Solicitor for the respondent: Jan Zascinski, Montreal.

Judges Laskin, Bora; Dickson, Robert George Brian; Beetz, Jean; Estey, Willard Zebedee; McIntyre, William Rogers; Chouinard, Julien; Wilson, Bertha

Decision Majority (7) · Judgment of the Court

On appeal from Quebec

Subjects Civil procedure Contract

Majority

English version of the judgment of the Court delivered by

Judgment of the Court

a complete undertaking to arbitrate is invalid in Quebec law;

the undertaking to arbitrate stipulated in the contract at bar is not a complete undertaking to arbitrate;

the declinatory exception is tardy and should be dismissed on that account;

the judgment dismissing the declinatory exception was not appealable to the Court of Appeal;

the undertaking to arbitrate provided for foreign arbitration and the arbitration award which resulted from that arbitration is subject to the rules of the Code of Civil Procedure regarding the exemplification of judgments: if these rules are not complied with the award is not enforceable;

the arbitration was conducted in an unfair manner contrary to the most elementary rules of public order, and the arbitration and the award are without effect.