International Arbitration Act

This Act sets out rules for international commercial arbitration in South African law and deals with foreign arbitral awards.

Section 13 is titled “Application of UNCITRAL Conciliation Rules.”

The Model Law applies in the Republic under this Act, and certain international commercial disputes may be decided by arbitration if the parties agreed and the matter can be settled by agreement, subject to listed exceptions.

A court or arbitral tribunal may refer to relevant UNCITRAL and secretariat reports when interpreting Chapter and the Model Law.

This section is titled “Determination of juridical seat of arbitration.”

This section is titled “Woordomskrywing” (word definitions).

This section says the law is binding on public bodies.

Section 10 is about consolidating arbitration proceedings and holding simultaneous hearings.

This section heading indicates rules about confidentiality in arbitration proceedings.

Section heading only: “Vasstelling van regsetel vir arbitrasie.”

This section is a contents listing for the Act, including topics like recognition and enforcement of arbitration agreements and foreign arbitral awards, transitional provisions, repeal or amendment of laws, and short title and commencement.

This section defines several terms used in the Chapter, including “certified copy,” “Convention,” “court,” and “foreign arbitral award.”

This text says an award is treated as made at the juridical seat of arbitration, and it also covers recognition, enforcement, and confidentiality rules for foreign arbitral awards and some arbitration proceedings.

Parties to an arbitration agreement may refer a dispute covered by the agreement to conciliation.

Parties to an arbitration agreement may agree to use the UNCITRAL conciliation rules, if they are trying to settle their dispute by conciliation and the Act allows it.

This section defines several terms used in the Chapter, including “certified copy,” “court,” “Convention,” and “foreign arbitral award.”

This section says foreign arbitral awards and arbitration agreements must be recognized and enforced in the Republic, and foreign awards are binding between the parties.

Section heading: evidence to be produced by the party seeking recognition or enforcement.

A party seeking recognition or enforcement of a foreign arbitral award must file the award and arbitration agreement, plus a sworn translation if needed; the court may accept other proof and may refuse enforcement only on listed grounds.

Section 14 is labelled “Savings.”

This section preserves other rights to enforce a foreign arbitral award and sets transitional rules for how Chapters 2 and 3 apply to arbitration agreements, proceedings, and awards.

A party seeking recognition or enforcement must provide evidence.

18. Weiering van erkenning of afdwinging

This section is titled “Reservations” and appears under Chapter 4 on transitional and other provisions.

This section is titled “Transitional provisions.”

This section is titled “Herroeping of wysiging van wette” and indicates the provision concerns repeal or amendment of laws.

This section is titled “Short title and commencement” and the text shown lists the attached schedules.

6 No. 41347 GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, 20 DECEMBER 2017 Act No. 15 of 2017 International Arbitration Act, 2017 6 CHAPTER 1 GENERAL PROVISIONS Definitions

Gazette publication header only; no substantive rule is stated in the provided text.

This section defines key terms used in the Act, unless the context indicates otherwise.

Words or expressions used in Chapter 2 have the same meaning as in the Model Law, unless that would be inconsistent with the context or the Constitution.

The Act sets out its purposes, excludes most of the 1965 Arbitration Act for covered matters, and binds public bodies.

This section says the Act binds public bodies, subject to section 13 of the Protection of Investment Act.

This section defines key terms used in the Act, including “arbitration agreement,” “Constitution,” “conciliation,” “Model Law,” “public body,” “Republic,” and “UNCITRAL.”

The Act’s purpose is to make arbitration easier for international commercial disputes, adopt the Model Law for those disputes, facilitate recognition and enforcement of certain arbitration agreements and awards, and give effect to South Africa’s obligations under the 1958 New York Convention, subject to the Constitution.

This section says the Act binds public bodies and applies to international commercial arbitrations under agreements involving a public body, subject to section 13 of the Protection of Investments Act, 2015.

This section is headed “Model Law to have force of law.”

The Model Law applies in the Republic, subject to this Act. International commercial disputes may be sent to arbitration if the parties agreed to arbitrate and the matter is one they may settle by agreement, unless arbitration is barred by Republic law or the arbitration agreement is against public policy.

