Workshop 510 v Pretorius and Others (J1996/01) [2001] ZALC 220 (5 December 2001)

Workshop 510 v Pretorius and Others (J1996/01) [2001] ZALC 220 (5 December 2001)

The court found no justification to interfere with the arbitration award on the merits, nor any evidence of misconduct or irrationality in the reasoning of the second respondent. The initial commissioner, Mr McCormack, recused himself after an incident that could have led to a reasonable apprehension of bias, but the second respondent did not display conduct that would justify her recusal. The applicant's representative, Mr Bosch, adopted a confrontational approach, but this did not establish bias on the part of the commissioner. The application for review was dismissed as there was no objective basis for the allegations of bias or misconduct.

Citation
[2001] ZALC 220
Parties
Applicant: Workshop 510; Respondent: Andries Johannes Pretorius; Respondent: Commissioner E.T. van Kerken; Respondent: Director: Commission for Conciliation, Mediation & Arbitration N.O.
Court
Labour Court
Jurisdiction
South Africa
Judgment Date
5 December 2001
Case Number
J1996/01
Procedural Posture
Review Application / Judgment
Outcome
Application dismissed.
Judges
E Revelas
Legal Topics
Review of Arbitration Award, Bias of Commissioner, Unfair Dismissal, Procedural Fairness
Labour Law Review of Arbitration Award Bias of Commissioner Unfair Dismissal Procedural Fairness

Case Brief

Summary, issues, holding and outcome

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Parties

Workshop 510

Applicant

Andries Johannes Pretorius

Respondent

Commissioner E.T. van Kerken

Respondent

Director: Commission for Conciliation, Mediation & Arbitration N.O.

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Review Application / Judgment

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the second respondent, the commissioner, was biassed in conducting the arbitration.
  2. 2 Whether the arbitration award was irrational or involved misconduct warranting review.

Ratio Decidendi

The court found no justification to interfere with the arbitration award on the merits, nor any evidence of misconduct or irrationality in the reasoning of the second respondent. The initial commissioner, Mr McCormack, recused himself after an incident that could have led to a reasonable apprehension of bias, but the second respondent did not display conduct that would justify her recusal. The applicant's representative, Mr Bosch, adopted a confrontational approach, but this did not establish bias on the part of the commissioner. The application for review was dismissed as there was no objective basis for the allegations of bias or misconduct.

Court Disposition

Application dismissed.

Orders

  • The application for review is dismissed.