Made 13th September, 1962
Last amended 15th June, 2001
In force 1st September, 2001
Section 1. [Purpose of these Rules]
These Rules apply to arbitrations to be held at The Japan
Shipping Exchange, Inc. (hereinafter referred to as "the JSE").
Section 2. [Tribunal of Arbitrators]
(1) Arbitration described in the preceding Section shall be
performed by the Tribunal of Arbitrators (including the case of a
sole arbitrator, hereinafter referred to as "the Tribunal") to be
constituted by arbitrators appointed in accordance with Section 14
hereof.
(2) The Tribunal shall perform arbitration independently of the
JSE and the Tokyo Maritime Arbitration Commission (hereinafter
referred to as "the TOMAC") .
Section 3. [Relation between an Arbitration Agreement and these
Rules]
Where the parties to a dispute have, by an arbitration agreement
entered into between them or by an arbitration clause contained in
any other contract between them, stipulated that any dispute shall
be referred to arbitration of the JSE or arbitration in accordance
with its rules, these Rules (or whichever version of these Rules is
in force at the time the application for arbitration is referred)
shall be deemed to constitute part of such arbitration agreement or
arbitration clause.
Section 4. [Secretariat of Arbitration]
The Secretariat of the JSE shall assume and conduct for the
TOMAC or the Tribunal all business provided for in these Rules or
directed by the TOMAC or the Tribunal.
Section 5. [Documents to be Filed for Application for
Arbitration]
(1) Any party desirous to apply for arbitration (hereinafter
referred to as "the Claimant") shall file with the TOMAC the
following documents:
1. Two (2) originals of Statement of Claim;
2. A document evidencing the agreement that any disputes shall
be referred to arbitration of the JSE or arbitration in accordance
with its rules;
3. Documents in support of his claim, if any;
4. Where a party is a body corporate, a document evidencing the
capacity of its representative;
5. Where an agent or attorney is nominated by the Claimant, a
document empowering that person to act on behalf of the
Claimant.
(2) The documents under the preceding Sub-Section shall be
submitted in the number of copies as instructed by the
Secretariat.
Section 6. [Particulars to be Specified in Statement of
Claim]
The following items must be particularized in the Statement of
Claim:
1. The names and addresses of the parties (in case of a body
corporate, the address of its head office or main place of
business, its name, the name of the representative and its
capacity);
2. The preferred place of arbitration;
3. The factual substance and grounds of the claim.
Section 7. [Acceptance of Application for Arbitration]
(1) Where the Secretariat has acknowledged that the application
for arbitration conforms with the requirements of the preceding two
(2) Sections, the Secretariat shall accept it, provided that where
special circumstances are acknowledged, the Secretariat may accept
the application for arbitration on condition that the documents
required in Nos. 3 to 5 of Section 5 shall be filed later.
(2) The date when the Secretariat accepts the application for
arbitration in accordance with the preceding Sub-Section shall be
deemed to be the date of commencement of the arbitration
proceedings.
Section 8. [Attempt of Conciliation]
(1) The Secretariat may, after it accepted the application for
arbitration, recommend the parties to first conciliate the dispute
which is the subject of arbitration.
(2) Where the parties agree to conciliate their dispute in
accordance with the preceding Sub-Section, TOMAC suspends the
arbitration proceedings until the termination of conciliation
proceedings.
(3) The conciliation shall be conducted by one conciliator, who
shall be appointed by Chairman of TOMAC, within 60 days from the
day on which the above agreement is reached between the
parties.
(4) The conciliation proceedings shall be in accordance with the
Conciliation Rules of the JSE (hereinafter referred to as the
"Conciliation Rules") unless otherwise provided for in this
Section.
(5) If the dispute is resolved by conciliation, the Filing Fee
for arbitration shall be appropriated as part of the preliminary
investigation fee and conciliation fee under the Conciliation
Rules.