Courts or tribunals may look at UNCITRAL reports and the UNCITRAL secretariat when interpreting this Chapter and the Model Law. Arbiters and certain arbitration bodies are generally not liable for acts or omissions done in performing their functions unless bad faith is shown. Parties may agree to consolidate proceedings or hold simultaneous hearings, but a tribunal may not order that without party consent.

Arbitrations involving a public body are generally public, unless the tribunal orders privacy for compelling reasons; if the arbitration is private, the award and non-public documents must be kept confidential, subject to limited disclosure for legal duty or to protect/enforce a legal right.

Parties to an arbitration agreement may refer a covered dispute to conciliation, before or after arbitration, if the agreement’s terms allow it.

Parties to an arbitration agreement who want to settle by conciliation may agree to use the UNCITRAL Conciliation Rules in Schedule 2, subject to this Act.

Laws listed in Schedule 4 are repealed or amended as specified in the schedule’s third column.

This section states the Act’s short title: the International Arbitration Act, 2017.

This chapter does not affect any other right to rely on or enforce a foreign arbitration agreement, including the right under article 35 of the Model Law.

This section says the laws in Schedule 4 are repealed or amended as set out in the third column.

This section states the short title of the Act: the Wet op Internasionale Arbitrasie, 2017.

This section lists the contents of Schedule 1, which contains the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration.

This section lists the articles in Chapters V to VIII of the International Arbitration Act, 2017, covering arbitral proceedings, awards, recourse, and recognition and enforcement.

This provision sets when the Model Law applies to international commercial arbitration and defines when an arbitration is international.

This text sets rules for when written communications count as received, when a party waives an objection, limits court intervention in arbitration matters, identifies the court for certain arbitration functions, and requires arbitration agreements to be in writing.

Courts must pause court cases covered by an arbitration agreement and send the parties to arbitration if a party asks in time, unless the agreement is invalid or cannot be performed.

Arbitrators must disclose possible bias or independence issues, challenges must be made on specified grounds and timelines, and the tribunal may decide its own jurisdiction.

The arbitral tribunal may grant interim measures, and parties must raise jurisdiction or authority pleas within the stated time limits.

This provision lets tribunals and courts manage interim measures, including disclosure, security, recognition, enforcement, refusal, and costs.

This section sets rules for arbitration proceedings, including equal treatment of parties, how procedure, seat, and language are decided, when proceedings start, and the court’s limited interim-measures powers.

This provision sets rules for arbitration pleadings, hearings, default, experts, and court assistance in taking evidence.

The arbitral tribunal must follow the parties’ chosen law or, if none is chosen, the applicable conflict-of-laws rules; it must issue and sign awards in writing, state reasons unless exempt, give the date and seat, and deliver a copy to each party.

The arbitral tribunal controls cost awards, termination orders, and requests to correct, interpret, or add to an award; court challenges are limited to setting-aside applications.

Courts must recognize and enforce arbitral awards, but enforcement or recognition can be refused only on listed grounds; a set-aside application must be brought within three months, subject to a knowledge-based exception.

A court dealing with recognition or enforcement of an arbitral award may adjourn its decision and may order the other party to provide security if a setting-aside or suspension application has been made and the court thinks it proper.

These rules say how conciliation starts, how many conciliators there are, and how conciliators are appointed.

This section sets out how parties and the conciliator exchange statements and communicate during conciliation.

In conciliation, the conciliator must disclose factual information from one party to the other party unless it was given confidentially; both the conciliator and the parties must keep conciliation matters confidential; and the parties must cooperate with the conciliator.

During conciliation, parties must not start arbitral or court proceedings about the dispute, unless they think it is necessary to preserve their rights. The conciliator also handles costs and deposits, and must not later act as arbitrator, counsel, representative, or witness in related proceedings.

Parties must not use specified conciliation-related statements as evidence in later arbitral or judicial proceedings.

This provision is a heading for Schedule 3, which contains the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, and it begins Article 1.

This Convention applies to recognition and enforcement of certain arbitral awards.

