Case Law[2023] ZASCA 142South Africa
Fleet Africa (Pty) Limited v Polokwane Local Municipality (720/2022) [2023] ZASCA 142 (30 October 2023)
Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa
30 October 2023
Headnotes
Summary: Contract law – jurisdiction – Superior Courts Act 10 of 2013 – whether the parties explicitly agreed that a particular high court would have exclusive jurisdiction in the event of the relief sought in respect of arbitration proceedings – whether the parties should be kept to the aforesaid agreement based on the principle of pacta sunt servanda – whether a court of appeal has jurisdiction to act as a court of first instance to determine the merits of the application where the court a quo has made no previous decision on the substantive merits.
Judgment
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## Fleet Africa (Pty) Limited v Polokwane Local Municipality (720/2022) [2023] ZASCA 142 (30 October 2023)
Fleet Africa (Pty) Limited v Polokwane Local Municipality (720/2022) [2023] ZASCA 142 (30 October 2023)
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sino date 30 October 2023
# THE SUPREME COURT OF
APPEAL OF SOUTH AFRICA
THE SUPREME COURT OF
APPEAL OF SOUTH AFRICA
# JUDGMENT
JUDGMENT
## Reportable
Reportable
Case
no: 720/2022
In
the matter between:
# FLEET AFRICA (PTY)
LTD
APPELLANT
FLEET AFRICA (PTY)
LTD
APPELLANT
and
# POLOKWANE LOCAL
MUNICIPALITY
RESPONDENT
POLOKWANE LOCAL
MUNICIPALITY
RESPONDENT
Neutral
citation:
Fleet
Africa
(Pty)
Limited
v
Polokwane
Local
Municipality
(720/2022)
[2023] ZASCA 142
(30 October 2023)
Coram:
SALDULKER, HUGHES and
MATOJANE JJA and
KEIGHTLEY and
SIWENDU AJJA
Heard:
23 August 2023
Delivered:
This judgment was handed down electronically by circulation to
the parties’ legal representatives by email. It has been
published
on the Supreme Court of Appeal website and released to
SAFLII. The date and time for hand-down is deemed to be 11h00 on 30
October
2023.
Summary:
Contract law
–
jurisdiction
–
Superior
Courts Act 10 of 2013
– whether the parties explicitly
agreed that a particular high court would have exclusive jurisdiction
in the event of the
relief sought in respect of arbitration
proceedings – whether the parties should be kept to the
aforesaid agreement based
on the principle of
pacta sunt servanda
– whether a court of appeal has jurisdiction to act as a
court of first instance to determine the merits of the application
where the court a
quo
has made no previous decision on the
substantive merits.
# ORDER
ORDER
On
appeal from
: Limpopo Division of the High Court, Polokwane
(Phatudi J, sitting as court of first instance):
1
The appeal is
upheld with costs, costs to include those of two
counsel.
2
The order of
the court below is set aside and substituted with the
following order:
‘
2.1The
defences raised by the respondent in the pending arbitration between
the parties, namely that:
(a)
The awarding of the Bid under bid number 49/2012 ('the Bid') by the
respondent to the applicant is unlawful due to non-compliance
with,
inter alia,
Regulation 29(2)
of the Municipal Supply Chain Management
Regulations published under GN 868 in Government Gazette 27636 of 30
May 2005; and
(b)
The service level agreement ('SLA') concluded between the parties
pursuant to the award of the Bid is null and void and unenforceable;
have
no merit and can be disregarded by the Arbitrator in determining and
adjudicating the remaining disputes before him in the
arbitration
between the parties.
2.2
The SLA is binding on the respondent.
2.3
The respondent is to pay the costs of the application on attorney and
client scale, such costs to include those occasioned by
the
employment of two counsel where two counsel have been employed.’
# JUDGMENT
JUDGMENT
## Matojane JA (Saldulker
and Hughes JJA and Keightley and Siwendu AJJA concurring):
Matojane JA (Saldulker
and Hughes JJA and Keightley and Siwendu AJJA concurring):
Introduction
[1]
This is an appeal against the judgment and order issued
by Phatudi J
in the Limpopo Division of the High Court, Polokwane (high court).