(6) The conciliator may become an arbitrator in the arbitration
proceedings subsequent to the failure of the conciliation attempt
only if the parties so agree.
(7) The Arbitration Fee for the resumed arbitration proceedings
shall be the sum in accordance with the Tariff of Fees for
Arbitration, minus the conciliation fee if paid.
Section 9. [Instruction for Filing of Defense and Supplementary
Statements]
(1) Where the Secretariat has accepted the application for
arbitration, it shall forward to the other party (hereinafter
referred to as "the Respondent") an original of the Statement of
Claim together with the respective copies of the documentary
evidence submitted, and shall instruct the Respondent to send to
the Secretariat and the Claimant respectively the Defense and
documents in support of the defense (if any) within twenty-one (21)
days from the day of receipt of such instruction, provided that an
allowance of a reasonable longer period will be granted to the
Respondent where its address, its head office or main place of
business is located in a foreign country, or special circumstances
are acknowledged.
(2) Where the Respondent nominates its agent, the Respondent
shall file, on filing of the Defense, a document empowering the
agent to act on its behalf.
(3) When the Claimant has received the Defense and documentary
evidence (if any), the Claimant shall, if it has any objection to
the Defense, send to the Secretariat and the Respondent
respectively within fourteen (14) days from the day of receipt
thereof its Supplementary Statement and further documentary
evidence, if any.
(4) In the event of any further Supplementary Statement and
documentary evidence being filed, the procedures provided in the
preceding Sub-Section shall be repeated.
(5) The Defense, Supplementary Statements and documentary
evidence may be submitted via e-mail or fax, provided that the
sending party shall bear the burden of proving that the copies are
identical to the originals and that it has in fact forwarded those
to the other party.
(6) The documents under this Section shall be submitted in the
number of copies as instructed by the Secretariat.
Section 10. [Service of Documents]
Documents relating to arbitration shall, unless handed in person
to the other party or his agent, be served to the address of the
party indicated in the Statement of Claim, to the address of his
agent or to the place which the party designates.
Section 11. [Counterclaim by the Respondent]
(1) If the Respondent wishes to apply for arbitration of a
counterclaim arising out of the same cause or matter, as a rule, he
must do so within the period stipulated in Section 9(1).
(2) Counterclaim applications made within the period specified
in the preceding Sub-Section shall, in principle, be heard
concurrently with the arbitration applied for by the Claimant.
Section 12. [Amendment of the Claim]
Amendment of the claim (if any) must be made prior to
appointment of the arbitrators, with the exception, however, where
approval of the Tribunal is obtained, even after the arbitrators
are appointed.
Section 13. [Place of Arbitration]
(1) Arbitration shall be performed in Tokyo or Kobe.
(2) Where no place of arbitration is designated in the
arbitration agreement or the arbitration clause, Tokyo shall be the
place of arbitration.
(3) Where it is not clear whether the arbitration agreement or
the arbitration clause designates Tokyo or Kobe as the place of
arbitration, and no mutual consent of the parties is obtained,
arbitration shall be performed in Tokyo.
Section 14. [Appointment of Arbitrators]
(1) The arbitrator(s) shall be appointed from among the persons
who are listed on the Panel of TOMAC Arbitrators and who have no
connection with either of the parties or with the matter in
dispute. However, TOMAC may appoint a person or persons not on the
Panel if TOMAC deems such appointment necessary.
(2) The Claimant may, when filing its Application for
Arbitration, and the Respondent may, when sending its Defense,
inform the Secretariat of preferred nominations of up to seven (7)
arbitrators respectively (hereinafter referred to as "the
nominees") who may satisfy the requirements in the text of the
preceding Sub-Section. The parties must not however contact the
preferred nominees as regards the matter in dispute.
(3) Where the parties have informed of the nominees in
accordance with the preceding Sub-Section, TOMAC shall appoint one
arbitrator from each set of the nominees and a further third
arbitrator. In case the parties agree to nominate one person and
have no objection to a sole arbitrator, TOMAC may appoint such
nominee as a sole arbitrator.
