ZAMBIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Luckson Mwamba, Katongo Bwalya and Mumba Mwila, Mwamba & Milan Advocates
4. The Arbitral Tribunal 4.1 Limits on Selection
rise to justifiable doubts as to their independence or impartiality, or if they do not possess the qualifications agreed upon by the parties. The procedure for raising a challenge may be agreed upon by the parties. If no procedure is set out, a party may submit a written statement of the grounds for challenge within 15 days of becoming aware of the relevant circumstances or of the arbitrator’s appointment. The mandate of an arbitrator may also be terminated where the arbitra- tor becomes unable to perform their functions or acts with undue delay. These provisions ensure that, while parties enjoy wide autonomy in the appointment of arbitrators, safeguards exist to maintain the integrity, independence and impartiality of the arbitral tribunal. 4.5 Arbitrator Requirements Under Zambian law, arbitrators are required to be independent and impartial. Article 12 (1) of the UNCI - TRAL Model Law, incorporated as the First Sched - ule to the Arbitration Act, places an ongoing duty on arbitrators to disclose any circumstances that may give rise to justifiable doubts as to their independence or impartiality. This duty applies from the moment a person is approached for appointment and subsists throughout the arbitral proceedings, and arbitrators must promptly inform the parties of any such circum - stances unless the parties have already been made aware. In addition to statutory requirements, the LIAC Rules impose similar obligations. Under Articles 11 (4) and (5) of the LIAC Rules, a nominated arbitrator must disclose in writing any facts or circumstances that could raise justifiable doubts as to their independence or impartiality both before appointment and continu - ously throughout the proceedings. These combined statutory and institutional safeguards ensure trans - parency, fairness and integrity in Zambian arbitration proceedings, reinforcing the parties’ confidence in the arbitral process.
Under Zambian law, parties enjoy broad autonomy in selecting arbitrators. Section 12 (2) of the Arbitration Act expressly allows parties to agree on the procedure for appointing arbitrators. The main limits are that arbi - trators must be independent and impartial and must meet any qualifications agreed by the parties. Article 10 of the UNCITRAL Model Law in the First Schedule states that parties are free to determine the number of arbitrators and that failing such determination, the number of arbitrators shall be three. If these require - ments are not met, the appointment may be chal - lenged or set aside. 4.2 Default Procedures Where the parties’ chosen method of selecting arbitra - tors fails, the Arbitration Act provides a default frame - work. Under Section 12 (3) of the Act, if the arbitration is with three arbitrators, each party appoints one arbi - trator and the two arbitrators then appoint the third. If a party fails, or the two cannot agree, an arbitral institution makes the appointment. For sole arbitrator cases, if the parties cannot agree, the appointment is also made by an arbitral institution. In multiparty arbitrations, the Act does not prescribe a separate rule. In practice, the default provisions under Section 12 (3) apply, with institutional or court assistance if the parties cannot agree. 4.3 Court Intervention Section 12 (4) of the Arbitration Act empowers the court to intervene in the appointment process where a party fails to act, the parties or arbitrators are unable to agree, or a third party/institution fails to perform its role. The court’s decision under Section 12 (5) is final and not subject to appeal. However, in exercising this power, the court must respect party autonomy and consider the agreed qualifications and the need for independence, impartiality and, where relevant, diver - sity of nationality as per Section 12 (6). 4.4 Challenge and Removal of Arbitrators In Zambia, the grounds and procedure for challeng - ing or removing arbitrators are governed by Articles 12, 13 and 14 of the UNCITRAL Model Law. An arbi - trator may be challenged where circumstances give
5. Jurisdiction 5.1 Challenges to Jurisdiction
Zambian law recognises the jurisprudential principle of “ kompetenz - kompetenz ”, which allows an arbitral tribunal to rule on its own jurisdiction, including any objections regarding the existence or validity of the arbitration agreement. This principle is reflected in
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