Title 7 — Judiciary and Civil Procedure

(a) Subject to the provisions of this Chapter 42A, the parties are free to agree on the procedure to be followed by the arbitral tribunal in conducting the proceedings. (b) Failing such agreement, the arbitral tribunal may, subject to the provisions of this Chapter 42A, conduct t…

COL412014 (a) The parties are free to agree on the location of arbitration within Guam. (b) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (a) of this Section, the arbitral tribunal may, unless otherwise objected to by the parties, meet at any place it considers appropriate for cons…

Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, the arbitral proceedings in respect of a particular dispute commence on the date on which a request for that dispute to be referred to arbitration is received by: (a) the institution nominated by the parties. Such a request must include a d…

(a) The parties are free to agree on the language or languages to be used in the arbitral proceedings. Failing such agreement, the arbitral tribunal shall determine the language or languages to be used in the proceedings. This agreement or determination, unless otherwise specifie…

(a) Within the period of time agreed by the parties or determined by the arbitral tribunal, the claimant shall state the facts supporting his or her claim, the points at issue and the relief or remedy sought, and the respondent shall state his or her defense in respect of these p…

(a) Subject to any contrary agreement by the parties, the arbitral tribunal shall decide whether to hold oral hearings for the presentation of evidence or for oral argument, or whether the proceedings shall be conducted on the basis of documents and other materials. However, unle…

Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, if, without showing sufficient cause, (a) the claimant fails to communicate his or her statement of claim in accordance with Section 42A506(a) , the arbitral tribunal shall terminate the proceedings; (b) the respondent fails to communicate …

(a) Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, the arbitral tribunal: (1) may appoint one or more experts to report to it on specific issues to be determined by the arbitral tribunal; or (2) may require a party to give the expert any relevant information or to produce, or to provide…

The arbitral tribunal or a party with the approval of the arbitral tribunal may request from a competent court of Guam assistance in taking evidence. The court may execute the request within its competence and according to its rules on taking evidence.

The arbitrators selected, either as prescribed in this Chapter 42A or otherwise, or a majority of them, may summon, in writing, any person to attend before them or any of them as a witness at a time and place therein specified. The fees for such attendance shall be the same as th…

The parties may appear in person or be represented or assisted by any person of their choice. A person assisting or representing a party is required to be licensed to practice law in at least one State. ---------- ARTICLE 6 MAKING OF AWARD AND TERMINATION OF PROCEEDINGS

(a) The arbitral tribunal shall decide the dispute in accordance with such rules of law as are chosen by the parties as applicable to the substance of the dispute. Any designation of the law or legal system of a given State shall be construed, unless otherwise expressed, as direc…

In arbitral proceedings with more than one arbitrator, any decision of the arbitral tribunal shall be made, unless otherwise agreed by the parties, by a majority of all its members. However, questions of procedure may be decided by a presiding arbitrator, if so authorized by the …

(a) If, during arbitral proceedings, the parties settle the dispute, the arbitral tribunal shall terminate the proceedings and, if requested by the parties and not objected to by the arbitral tribunal, record the settlement in the form of an arbitral award on agreed terms. (b) An…

(a) The award shall be made in writing and shall be signed by the arbitrator or arbitrators. In arbitral proceedings with more than one arbitrator, the signatures of the majority of all members of the arbitral tribunal shall suffice, provided that the reason for any omitted signa…

(a) The arbitral proceedings are terminated by the final award or by an order of the arbitral tribunal in accordance with Paragraph (b) of this Section. (b) The arbitral tribunal shall issue an order for the termination of the arbitral proceedings when: COL412014 (1) the claimant…

(a) Within thirty days of receipt of the award, unless another period of time has been agreed upon by the parties: (1) a party, with notice to the other party, may request the arbitral tribunal to correct in the award any errors in computation, any clerical or typographical error…

Arbitral Award. (a) This Section only applies where the place of the arbitration is Guam and neither the Federal Arbitration Act nor the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards apply. (b) In any of the following cases the court may make a…

Motions; Judgment; Docketing; Force and Effect; Enforcement. (a) This Section only applies where the place of the arbitration is Guam and neither the Federal Arbitration Act nor the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards apply. (b) If th…

Vessel or Property. § 42A801.Proceedings Begun by Libel in Admiralty and Seizure of Vessel or Property. If the basis of jurisdiction be a cause of action otherwise justiciable in admiralty, then, notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the party claiming to be aggrieved …

(a) The Supreme Court of Guam is authorized to establish and promulgate rules and procedures for arbitration for such civil actions, except custody cases in which the authority is separately provided for, as the Supreme Court of Guam finds appropriate in order to encourage the pr…

Dispute Resolution Programs. Court-referred arbitration and other alternative dispute resolution programs should be accessible to all parties regardless of financial status and the Judicial Council may adopt and levy fees to implement provisions of this Chapter 42B.