Where the parties do not provide nominees, or where TOMAC deems
it inappropriate to appoint arbitrators from among the nominees,
TOMAC shall appoint either a sole or three arbitrators taking into
account the further preferences of the parties.
(4) Appointment of arbitrators shall be made by consultations of
Chairman and Vice-Chairmen of TOMAC.
(5) Where appointment was made in accordance with the preceding
Sub-Section, the Secretariat shall advise the parties of the names
and resumes of the arbitrators.
Section 15. [Appointment of Substitute Arbitrators]
(1) Where a vacancy occurs amongst the arbitrators due to death,
resignation or other reasons, a substitute arbitrator shall be
appointed in accordance with the provisions of the preceding
Section.
(2) In the case of the preceding Sub-Section, the Tribunal shall
determine whether any prior hearings shall be repeated.
Section 16. [Obligations and Punitive Provisions for
Arbitrators]
(1) Arbitrators shall carry out their duties fairly and justly,
treating the parties equally.
(2) Arbitrators shall not privately associate with the parties,
their agents or other related persons in regard to the matter in
question.
(3) Arbitrators shall not reveal to third parties the contents
of the arbitration, the names of the parties or anything else
related to the matter in question.
(4) An arbitrator in violation of any of the preceding three (3)
Sub-Sections shall resign immediately.
(5) The TOMAC may remove the arbitrator in the preceding
Sub-Section from the Panel of Arbitrators.
Section 17. [Disclosure by Arbitrators]
(1) Arbitrators appointed in accordance with Sections 14 or 15,
shall, within seven (7) days of being appointed, provide to the
TOMAC a document indicating any circumstances which may give rise
to doubts concerning their impartiality or independence, and the
Secretariat shall forward copies of same to the parties.
(2) The disclosure in the preceding Sub-Section shall include
whether the arbitrator has any close personal, commercial or other
relationship with the following:
1. Parties to the arbitration
2. Subsidiary companies or other companies related to the
parties
3. Parties' agents
4. Other appointed arbitrators
(3) When a party does not file a motion to challenge the
appointment of the arbitrator within seven (7) days from the day of
receipt of the disclosure document in the preceding Sub-Section
(1), it shall be deemed that the party has no objection to the
disclosure in the preceding two (2) Sub-Sections.
Section 18. [Challenge to an Arbitrator]
(1) Where a party desires to challenge the appointment of an
arbitrator, it must do so by making a motion of challenge to the
TOMAC in writing showing the name of the arbitrator to be
challenged and the reason for challenge.
(2) Where the motion of the preceding Sub-Section is made, the
arbitration proceedings shall be suspended until the advice
provided in Sub-Section (4) of this Section is given.
The TOMAC shall constitute an Arbitrator Challenge Review
Committee of three (3) persons whom TOMAC shall, by consultations
of Chairman and Vice-Chairmen, appoint from among those on the
Panel of Members of the TOMAC to decide whether the challenge to
the arbitrator shall be accepted or dismissed.
(3) Where the aforesaid Committee decides that the challenge to
the arbitrator is reasonable, a substitute arbitrator shall be
appointed in accordance with the provisions of Section 15.
(4) Where a substitute arbitrator is appointed in accordance
with the preceding Sub-Section or where the aforesaid Committee
concludes that the challenge to the arbitrator is not reasonable,
the Secretariat shall so advise the parties.
(5) In the case where a challenge has been filed, the arbitrator
may voluntarily resign from the matter. However, in such a case it
shall not be deemed that the challenge was a reasonable one.
Section 19. [Parties' Obligations]
(1) The parties must follow the instructions the Tribunal gives
for the purpose of facilitating the arbitration proceedings.
(2) Where a party, whether willfully or in gross negligence,
fails to submit its statements or documentary evidence within a
reasonable period or delays in applying for the hearing of a
witness or expert witness such that the Tribunal deems it to
unreasonably delay the conclusion of the proceedings, the Tribunal
may dismiss such submission or application.
