Practice Areas: International Commercial Litigation and Arbitration, Civil Litigation, Corporate Litigation, Business Torts, Class Actions, Administrative Law
Law School: Osgoode Hall, LL.B., Osgoode Hall LL.M.
Bar Admission: Ontario, 1993
Email: apribetic@smhilaw.com


Practice Profile

Practice consists of acting for a broad range of Canadian and international clients in the areas of international commercial litigation and/or arbitration, civil litigation, business torts, corporate litigation, class actions and administrative law.  Litigation management advice provided to foreign counsel with respect to the prosecution or defence of actions in Ontario, including coordination of international debt recovery efforts. Numerous reported and unreported decisions in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, Court of Appeal for Ontario, the Federal Court of Canada and various provincial and federal administrative tribunals and commissions.

Representative Cases

Scholarly Papers Visit my SSRN Author page:
http://ssrn.com/author=391200
  • "An ‘Unconventional Truth’: Conflict of Law Issues Arising under the CISG", NORDIC JOURNAL OF COMMERCIAL LAW, Issue 1, April 2009 (forthcoming).
  • “Recent Private International Law Developments Before the Supreme Court of Canada”, The Globetrotter, Ontario Bar Association-International Law Section Newsletter, Vol. 13, No. 2, March 2009.
  • “Staking Claims Against Foreign Defendants in Canada: Choice of Law and Jurisdiction Issues Arising from the In Personam Exception to theMoçambique Rule for Foreign Immovables” (2009) 35 Adv. Q. 230.
  • “'Winning is Only Half the Battle': Procedural Issues Relating to the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards”, in V.V.L. Gayathri (Ed.) INTERNATIONAL COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION- CLAIMS AND COUNTERCLAIMS, (Hyderabad, India: Amicus Books-ICFAI University Press, 2009).
  • “CASE NOTE: Opinion of Advocate General Kokott in Allianz SpA (formerly Riunione Adriatica Di Sicurta SpA) and Others v West Tankers Inc. (Case C-185/07 delivered on 4 September 2008)” Transnational Dispute Management (TDM) (2009, forthcoming) and The Globetrotter, OBA International Law Section Newsletter,Vol. 13, No. 1 (October 2008).
  • “Choice of Law in International Agreements: What Should Parties Watch For? (Canada)”, The International Commercial Practitioner, American Bar Association (ABA) publication of the International Commercial Transactions, Franchising and Distribution Committee, 5-6.
  • "All Quiet on the CISG Front: Guiliani v. Invar Manufacturing, the Battle of the Forms, and the Elusive Concept of Terminus Fixus" (2008), 46 C.B.L.J. 430 (Co-Authored with James M. Klotz and Peter Mazzacano).
  • “A Strategic Functionalist Approach to International Commercial Mediation”, (2008) ICFAI Journal of ADR, Vol. VII, No. 2, 37-58; Transnational Dispute Management (TDM) (Special Issue on Arbitrator Bias), Vol. 5, No. 4, July 2008.
  • “The Trial Warrior: Applying Sun Tzu’s The Art of War to Trial Advocacy” (2008) 45 Alta. L. Rev. 1017-1035.
  • “Time Is On My Side, Yes It Is (No It’s Not)”: Are proceedings to enforce a foreign arbitral award subject to a limitation period? CBA International Law Section Bulletin (February, 2008).
  • “The ‘Third Option’: International Commercial Mediation” (2007) World Arb. & Med. Rev. (WAMR) Vol. 1 No. 4, 563-587.
  • “Enforcing Foreign Summary/Default Judgments: The Damoclean Sword Hanging Over Pro Se Canadian Corporate Defendants? U.S.A. v. Shield Development, (2007) 7 Can. Int’l  Lawyer (No.1), 8-23; reprinted in NATURAL JUSTICE-EXPANDING HORIZONS, R. Satya Narayana (ed.) (Hyderabad, India: Amicus Books-ICFAI University Press, 2009), 192-221.
  • “‘Thinking Globally, Acting Locally’: Recent Trends in the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Canada”, in ANNUAL REVIEW OF CIVIL LITIGATION 2006, ARCHIBALD, Mr. Justice Todd L. and ECHLIN, Mr. Justice Randall (eds.) (Toronto: Carswell, 2007) pp. 141-199.
  • “‘To Boldly Go Where No One Has (Arbitrated) Before': The Star Trek Mythos as an Heuristic Paradigm for Jurisdictional and Arbitration Issues”, OBA Briefly Speaking, July/August 2007 Issue.
  • "Trial and Error--Balancing the Scales of Justice through the Doctrines of Stare Decisis and Ex Proprio Motu", OBA Civil Litigation Section Newsletter, Vol. 15, No. 3, pp. 8-11, March 2007.
  • "Cross-border High Anxiety? Offensive and Defensive Strategies in Transnational Litigation: Offensive Strategies", The Globetrotter,  Vol. 11, No. 2, pp. 6-11, March 2007; reprinted in FOREIGN JUDGEMENTS: ENFORCEABILITY, P. Satyanarayana Prasad (ed.) (Hyderabad, India: Amicus Books-ICFAI University Press, 2009).
  • “The (CISG) Road Less Travelled”:GreCon Dimter Inc. v. J.R. Normand Inc., (2006) 44 Can. Bus. L. J. 92-114; reprinted in the International Bar Association (IBA)-International Sales Newsletter, Vol. No. 26, September 2008, 7-17.
  • “‘Bringing Locus into Focus’: A Choice-of-Law Methodology for CISG-based Concurrent Contract and Product Liability Claims”, in REVIEW OF THE CONVENTION ON CONTRACTS FOR THE INTERNATIONAL SALE OF GOODS (CISG) 2004-2005, Pace International Law Review (ed.) (München: Sellier European Law Publishers, 2006), 179-223.
  • "The Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements",The Globetrotter, OBA International Law Section Newsletter, Vol. 10, No. 1, 2-5, September 2005.
  • "Strangers in a Strange Land": Transnational Litigation, Foreign Judgment Recognition, and Enforcement in Ontario, (2004) 13 J. Transnat’l L. & Pol’y 347-391.

