SOUTH AFRICA Law and Practice Contributed by: Jonathan Ripley-Evans, Fiorella Noriega Del Valle, Kyle Melville and SooBin Park, Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer
and awards that contravene fundamental principles of South African law.
There are no specific restrictions or codes appli - cable to non-South African legal counsel who may appear in an international arbitration seated in South Africa; however, those practitioners will be bound by their own domestic standards of ethics, regardless of where the arbitration is seated. Unethical conduct during the arbitration that affects the award may result in grounds for judicial review of the award, or grounds to impose higher costs against that party. Arbitrators Arbitrators in South Africa are expected to adhere to the ethical standards set by their professional bodies and the arbitral institutions they may be affiliated with. AFSA and the Association of Arbitrators (Southern Africa) provide guidelines and codes of conduct for arbitrators. These codes emphasise impartiality, inde - pendence and the duty to disclose any potential con - flicts of interest. The IBA Guidelines on Conflicts of Interest in International Arbitration and the IBA Rules of Ethics for International Arbitrators are also often referenced and adhered to, ensuring that the proceed - ings are conducted fairly and transparently. 13.3 Third-Party Funding Third-party funding in South Africa is not prohibited, though it is not comprehensively regulated by specific legislation. The arbitral rules chosen by the parties may, however, expressly deal with third-party funding. For example, the AFSA International Rules require a party who is funded by a third-party funder to disclose the exist - ence of a funding agreement and the identity of the funder in the Request for Arbitration, or as soon as practicable after the third-party funding agreement In South Africa, parties to an arbitration agreement are entitled to agree that the arbitral proceedings be consolidated with other arbitral proceedings, accord - ing to Section 10 of the IAA. The Section specifically stipulates that the arbitral tribunal may not order con - solidation unless the parties have agreed. has been entered into. 13.4 Consolidation
13. Miscellaneous 13.1 Class Action or Group Arbitration South Africa does not specifically provide for class action arbitration or group arbitration under its current legal framework. The IAA primarily focuses on bilateral arbitrations between specific parties who have con - sented to the arbitration of their disputes, and, as far as the authors are aware, no such arbitrations have been instituted in South Africa. Given that South African law does not explicitly address class action arbitration or group arbitration, there are likely to be inherent limitations to the arbi- trability of such claims. The fundamental principle of arbitration in South Africa is based on the consent of the parties to resolve their disputes through arbitra - tion. In class action or group arbitration, the collective nature of the claims may complicate this principle of consent. 13.2 Ethical Codes Legal Counsel Lawyers practising in South Africa are bound by the ethical codes and professional standards applicable to legal practitioners in the country. These standards are primarily governed by the Legal Practice Act 2014, which regulates the conduct of attorneys and advo - cates, and the Code of Conduct issued by the Legal Practice Council (LPC). The LPC is the statutory body responsible for regulating the professional and ethi - cal conduct of legal practitioners and candidate legal practitioners. Its Code of Conduct outlines core duties such as integrity, independence, confidentiality, avoid - ance of conflicts of interest, and respect for the rule of law South African Attorneys are also typically affiliated with the Law Society of South Africa (LSSA), while advocates are often members of the General Coun - cil of the Bar of South Africa (GCB). These bodies provide additional ethical guidelines and professional standards.
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