(3) The arbitration proceedings and record are not public
information and the parties, their agents or any other persons
concerned shall not reveal to third parties the contents of the
arbitration, the names of the parties or anything else related to
the pending matter in question.
Section 20. [Hearings]
(1) The Tribunal shall conduct the hearing in the presence of
all parties. However, where the Tribunal deems it necessary,
separate hearings may be held for the parties.
(2) The Tribunal shall fix the date and time (hereinafter
referred to as "the fixed date") and the place for the hearing, and
give notice thereof to the parties at least seven (7) days prior to
the fixed date, unless prevented by special circumstances.
Section 21. [Appearance of Parties, Witnesses, etc.]
(1) The parties (in case of a body corporate, representative
thereof) or their agents must appear in person before the Tribunal
at the fixed date, in order to gain hearing.
(2) Where any party wishes to have the person in charge of the
matter in dispute appear at the hearing, it must submit to the
Tribunal a document empowering such person to act on its
behalf.
(3) The parties may bring their witnesses or expert witnesses
before the Tribunal at the fixed date, in order to evidence their
claim or statement.
(4) The parties must advise the Secretariat in writing, prior to
the fixed date, of the names of the parties, agents, witnesses or
expert witnesses who are expected to appear, and in case of
witnesses or expert witnesses, the contents of testimonies or
appraisals to be given by them.
(5) Where the Tribunal is unable to hold a hearing consequent
upon the non-appearance of a party or agent thereof at the fixed
date, the Tribunal may make its award on the basis of the
documentary evidence or other documents filed by the party.
(6) The Tribunal may, after taking into consideration the views
of the parties, hold a hearing of any of the parties, agents,
witnesses or expert witnesses, who are unable to attend because of
illness, inconvenient location of residence or other unavoidable
reasons, in such a manner as to enable the absentee and all the
attendees to communicate with each other through two-way
telecommunications technology. In this case, the person who has
provided evidence through telecommunications shall be deemed to
have attended the hearing.
Section 22. [Hearings, etc. of Witnesses by the Tribunal]
The Tribunal may, irrespective of there being any request by
either party, request from the witnesses or expert witnesses their
voluntary appearance, or from the parties presentation of further
documents, and examine them by hearing and in any other way, in
order to elucidate the points in dispute.
Section 23. [Pronouncement of Conclusion of Hearings]
The Tribunal shall pronounce the conclusion of hearings when the
Tribunal deems it appropriate. But the Tribunal may, if the
Tribunal deems it necessary, re-open the hearing at any time before
an award is given.
Section 24. [Immunity of the TOMAC and the Arbitrators]
The TOMAC, the Arbitrators and the Secretariat have complete
civil immunity from liability regarding the arbitration proceedings
and the arbitration award.
Section 25. [Language]
The language employed in the Statement of Claim, the Defense,
the Supplementary Statements, the hearings and the arbitration
award in domestic arbitrations shall be the Japanese language, and
that in international arbitrations shall, as a rule, be the English
language. However, except where the Tribunal has specified
otherwise, it is not necessary to translate documentary
evidence.
Section 26. [Interpreting]
The parties who will need interpreters at the hearings may, at
their own expense, arrange for interpreters to be present at the
hearings.
Section 27. [Mediation]
(1) The parties shall be allowed to settle the dispute amicably
during the course of the arbitration proceedings.
(2) The Tribunal may, at any stage of the arbitration
proceedings, mediate between the parties for the whole or a part of
the dispute.
(3) In case mediation conducted in accordance with the preceding
Sub-Section fails, the Tribunal resumes the arbitration
proceedings, provided however that it must not issue an award based
on any of the information it gained during the mediation
proceedings.
