Potch Speed Den v Rajah (J647/99) [1999] ZALC 27 (3 March 1999)

Potch Speed Den v Rajah (J647/99) [1999] ZALC 27 (3 March 1999)

The court held that once an arbitration award has been made an order of court under section 158(1)(c) of the Labour Relations Act, it acquires the status of a court order and is no longer subject to review as an award. Any party wishing to challenge such an order must first seek rescission or setting aside of the court order, not review of the underlying award. Section 145(3) does not apply to awards that have already been made orders of court. As the applicant did not seek rescission or setting aside of the court order, its application to stay enforcement pending review was not competent and had to be dismissed.

Citation
[1999] ZALC 27
Parties
Applicant: Potch Speed Den; Respondent: Mr. E. Rajah
Court
Labour Court
Jurisdiction
South Africa
Judgment Date
3 March 1999
Case Number
J647/99
Procedural Posture
Stay Application / Application to Stay Enforcement of Arbitration Award Pending Review
Outcome
Application dismissed.
Judges
R M M Zondo
Legal Topics
Arbitration Award Enforcement, Review Proceedings, Stay of Execution
Labour Law Civil Procedure Arbitration Award Enforcement Review Proceedings Stay of Execution

Case Brief

Summary, issues, holding and outcome

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Parties

Potch Speed Den

Applicant

Mr. E. Rajah

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Stay Application / Application to Stay Enforcement of Arbitration Award Pending Review

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Is it competent to review an arbitration award after it has been made an order of court?
  2. 2 Can the enforcement of such an award be stayed pending review?
  3. 3 Does section 145(3) of the Labour Relations Act apply to awards made orders of court?

Ratio Decidendi

The court held that once an arbitration award has been made an order of court under section 158(1)(c) of the Labour Relations Act, it acquires the status of a court order and is no longer subject to review as an award. Any party wishing to challenge such an order must first seek rescission or setting aside of the court order, not review of the underlying award. Section 145(3) does not apply to awards that have already been made orders of court. As the applicant did not seek rescission or setting aside of the court order, its application to stay enforcement pending review was not competent and had to be dismissed.

Court Disposition

Application dismissed.

Orders

  • The application to stay the enforcement of the award is dismissed.
  • There is no order as to costs.