Cap. 7:15
ARBITRATION ACT
Act 6/1996
“Minister” means the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs or any other
Minister to whom the President may, from time to time, assign the administration of
this Act;
“Model Law” means the Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration adopted by
the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law on the 21st June, 1985,
which is set out, with modifications, in the First Schedule.
(2) Any expression to which a meaning has been assigned in the Model Law shall bear the
same meaning when used in this Act.
(3) The material to which an arbitral tribunal or a court may refer in interpreting this Act
includes the documents relating to the Model Law and originating from the United Nations
Commission on International Trade Law, or its working group for the preparation of the Model
Law, that is to say the travaux préparatoires to the Model Law, and, in interpreting the Model
Law, regard shall be had to its international origin and to the desirability of achieving
international uniformity in its interpretation and application.
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Law applicable to arbitrations
(1) Subject to sections four and five, where the place of an arbitration is in Zimbabwe, this
Act and the Model Law, as modified by this Act, shall apply to the arbitration.
(2) Subject to sections four and five, where the place of an arbitration is not in Zimbabwe,
articles 8, 9, 35 and 36 of the Model Law, as modified by this Act, shall apply to the arbitration.
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What may be arbitrated
(1) Subject to this section, any dispute which the parties have agreed to submit to
arbitration may be determined by arbitration.
(2) The following matters shall not be capable of determination by arbitration—
(a) an agreement that is contrary to public policy; or
(b) a dispute which, in terms of any law, may not be determined by arbitration; or
(c) a criminal case; or
(d) a matrimonial cause or a matter relating to status, unless the High Court gives leave for
it to be determined by arbitration; or
(e) a matter affecting the interests of a minor or an individual under a legal disability,
unless the High Court gives leave for it to be determined by arbitration; or
( f ) a matter concerning a consumer contract as defined in the Consumer Contracts Act
[Chapter 8:03], unless the consumer has by separate agreement agreed thereto.
(3) The fact that an enactment confers jurisdiction on a court or other tribunal to determine
any matter shall not, on that ground alone, be construed as preventing the matter from being
determined by arbitration.
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Application of Act to arbitration under other enactments
(1) Subject to subsection (2), where an enactment requires any matter to be determined by
an arbitrator or by arbitration in accordance with any law relating to arbitration, such
requirement shall be deemed to be an arbitration agreement for the purposes of this Act.
(2) Where an enactment provides for the determination of any matter by arbitration, the
provisions of that enactment, to the extent that they are inconsistent with this Act, shall prevail.
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