ZIMBABWE Law and Practice Contributed by: Prince Kanokanga and Davison Kanokanga, Kanokanga & Partners
10.3 Recovering Interest and Legal Costs In Zimbabwe, parties have the autonomy to decide on issues relating to the recovery of interest and legal costs. In the absence of an agreement by the parties, the costs and expenses of an arbitration, including the legal and other expenses of the parties, the fees and expenses of the arbitral tribunal and other expenses related to the arbitral tribunal, are generally fixed and allocated by the arbitrator in his or her award. Where an arbitral award does not deal with the issue of costs, the general position in Zimbabwe is that each party bears its own legal costs and other expenses, and the parties to the proceedings are jointly liable in equal share to pay the fees and expenses of the arbitral tribunal and any other expenses related to the arbitration. See Farpin Investments ( Pvt ) Ltd v NetOne Cellular ( Pvt ) Ltd & Another HH 28-16. Furthermore, an arbitral tribunal under Article 31 (6) of the Model Law, as it applies to Zimbabwe, has dis - cretion to award interest at such rate, and on such sum and for such period, as may be specified in the award. See Henks Construction ( Pvt ) Ltd v Zimbabwe Defence ( Pvt ) Ltd 1998 (1) ZLR 49 (SC). The Arbitration Act [Chapter 7:15], which applies to both domestic and international arbitration, recog - nises arbitration as final and binding in Zimbabwe. As a result, under Zimbabwean law an arbitral award cannot be appealed against – and neither can one institute review proceedings. See Ropa v Reosmart Investments ( Pvt ) Ltd & Another 2006 (2) ZLR 283 (S). A party aggrieved by an award is not without recourse. See TN Harlequin Luxaire Ltd & Another v Quest Motors Manufacturing ( Pvt ) Ltd 2019 (2) ZLR 652 (S) and Zimbabwe Manpower Development Fund v Vengesai & Another 2019 (2) ZLR 1132 (S). It may chal - lenge an award under the limited grounds set out in Article 34 of the Model law, which can be summarised as follows: • arbitrability; 11. Review of an Award 11.1 Grounds for Appeal
the arbitral award or to have the award recognised and enforced, the arbitral record of proceedings is gener - ally an annexure to the court papers and therefore a part of the court record, which is open to inspec - tion, thereby potentially limiting confidentiality to that extent.
10. The Award 10.1 Legal Requirements
Under Article 31 of the Model Law, an arbitral award rendered in an arbitration seated in Zimbabwe must satisfy the following formal requirements. • It must be in writing and signed by the arbitra - tor. In proceedings with more than one arbitrator, it should contain the signatures of the majority of the members of the arbitral tribunal, and if for any reason a signature is omitted, the reasons should be provided. • The reasons for the award should be given unless the parties have agreed that this is not required. See Soft Drinks Manufacturing Employers Associa- tion v Soft Drinks Manufacturing Workers Union & Another 2015 (2) ZLR 513 (H). • The date on which the award was rendered and the seat of arbitration should be specified. There are no statutory time limits on the delivery of an award in Zimbabwe. Issues to do with time limits generally arise from the applicable institution’s rules – including procedural rules. An award is deemed to have been received by a party in Zimbabwe when it has been set or delivered to the recipient. See Wil- loughby ’ s Investments ( Pvt ) Ltd v Peruke Investments ( Pvt ) Ltd & Another 2014 (1) ZLR 501 (H). 10.2 Types of Remedies The Arbitration Act [Chapter 7:15] in Zimbabwe does not prescribe any limitations on the types of remedies that an arbitral tribunal may award. Generally, in Zim - babwe an arbitral tribunal has broad discretion and may grant any relief or remedy that is available under the substantive law governing the dispute, subject to public policy and arbitrability considerations in Zim - babwe.
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