THE ASSOCIATION OF ARBITRATORS
(Southern Africa)

GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE
ASSOCIATION OF ARBITRATORS (SOUTHERN AFRICA)

The Association of Arbitrators (Southern Africa) was formed in 1979 to constitute an organisation to promote arbitration as a means of resolving disputes, to provide a body of competent and experienced arbitrators and ADR specialists for appointment as required, to assist arbitrators and ADR specialists in the efficient discharge of their duties, and to make arbitration and ADR more effective. The Association currently has approximately 700 members from a wide range of professions.

Members are entitled to atend all lectures, seminars, workshops, conferences and the like that the Association organises, to enrol in the correspondence courses, to receive the Association's Handbook and other publications, among which the newsletter Arbitrarily Speaking. They may use the George Quail Library and rely on the Association for advice and guidance in the conduct of arbitration and ADR procedures. Fellows are eligible for appointment as arbitrator. On their request, the Secretariat will administer their arbitrations, including sending and receiving notices, booking a hearing venue, organising recording and transcription of proceedings, holding fee deposits.

 

How to Join the Association

The Association has various classes of members: Associates, Fellows, Life Associates and Life Fellows, Honorary Associaties and Honorary Fellows, and Retired Members. Membership denotes an interest in and support of arbitration but, except in case of Fellows, does not necessarily mean that the member concerned is qualified to act as arbitrator.

Associates form a general class of membership. To qualify, applicants must satisfactorily complete the Association's Certificate Course, or possess a tertiarty level or comparable educational qualification approved by the Association. Fellows are Associates in possession of the Association's Higher Diploma or who have an exceptional knowledge of and experience in arbitration and related fields. Life Associates and Life Fellows are elected as such in recognition of exceptional service to the Association; Honorary Associates and Honorary Fellows receive this status from the Executive Committee for honorary reasons. Retired Members have been members for at least 10 years but are no longer active professionally or engaged in arbitration.

In order to become an Associate applicants must:

Fellows are elected from among the Associates and must be holders of the Higher Diploma or have such knowledge and experience of arbitration law and practice as the Executive Committee may approve.

How to Become an Arbitrator

The law requires no other qualifications from arbitrators than that they are over 18 years of age and in full possession of their civil rights. Arbitrators may be lawyers, but frequently the parties choose an arbitrator for his expertise in the subject matter of their dispute: architects, engineers and the like, who sometimes have little or no formal legal training and experience. The Association requires all its arbitrators to be thoroughly familiar with and experienced in the law and practice of arbitration, the rules of evidence and procedure, the laws of contract and delict, and basic legal principles. For this purpose, it has an Education programme available. In addition the Association requires its arbitrators to be mature, well-balanced personalities, capable of objective and dispassionate judgment, which is assessed in interviews with qualified applicants.

The Executive Committee

The Executive Committee is elected by the Members. It administers the Association and decides matters of policy. Office bearers are the Honorary President, the Chairman and Vice-Chairman, the Executive Director and the Treasurer.

 

The Executive Director and The Secretariat

The Executive Director, together with the Secretariat, implements policy decisions and sees to the daily running of the Association. The Secretariat deals with all matters from administering the Association's Education Programme to handling arbitration submissions, administering arbitrations, handling publication orders and answering questions.

 

The Branches of the Association

In addition to the Sandton, Gauteng, Head Office, the Association has Branch Committees in four places, which cater to the interests of members in their respective regions:

EAST LONDON (Border Branch - Contact Ray Rens) 13 St. Lukes Road, East London 5201. Phone: (0431) 432414, Fax: (0431) 432413

BOTSWANA (Contact Tony Allen) Private Bag BO 158, Gaborone, Botswana. Phone (+267) 323855, Fax (+267) 323855

THE CAPE (Contacts Prof. David Butler and Nigel Sessions). Chairman: Prof. David Butler, Law Faculty, Stellenbosch University, Private Bag X5018, Stellenbosch 7599. Phone: (021) 8083486, Fax (021) 8866235, E-mail dwb@ maties.sun.ac.za. Secretariat: Nigel Sessions, Phone (021) 254016, Fax (021) 4181865.

NATAL (Contact Alastair Hay) PO Box 3032, Durban 4000. Phone (031) 3042851, Fax (031) 3013540.

 

The Committee of Correspondents

The Association maintains, outside its membership, a loosely organised network of contacts with experts in arbitration, ADR and related fields, both in South Africa and abroad. It has two Honorary Vice-Presidents, H.E. Judge Bola A. Ajibola from Nigeria, and Prof. Dr. Karl-Heinz Boeckstiegel from Germany, who informally preside over the Association's Committee of Correspondents.

 

The George Quail Library

The George Quail Library is housed at the offices of the Secretariat in Sandton and contains a variety of books and periodicals on arbitration and ADR, both national and international, and a full set of the Building Law Reports and the SA Law Reports. All Association Members are members of the Quail Library. Members perform their own research and may request the Secretariat to send them by fax or mail, at a modest price, copies of material available in the Quail Library.

  •  Cooperation Agreements

    The Association has entered into cooperation agreements with various arbitration institutes, not only in Africa, but all over the world. These are:

  • The London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA)
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