This provision defines “arbitral awards” to include awards made by case-by-case arbitrators and by permanent arbitral bodies chosen by the parties.

A State may declare, when joining or extending the Convention, that it will apply it only to certain awards or only to commercial legal disputes, based on reciprocity.

Each Contracting State must recognize written arbitration agreements meeting the stated conditions.

“Agreement in writing” includes an arbitral clause in a contract or an arbitration agreement, if signed by the parties or contained in an exchange of letters or telegrams.

Courts must send the parties to arbitration on request, unless the arbitration agreement is invalid, ineffective, or cannot be performed. Contracting States must recognize arbitral awards as binding and enforce them, and may not impose more onerous conditions or higher fees than for domestic awards.

A party seeking recognition and enforcement must file the authenticated award or certified copy, plus the related agreement or certified copy, and may need a translation if those documents are not in the official language.

Each Contracting State must recognize written agreements that submit disputes to arbitration if the relationship and subject matter are suitable for arbitration.

A party seeking recognition and enforcement must file the required award and agreement documents when applying, and must provide a translation if those documents are not in an official language of the country where the award is being relied on.

Any translation must be certified by an official or sworn translator, or by a diplomatic or consular agent.

A competent authority may refuse recognition and enforcement of an award only if the opposing party asks for refusal and proves one of several listed grounds.

An authority may refuse recognition and enforcement of an arbitral award on specified grounds, and may adjourn enforcement or require security in some cases.

This provision says the Convention does not affect certain multilateral or bilateral agreements on arbitral awards, and it does not take away any interested party’s existing right to rely on an arbitral award where the local law or treaties allow it.

This provision says the 1923 Geneva Protocol and the 1927 Geneva Convention stop applying between Contracting States once they are bound by this Convention, to the extent they are bound.

This Convention is open for signature until 31 December 1958 by UN members, and the text also mentions other states.

Recognition and enforcement of an arbitral award may be refused if the opposing party asks for refusal and proves one of the listed grounds.

This provision says the Convention does not affect certain arbitration agreements, and it preserves an interested party’s right to rely on an arbitral award where local law or treaties allow it.

The Convention is open for signature until 31 December 1958.

This fragment refers to states that are members of a UN specialized agency, parties to the International Court of Justice Statute, or other states invited by the UN General Assembly.

This provision says the Convention must be ratified and the instrument of ratification must be deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

All States referred to in article VIII may accede to the Convention.

Accession is effected by depositing an instrument of accession with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

A State may declare, when signing, ratifying, or acceding, that the Convention will extend to all or some territories for whose international relations it is responsible.

An extension must be notified to the UN Secretary-General, and it takes effect later of 90 days after receipt or when the Convention enters into force for the State concerned.

States concerned should consider extending the Convention to territories where it is not already extended, and federal states have extra notice and information-sharing duties.

This Convention comes into force on the 90th day after the third instrument of ratification or accession is deposited.

This provision says the Convention takes effect for a State 90 days after that State deposits its instrument of ratification or accession, if the State ratifies or accedes after the third such instrument has already been deposited.

States should consider extending the Convention to territories where it does not yet apply; federal states also have special duties to apply or circulate Convention articles and, on request, provide a statement of law and practice.

For States joining this Convention after the third ratification/accession is deposited, the Convention starts to apply on the 90th day after that State deposits its own instrument.

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Any Contracting State may denounce the Convention by written notification to the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

A qualifying State may notify the UN Secretary-General to declare that the Convention will stop applying to the relevant territory.

The Secretary-General must notify specified States about signatures, ratifications, accessions, declarations, entry into force, and denunciations. A Contracting State may only rely on the Convention against other Contracting States to the extent it is itself bound to apply it.

The Convention’s Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish texts are equally authentic, and the Convention is to be deposited in the United Nations archives.

The Secretary-General of the United Nations must send a certified copy of the Convention to the States mentioned in article VIII.

The Secretary-General of the United Nations must transmit a certified copy of this Convention to the States contemplated in article VIII.

Some parties may sue in a competent court in the Republic for carriage-of-goods disputes, despite arbitration clauses.