Case No.
E38/2020
RATIONALE
The court decided to make the date of notification of the collection of the award as the date of delivery owing to the expediency and timeliness of arbitration. Consequently, the timelines ought to be enforced as they are to maintain the quality and appeal of arbitration. Even if good reason is given, a setting aside application cannot be entertained outside of the timelines because of the finality of arbitral awards and the subsequent speedy enforcement. Additionally, the failure of the parties to collect the award will not delay the date of delivery owing to the same reasons of expediency, cost effectiveness and speed.
CASE RELEVANCE
Section 35 (3) provides that an application to set aside an award should not be made after three months from the date on which the party received the award. The court construed the date of the receipt of the award to mean the date on which the arbitrator notifies the parties that the award is ready for collection. Thus, the time limit will be computed from the date on which the arbitrator notified the parties that their award was ready for collection. The date of delivery therefore does not depend on the date on which the parties obtain physical receipt of the award.
Links