Speaking Engagements, Conferences and Seminars

Speaker: “Application of the CISG by Default”, Presentation at the Third Quadrennial International Conference on Comparative Private International Law, Institute For Private International Law In Africa-University Of Johannesburg,  September 9-11, 2009, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Speaker:  “Application of the CISG by Default”, CISG Hot Spots for Commercial Lawyers and Litigators, CLE Program co-sponsored by the CBA Section on International Law and the OBA International Law Section, March 10, 2009, Toronto, Canada.
Guest Lecturer: Queen’s University Faculty of Law, Commercial Law: The CISG: An Overview”, Upper Year Law Course, Course Instructor: Prof. Tanya J. Monestier, November 10, 2008, Kingston, Canada.
Sessional Lecturer: “Legal Process Advanced” Course (IFA2902) Fall 2008, Diploma in Investigative & Forensic Accounting (DIFA) Capstone Program, University of Toronto at Mississauga, Ontario.
Evaluator/Judge: Diploma in Investigative & Forensic Accounting (DIFA) Capstone Program (2007, 2008), University of Toronto at Mississauga, Ontario.
Advisory Committee Member: “Crisis Litigation: The Role of The Lawyer”, International Bar Association Litigation Conference, June 19-20, 2008, Toronto, Canada.
Program Co-Chair: "International Legal Issues for Today’s Business Lawyer: Challenges and Solutions", Ontario Bar Association 2008 Institute of Continuing Legal Education, February 5, 2008, Toronto, Canada.
Guest Speaker: OBA International Law Section Program: “International Law - Sea Changes in Canadian Conflict of Laws Practice: An Update,” May 30, 2007, Toronto, Canada.
Guest Speaker: 2007 OBA Annual Institute of Continuing Legal Education-Special Event, "International Breakfast: Cross-border High Anxiety?: Offensive and Defensive Strategies in Transnational Litigation", February 7, 2007, Toronto, Canada.
Guest Lecturer: University of Western Ontario Law School, 402A Commercial Law: “The CISG-An Overview”, Upper Year Law Course, Course Instructor: Prof. Jassmine Girgis, October 2, 2006, London, Canada.
Guest Lecturer: University of Toronto Law School, Legal Process: “Where to Litigate: Jurisdiction and Forum Non Conveniens”, First Year Law Course, Course Instructor: Prof. Kenneth E. Jull, October 11, 2005; October 5, 2006, Toronto, Canada.
Moderator, Judge's Panel: “The Most Common Evidentiary Mistakes…And How to Avoid Them” 2nd Annual Conference- Evidence Law for the Civil Litigator, Osgoode Hall Law School-Professional Development Program, September 23, 2005, Toronto, Canada.
Guest Speaker: “Rule 76-Simplified Procedure”, Your First Civil Trial: Practical Tips from Top Practitioners, OBA –CLE Program (Civil Litigation Division-Young Lawyers Division), February 25, 2005, Toronto, Canada.

Professional Affiliations/Achievements

Martindale-Hubbell BV® Peer Review Rating®
(The BV® certification mark is an excellent rating for a lawyer with more experience. This is the maximum rating a lawyer can receive who has been admitted to the bar from 5-9 years. ®"CV, BV and AV are registered certification marks of Reed Elsevier Properties Inc., used in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards and policies." Rating Explanation: “Martindale-Hubbell is the facilitator of a peer review rating process. Ratings reflect the confidential opinions of members of the Bar and the Judiciary. Martindale-Hubbell Ratings fall into two categories - legal ability and general ethical standards.")
Law Society of Upper Canada (Member)
Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (Certified Member)
Canadian Bar Association/ Ontario Bar Association
CBA International Dispute Resolution Committee (National Section)
OBA International Law Section (Vice-Co-Chair)
OBA Civil Litigation Section (Member)
Canadian Council of International Law (Member)
American Bar Association (Associate Member)
Section of Litigation (Business Torts Litigation; Commercial and Business Litigation; Trial Practice)
Section of International Law (Steering Committee Member-Canada Committee,
International Litigation Committee and International Commercial Dispute Resolution Committee); (International Antitrust Law Committee, International Commercial Transactions, Franchising and Distribution Committee, International Courts Committee, Private International Law Coordinating Committee, UN and International Institutions Coordinating Committee)
Section of Business Law-Committee on International Law (International Dispute Resolution, International Trade Law and Multinational Corporations sub- committees)
Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section
American Society of International Law (Member)
Dispute Resolution Interest Group
International Law in Domestic Courts Interest Group
International Legal Theory Interest Group
International Organizations Interest Group
Private International Law Interest Group)
International Law Association (Member: Canadian Branch)
International Bar Association (Member)
Public and Professional Interest Division (PPID) (Forum for Barristers and Advocates), Legal Practice Division (LPD) Corporate Law Section (Closely Held and Growing Business Enterprises)
Dispute Resolution Section (Arbitration, Litigation) International Sales, Franchising and Product Law Section (International Sales)
Regional Fora North American Regional Forum
Croatian American Bar Association (Member)

Languages: English, Croatian (conversational)