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INTRODUCTION
The efficacy of arbitration as a dispute resolution mechanism depends, in large measure, on the enforceability of arbitral awards. An award that cannot be expeditiously converted into practical relief risks diminishing arbitration into an elaborate prelude to litigation. For this reason, modern arbitration regimes, including Zambia’s Arbitration Act, are deliberately structured around finality, minimal curial intervention and the efficient enforcement of awards.
28 May 26
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However, the post-award phase frequently gives rise to a delicate procedural interface. On one hand, the award creditor may commence proceedings before the Registrar for registration and enforcement of the arbitral award. On the other, the award debtor may invoke the supervisory jurisdiction of the High Court by applying to set aside the award. Further complexity arises where the application to set aside has been determined, but the dissatisfied party has appealed to the Court of Appeal and simultaneously seeks to forestall registration before the Registrar.
The essential question is whether the Registrar may adjourn the registration of an arbitral award merely because appellate proceedings are pending. Properly analysed, the answer is that the Registrar possesses a circumscribed statutory discretion to adjourn registration in the circumstances contemplated by the Arbitration Act No. 19 of 2000 (the “Arbitration Act”) and the Arbitration (Court Proceedings) Rules, SI No. 17 of 2001 (the “Arbitration Court Proceedings Rules”). That discretion, however, is neither plenary nor appellate in character. It cannot be transmuted into an indirect stay of enforcement merely because an appeal has been lodged. In the absence of an adjournment, suspension, or other operative order from a competent court, the award remains capable of registration and enforcement
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