The tremendous increase in trade in recent years through the ports of Florida,
including Miami and Port Everglades, and the increasingly important role of Miami as the
financial and cultural capital of Latin America, inspired a group of maritime executives
and lawyers to organize the Miami Maritime Arbitration Council ("MMAC"). The
goal of the Council is to assist in obtaining fair, confidential and inexpensive
resolutions to maritime disputes, both domestic and international.
The Council's Board of Directors has published Rules of Procedure
based on the arbitration rules promulgated over twenty years ago by the United Nations
Committee on International Trade Law and which have proved to be a time-tested and
efficient framework for dispute resolution. A group of approximately thirty maritime
executives and attorneys, all of whom were trained or experienced (or both) in arbitration
procedures and all of whom have had substantial careers in various segments of the
maritime industry, were assembled. This group comprises our Roster of Arbitrators, whose
biographies can be reviewed prior to the appointment of arbitrators by the parties.
In addition to comprehensive Rules and an experienced Roster of Arbitrators, MMAC
offers an incomparable setting for arbitrations, particularly those involving commercial
disputes where one or more parties do business in the Western Hemisphere.
The Council is also well-equipped to provide assistance in resolving disputes to all
members of the recreational boating industry, of which Florida is the nation's capital.
The Council encourages members of the maritime industry to place the Council's
Arbitration Clause in all their maritime contracts to ensure resolution of any disputes
fairly and inexpensively by knowledgeable arbitrators in a setting most conducive to those
ends. The Council looks forward to serving you.
Sincerely,
Bruce A. McAllister, Chairman
Click Here for The Arbitration clauses recommended by the Miami
Maritime Arbitration Council.
The Miami Maritime Arbitration Council
The Miami Maritime Arbitration Council has established, maintains, and
administers a system for settlement, by arbitration or mediation, of maritime commercial
disputes.
The Council provides service to parties who request mediation or arbitration in
accordance with the Rules of the Council. Arbitrations are
conducted by arbitrators who are specially selected by the parties or by the Council in
accordance with its Rules of Procedure, utilizing existing panels of highly qualified
individuals who render awards on the merits of disputes.
Organization
Additionally, the Council lends its good offices to mediation or
resolution by other means of misunderstandings and trade disputes.
The Rules of Procedure printed in this booklet are the official rules of the Miami
Maritime Arbitration Council as of September 1996. They have the substantive provisions of
the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules (developed by the United Nations Commission on
International Trade Law and recommended by the General Assembly on December 15, 1976) and
have been adapted to the institutional requirements of the Miami Maritime Arbitration
Council.
Instructions for Proceeding Under the Rules
The parties shall be deemed to have made these rules a part of their
arbitration agreement whenever they have provided for arbitration by the Miami Maritime
Arbitration Council or under its Rules. When parties agree to arbitrate under these Rules
or when they provide for arbitration by the Miami Maritime Arbitration Council and an
arbitration is initiated thereunder, they thereby designate the Miami Maritime Arbitration
Council the administrator of the arbitration. The authority and obligations of the
administrator are prescribed in the agreement of the parties and in these rules.
A party who desires to initiate an arbitration should give a notice of arbitration to
the other party or parties as described in Article 3 of the Rules of Procedure. The
initiating party shall file with the Council at its office two copies of said notice,
together with two copies of the contract or such parts thereof as relate to the dispute,
including the arbitration provision. The Council shall give notice of such filing to the
other party.
When a party initiates an arbitration under these Rules, the Council, and or the
arbitrator(s) after appointment, shall provide administrative services to facilitate the
conduct of the case. Such services include scheduling and making physical arrangements for
hearings, issuing notices and orders when required, arranging fees of arbitrators, and
performing other services.
These administrative services help to assure efficient handling of the necessary
details of the arbitration.
A party may request the Council to appoint arbitrators in accordance with Articles 6
and 7 of the Rules of Procedure and to perform various other functions set forth in those
rules.
A party who desires to communicate with the Council may do so through the Council's
Executive Director at:
Miami Maritime Arbitration Council, Inc.
269 Giralda Ave., Suite 302
Coral Gables, Florida 33134
Telephone 305/856-0206 or fax 305/443-5040
email to: nmorgan@marinecouncil.com
Marine Council 