Section 28. [Dismissal of Application for Arbitration or Other
Decisions]
In any of the following cases the Tribunal may, without
examining the contents of the dispute, dismiss the application for
arbitration or make such other decisions as it deems fit:
1. Where it is found that the arbitration agreement is not
lawfully made or is void, or the said agreement is canceled;
2. Where it is found that either of the parties is not lawfully
represented or his agent has no authority to act on his behalf;
3. Where both parties fail to appear without cause at the fixed
date for hearing;
4. Where both parties fail to comply with such directions or
requirement of the Tribunal as it deems necessary for a proper
performance of the arbitration proceedings;
5. Where the Tribunal finds that the Claimant has wrongfully
delayed the speedy prosecution of the arbitration proceedings
(where the Respondent has filed a counterclaim the same applies to
the Respondent's counterclaim).
Section 29. [Assessment of Damages]
Where it is recognized that a loss was incurred, but it is
extremely difficult to prove the amount of the loss due to the
nature of such loss, the Tribunal may assess a reasonable amount on
the basis of the results of examination.
Section 30. [When Award Given]
Where the Tribunal has pronounced the conclusion of hearings in
accordance with Section 23, it shall in principle within thirty
(30) days thereof give its award.
Section 31. [How Award, etc. to be Determined]
The award and other decisions by multiple arbitrators must be
made by majority voting of the arbitrators.
Section 32. [Written Award and Items to be Described]
(1) When the Tribunal decides its award, it shall be in writing
and shall include the following items, and shall be signed and
sealed by all the arbitrators. However, where for an unavoidable
reason an arbitrator cannot sign or seal the award, this fact shall
be noted on the award and the arbitrator's signature and seal shall
be omitted:
1. The names and addresses of the parties (in case of a body
corporate, the address of its head office or main place of
business, its name, the name of the representative and the
capacity), and in case an agent is nominated, its name;
2. The decision given;
3. The summary of the facts and points at issue;
4. The reason for the decision;
5. The date on which the written award is prepared;
6. The costs of arbitration and proportion thereof to be borne
by respective parties;
7. The competent court (Tokyo District Court or Kobe District
Court, same shall apply hereunder).
(2) The Tribunal may omit No. 4 of the preceding Sub-Section,
when the consent of both parties is obtained.
Section 33. [Amicable Settlement of Dispute]
Where both parties have settled amicably the whole or part of
the dispute by themselves during the process of the arbitration
proceedings, the Tribunal may, so far as request is made to do so
by both parties, describe the contents of the settlement in the
text of the award.
Section 34. [Service and Deposit of the Award]
Authentic copies of the award signed and sealed by the
arbitrators shall be served on the parties by the Secretariat or
the competent court and the original text thereof shall be
deposited by the Secretariat with the competent court in accordance
with Section 799(2) of the Law of Public Notice Procedure and
Arbitration Procedure.
Section 35. [Rectification of Errors on the Award]
If any miscalculation, mistyping, miswriting or any other
apparent error is discovered on the face of the written award
within thirty (30) days after its service, the Tribunal may rectify
it.
Section 36. [Publication of the Award]
The award given by the Tribunal may be published unless both
parties beforehand communicate their objections.
Section 37. [Documents not Returnable]
Documents filed by the parties shall, as a rule, not be
returned. Where any document is desired to be returned, it must be
marked to that effect at the time of its filing, and a copy thereof
must be attached thereto.
Section 38. [Costs of Arbitration]
(1) The Claimant shall pay a Filing Fee of One Hundred Thousand
Japanese Yen (¥100,000) to the Secretariat on its application for
arbitration. This provision shall also apply where an application
for counterclaim is filed.
(2) Each party shall, within seven (7) days after the receipt of
notice from the Secretariat, pay to the Secretariat the fee
(hereinafter referred to as "the Arbitration Fee") which the
Tribunal shall determine in accordance with the Tariff of Fees for
Arbitration.
