ZAMBIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Mweshi Banda-Mutuna, Musenge Leah Nkonde and Lumbanya Judah Mulenga, Mweshi Banda & Associates Legal Practitioners
3.7 Regulation of Arbitration The key laws regulating arbitration in Zambia are: • the Arbitration Act No 19 of 2000 as the principal legislation; • the Arbitration (Court Proceedings) Rules, SI No 75 of 2001, which provide for rules on court interven- tion for interim relief and enforcement of awards; • the Arbitration (Code of Conduct and Standards) Regulations, SI No 12 of 2007, which provide for the regulation of arbitrators and conduct of pro- ceedings; and • the Arbitration (Recognition of Arbitral Institutions) Regulations, 2001, which provide for registration and regulation of arbitral institutions. 3.8 Court Powers The courts assist with: • the appointment of arbitrators where the parties fail to agree; • the taking of evidence and subpoena of witnesses; • enforcement of the award, firstly by providing a mechanism for registration and recognition of awards, and secondly by enforcement through execution by the Sheriff of Zambia; • setting-aside of arbitral awards; • interlocutory relief prior to the appointment of the arbitral tribunal, or in instances where the tribunal is incompetent to grant the interim relief or the urgency of the matter makes it impracticable to seek the interim relief from the tribunal; and • the staying of court proceedings and referral of parties to arbitration where a party has ignored the arbitration agreement. 3.9 Court Intervention The courts essentially have no power to intervene in arbitral proceedings unless a party applies to set aside an arbitral award. The courts’ power is, however, restricted to considerations of due process and not the merits of the award. 3.10 Relief The relief that the arbitrator grants is in accordance with the nature of the dispute and the requests made by the parties in their claim and counterclaim, respec- tively.
• the informality of the process makes it less costly for the parties, who can handle the process them- selves without involving the costly service of counsel; • Zambia is a New York Convention state, thereby allowing for enforceability of awards rendered in other New York Convention states; • procedural law used in arbitrations is derived from common law; • arbitrators are mainly trained through or by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (London), thereby raising the standard of arbitration; • the award rendered is final and binding on the par- ties, bringing finality to the dispute; and • there is no appeal to the courts and the only recourse is setting aside, which does not interro- gate the merits of the award but rather the process. 3.4 Disadvantages of Arbitration While the process is cheaper than court proceedings, the arbitrator comes at a great cost with reference to the scale of fees prescribed by the parties’ choice of arbitral institution in Zambia. The process of setting aside an arbitral award can take several years to be concluded, initially by the High Court, and thereafter the Court of Appeal, with the option of the aggrieved party pursuing leave to escalate the matter to the Supreme Court. Although there are arbitral institutions, they do not take total control of the proceedings, with their ser- vices being largely confined to the appointment of the arbitral tribunal and providing a venue for the proceed- ings. This leaves the arbitrator at large, in some cases resulting in delay, with no quality control over the pro- The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators – Zambia Branch has been the most popular arbitral institution in Zam- bia for several years. Recently, the Lusaka Interna- tional Arbitration Centre was set up. 3.6 Length of Proceedings The typical length of arbitral proceedings is six to 12 months. cess and resulting award. 3.5 Arbitral Institutions
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