(a) An arbitral award resulting from a Court-referred arbitration shall be final unless a request for a de novo trial is filed within thirty days after the date the arbitrator files the award with the court. (b) Any party may elect to have a de novo trial, by court or jury, as th…

Arbitration Award for Party Electing; Payment of Nonrefundable Costs and Fee. (a) If the judgment upon the trial de novo is not more favorable in either the amount of damages awarded or the type of relief granted for the party electing the trial de novo than the court-referred ar…

Book; Force and Effect. All arbitration awards resulting from court-referred arbitration shall be in writing, signed by the arbitrator and filed in the court in which the action is pending. Such an award shall conform with the requirements of Section 42A604 of this Chapter 42A. I…

Trial; Grounds for New Trial. Any reference to the court-referred arbitration proceedings or court- referred arbitration award during any subsequent trial shall constitute grounds for a new trial and/or amendment of judgment for the purposes of Guam Rule of Civil Procedure 59.

Entity as Party. This Article shall apply to any civil action otherwise within the scope of this Chapter 42B in which a party to the action is a public agency or public entity but shall not waiver the limits on liability of a public agency or public entity otherwise provided by l…

Payment. (a) All costs of court-referred arbitrations conducted pursuant to Section 42B101(a), including the compensation of arbitrators, shall be paid for in equal shares by the parties, unless the Superior Court of Guam determines that the imposition of these costs would create…

This Chapter may be cited as the “Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2022.”

I Liheslaturan Guåhan finds that on March 3, 2022, President Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. enacted U.S. Public Law No. 117-90, the “Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021,” into law. Public Law No. 117-90 prohibits the enforcement of mandatory,…

For the purposes of this Chapter: (a) The term predispute arbitration agreement means any agreement to arbitrate a dispute that had not yet arisen at the time of the making of the agreement. (b) The term predispute joint-action waiver means an agreement, whether or not part of a …

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, at the election of the person alleging conduct constituting a sexual assault dispute or sexual harassment dispute, or the named representative of a class or in a collective action alleging such conduct, no predispute arbitration agreeme…

Determination of Applicability. An issue as to whether this Chapter applies with respect to a dispute shall be determined under federal law. The applicability of this Chapter to an agreement to arbitrate and the validity and enforceability of an agreement to which this Chapter ap…

[Repealed, reserved, or text not separately stated.]

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This Chapter 43A shall be known as and may be cited as the Guam Mediation Chapter.

For purposes of this Chapter 43A, the following terms apply: (a) Mediation means a process in which a neutral person or persons facilitate communication between the disputants to assist them in reaching a mutually acceptable agreement. (b) Mediator means a neutral person who cond…

Mediate. An agreement in a writing to settle a controversy by mediation shall be valid, irrevocable, and enforceable, save upon such grounds as exist at law or in equity for the revocation of any contract.

The mediator or mediators may conduct the mediation proceedings in such a manner as they consider appropriate. Except as otherwise provided in this Chapter 43A, other provisions of this Code, the Guam Rules of Evidence (Title 6 of the Guam Code Annotated), or the Guam Rules of Co…

The parties may appear in person or be represented or assisted by any person of their choice. A person assisting or representing a party need not be a member of the legal profession or licensed to practice law in Guam.

Period. Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, the agreement to submit a dispute to mediation shall be deemed an agreement between or among those parties to stay all judicial or arbitral proceedings from the commencement of mediation until the termination of mediation proceeding…

All applicable limitation periods, including periods of prescription, shall be tolled or extended upon the commencement of mediation proceedings to mediate a dispute under this Chapter 43A and all limitation periods shall remain tolled and periods of prescription extended as to a…

Mediation. By submitting to mediation, no party shall be deemed to have waived any rights or remedies which that party would have had if mediation had not been initiated, other than those set forth in any mediation settlement agreement which results from the mediation or as other…

When persons agree to participate in mediation under this Chapter 43A: (a) Evidence of anything said or of any admission made in the course of the mediation is not admissible in evidence, and disclosure of any such evidence shall not be compelled, in any civil or criminal COL4120…