When no amount of claim can be stated at the time of filing, the
Tribunal shall determine the Arbitration Fee taking into
consideration the contents of the claim, subject to adjustment in
accordance with the Tariff of Fees for Arbitration as soon as an
amount can be disclosed.
In case the amount of claim cannot be finally disclosed, the
Arbitration Fee as provided in the foregoing paragraph shall be
deemed the final one.
(3) Where the sum claimed is in a foreign currency, such sum
shall, for the purpose of calculating the prescribed Arbitration
Fee of the preceding Sub-Section, be converted into Japanese
currency by calculation at the average rate on the Tokyo Foreign
Exchange Market on the date when the application is filed.
(4) Where the Respondent files his application for arbitration
of a counterclaim and the Tribunal considers that such arbitration
can be performed concurrently with the Claimant's application, the
amounts claimed and counterclaimed respectively shall be aggregated
and the aggregate sum shall be taken as the amount of claim in the
Tariff of Fees for Arbitration.
(5) The Tribunal may direct the Claimant to pay the Arbitration
Fee due from the Respondent on his behalf.
(6) Where the number of hearings held exceeds four (4),
beginning with the fifth (5th) hearing, each party must pay a fee
of Fifty Thousand Japanese Yen (¥50,000) per additional hearing to
the Secretariat. Regardless, however, of the number of hearings
held on one (1) day, hearings held on one (1) calendar day shall be
counted cumulatively as only one (1) hearing.
(7) The expenses caused by the particular nature of the subject
of dispute and the expenses incurred on account of calling for
witnesses or expert witnesses by requirement of the Tribunal shall
be additionally paid by the parties.
(8) The Filing Fee shall not be returned after the application
for arbitration is accepted.
The Tribunal may return a part of the Arbitration Fee, so far as
such partial amount of the Arbitration Fee has been decided to be
returned by the Tribunal, on the ground that the application for
arbitration was abandoned or the dispute was settled by
mediation.
(9) Each party shall pay the consumption tax imposed on the
amount of the each fee as provided in the foregoing (1) to (7).
Section 39. [Apportionment of Costs of Arbitration]
The costs of arbitration shall be paid from the Filing Fee and
Arbitration Fee paid to the Secretariat under the preceding Section
and the ratio in which they shall be borne by the parties shall be
decided by the Tribunal.
Section 40. [Remunerations for Arbitrators]
The remunerations for arbitrators shall be paid out of the
Arbitration Fee of Section 38. The amount of the said remunerations
shall be determined by consultations of Chairman and Vice-Chairmen
of the TOMAC considering the degree of difficulty of the case and
other circumstances.
Section 41. [TOMAC] Matters relating to the TOMAC shall be
provided for in the Rules of the Tokyo Maritime Arbitration
Commission.
Section 42. [Interpretation of these Rules]
The Tribunal shall determine the interpretation of these Rules
and the procedural matters not provided for in these Rules.
Section 43. [Amendment of these Rules]
Any amendment of these Rules shall be made by the TOMAC at the
initiative of Chairman of the TOMAC.
Section 44. [Bylaws]
Bylaws shall be made to put these Rules into practice.
Supplementary Provisions (15th June, 2001)
Section 1. These Rules shall be put into force as from 1st
September, 2001.
Section 2. The former Rules shall apply to the case of which
application for arbitration is filed prior to the enforcement of
these Rules.
The Tariff of Fees for Ordinary Arbitration
The amount of the Arbitration Fee to be paid by each party shall
be as follows:
When the amount of claim is ¥ 20,000,000 or less, the fee is ¥
450,000;
When the amount of claim exceeds ¥ 20,000,000 but is ¥
120,000,000 or less, the fee is the fee to be paid for ¥ 20,000,000
plus ¥ 10,000 for each additional ¥ 1,000,000;
When the amount of claim exceeds ¥ 120,000,000, the fee is the
fee to be paid for ¥ 120,000,000 plus ¥ 20,000 for each additional
¥ 10,000,000.