ZIMBABWE Law and Practice Contributed by: Prince Kanokanga and Davison Kanokanga, Kanokanga & Partners
ing on the rules or procedure of the proceedings, and to frame, if possible, the terms in elaborate terms. 7.2 Procedural Steps Zimbabwean law does not prescribe any rigid proce - dural steps for arbitration. The procedural steps are generally set out in the arbitration agreement on the institutional rules. 7.3 Powers and Duties of Arbitrators Under Article 12 of the Model Law, arbitrators in Zim - babwe are required to be independent and impartial. Furthermore, throughout the arbitral proceedings, an arbitral tribunal has an ongoing duty to disclose any circumstances that are likely to give rise to justifiable doubts as to their independence or impartiality. Under Article 14 of the Model Law, arbitrators have a duty to conduct the proceedings with reasonable dis - patch. Article 18 of the Model Law requires arbitrators to treat the parties with equality and to be given a full opportunity to present their cases. Under Article 24 (1) of the Model Law, where a party requests an oral hearing, the tribunal is required to hold such hearing. The arbitrator has a duty to ensure that parties are given sufficient advance notice of any hearing or of any meeting. See Makonye v Ramodi- moosi & Others 2014 (1) ZLR 111 (H). In Zimbabwe, an arbitrator has a duty to determine a dispute and render a decision based on the terms of reference. See Delta Operations ( Pvt ) Ltd v Origen Corporation ( Pvt ) Ltd 2007 (2) ZLR 81 (S). An arbitrator cannot come up with his or her own terms of refer - ence. See Alliance Insurance Ltd v Imperial Plastics ( Pvt ) Ltd & Another 2017 (1) ZLR 459 (S). In addition, arbitrators have the power to set up pro - cedural meetings and organise the arbitral proceed - ings, administrative support for the arbitral tribunal, means of communication between the parties and interim measures where the parties fail to agree. 7.4 Legal Representatives Article 24 (4) of the Model law, as it applies to Zimba - bwe, provides that at any hearing or meeting of the arbitral tribunal seated in Zimbabwe, a party to the
arbitral proceedings may appear or act in person or be represented by another other person of their choice. See ZAOGA v Mashonganyika 2018 (2) ZLR 74 (S). This allows any person (including a foreign representative) to represent a party in arbitral proceedings in Zimba - bwe. The Arbitration Act [Chapter 7:15] does not set out any particular qualifications or other requirements for the representation of parties in Zimbabwe. 8. Evidence 8.1 Collection and Submission of Evidence Zimbabwean law does not provide a detailed statutory framework governing the collection and submission of evidence. The collection and submission of evi - dence in arbitral proceedings in Zimbabwe is generally agreed upon by the parties or set out in the rules of the appointing authority – or, in the absence of any agree - ment of rules, at the discretion of the arbitral tribunal. 8.2 Rules of Evidence Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, an arbitral tribunal pursuant to Article 19 (2) of the Model Law has the power to determine the admissibility, relevance, materiality and weight of any evidence. See Giya v Ribi Trading 2014 (1) ZLR 103 (H). In Zimbabwe, par - ties who have chosen arbitration are not bound by the strict evidential rules applied by the courts. 8.3 Powers of Compulsion Article 27 of the Model Law confers power on an arbitral tribunal to issue a subpoena to compel the attendance of a witness before an arbitral tribunal, or to produce documents. However, as a general rule, an arbitral tribunal requires the assistance of the High Court. See “The High Court’s Jurisdiction in Taking Evidence in Arbitral Proceedings” (2022), by Prince Kanokanga, in Midlands State University Law Review Special Issue , pp 56–77.
9. Confidentiality 9.1 Extent of Confidentiality
In Zimbabwe, arbitration proceedings are generally considered confidential. However, confidentiality is not absolute. Where a party seeks to either set aside
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