Air Namibia (Pty) Ltd v Sheelongo (13 of 2014) [2015] NALCMD 14 (17 June 2015)

Air Namibia (Pty) Ltd v Sheelongo (13 of 2014) [2015] NALCMD 14 (17 June 2015)

Once an arbitration award is filed with the Labour Court under s 87(1)(b) of the Labour Act, 2007, it becomes an order of the court and cannot be appealed or reviewed by the same court unless set aside. Filing the award before expiry of the appeal period or after an appeal has been lodged is irregular and constitutes an abuse of process. The court set aside the order making the arbitration award an order of court due to this irregularity. The appellant, being in willful default of the arbitration award and not having shown exceptional circumstances, is barred from proceeding with the appeal until it has purged its default.

Citation
[2015] NALCMD 14
Parties
Applicant: Air Namibia (Pty) Ltd; Respondent: Jonas Sheelongo
Court
Labour Court Main Division
Jurisdiction
Namibia
Judgment Date
17 June 2015
Case Number
13 of 2014
Procedural Posture
Labour Appeal / Ruling on Appeal Jurisdiction and Preliminary Objections
Outcome
Appeal struck from the roll; leave to re-enroll granted upon compliance with arbitration award.
Legal Topics
Arbitration Awards, Jurisdiction of Labour Court, Enforcement of Awards, Appeal Procedure, Rescission of Court Orders
Source Language
English
Labour Law Arbitration Awards Jurisdiction of Labour Court Enforcement of Awards Appeal Procedure Rescission of Court Orders

Case Brief

Summary, issues, holding and outcome

More case intelligence is available

Unlock the full research layer for this judgment.

Full judgment text Downloadable case file Legal principles 5 Authorities cited 24 Party arguments 2 Amounts and remedies 1
Sign in to unlock

Parties

Air Namibia (Pty) Ltd

Applicant

Jonas Sheelongo

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Labour Appeal / Ruling on Appeal Jurisdiction and Preliminary Objections

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the Labour Court has jurisdiction to hear an appeal against an arbitration award that has become an order of the court under s 87(1)(b) of the Labour Act, 2007
  2. 2 Whether the filing of the arbitration award with the court prior to expiry of the appeal period is irregular
  3. 3 Whether the appellant can be heard on appeal while in willful default of the arbitration award

Ratio Decidendi

Once an arbitration award is filed with the Labour Court under s 87(1)(b) of the Labour Act, 2007, it becomes an order of the court and cannot be appealed or reviewed by the same court unless set aside. Filing the award before expiry of the appeal period or after an appeal has been lodged is irregular and constitutes an abuse of process. The court set aside the order making the arbitration award an order of court due to this irregularity. The appellant, being in willful default of the arbitration award and not having shown exceptional circumstances, is barred from proceeding with the appeal until it has purged its default.

Court Disposition

Appeal struck from the roll; leave to re-enroll granted upon compliance with arbitration award.

Orders

  • The appeal is struck from the roll.
  • The appellant is granted leave to re-enroll the appeal once it has purged its default to comply with the arbitration award dated 28 February 2014.