The appellant, Fleet Africa Pty Ltd (Fleet Africa)
sought a
declaratory order in the high court that certain defences raised by
the respondent, the Polokwane Municipality (the Municipality),
in the
ongoing arbitration process between the parties are without merit and
should be ignored by the Arbitrator when resolving
the remaining
disputes between the two parties. Additionally, Fleet Africa sought a
declaration that the Service Level Agreement
(SLA) between the
parties is binding on the Municipality.
[2]
The Municipality’s defences revolve around the
argument that
Fleet Africa's Bid was unlawfully awarded. As a result, the
Municipality contend that the SLA between the two parties,
which is
the foundation of Fleet Africa's arbitration claim, is irregular and
liable to be invalidated.
[3]
In the high court the Municipality raised two points
in limine
.
Firstly, it argued that the high court had no jurisdiction to hear
the matter. Secondly, it contended that the appellant's application
was premature because the Arbitrator had only formed a
prima facie
view about his lack of jurisdiction, and no final ruling had been
made.
[4]
After a full argument on the merits, Phatudi J agreed
with the
Municipality on the jurisdictional point, holding that the high court
did not have jurisdiction to hear the matter. The
high court did not
delve into the substantive merits of the matter and dismissed the
appellant's application. Additionally, Fleet
Africa was ordered to
pay the costs on an attorney and client scale. Aggrieved with this
decision, the appellant appealed with
the leave of the high court.
## Factual background
Factual background
[5]
In May 2012, Fleet Africa successfully won a tender from
the
Municipality through Bid Number 49/2012. This tender involved
providing fleet vehicles and related services to the Municipality
for
five years, starting on 1 March 2013 and expiring on 28 February 2018
On 29 August 2012, the chairperson of the bid adjudication
committee
recommended Fleet Africa for the project, and the municipal manager
approved their appointment on 30 August 2012. On
5 December 2012, the
Municipality's council formally resolved to appoint Fleet Africa as a
service provider. Subsequently, both
parties signed the SLA on 25
February 2013. Under the terms of the SLA, the Municipality
outsourced its entire motor vehicle fleet
to Fleet Africa for a
duration of five years, with an estimated cost of R229,163,716.72,
excluding variable components.
[6]
The Municipality had the option to extend the SLA with
Fleet Africa
by providing a 90-day notice before the termination date. However, on
21 November 2017, the Municipality decided not
to extend the SLA.
They resolved not to continue the agreement beyond its original
expiration date, indicating their intention
to let it expire as
initially planned.
[7]
Clause 23 of the SLA stipulated that any disputes arising
out of the
SLA, such as those concerning its implementation, interpretation,
application, validity, or enforceability, should be
referred to a
dispute resolution process outlined within that same clause. Clause
25 of the SLA imposed an obligation on the Municipality
to pay the
residual purchase price for the leased vehicles to Fleet Africa upon
the termination of the SLA. This clause also included
a 'put and
call' provision, which allowed both parties, in the event of the
SLA's termination for any reason, to exercise the following
options:
Fleet Africa could require the Municipality to buy the leased
vehicles from them. In contrast, the Municipality could
require Fleet
Africa to sell the vehicles to them, all in accordance with the terms
outlined in that specific clause.
[8]
On 16 February 2018, Fleet Africa invoked Clause 25 of
the SLA by
exercising its contractual put and call option, which required the
Municipality to purchase all the leased motor vehicles
from Fleet
Africa. Fleet Africa claimed that the total purchase price for these
vehicles was R53.9 million, representing the remaining
value of the
fleet. However, the Municipality did not make the payment within the
15-day period following the SLA's termination
on 28 February 2018.
Instead, the Municipality passed a resolution disputing the payment
of the residual purchase price and aimed
to retain possession and
ownership of the fleet without paying the amount demanded by Fleet
Africa upon the SLA's expiration.
[9]
As of 6 March 2018, the Municipality claimed that it
had overpaid
Fleet Africa by R147,406,350 and raised concerns about the
application of the
National Credit Act 34 of 2005
to their SLA.
Importantly, at this point, there were no allegations made regarding
the irregularity of the Municipality's tender
process. The
Municipality then referred the dispute to arbitration. Initially, it
refused to participate in the arbitration process
it had initiated.
On 28 May 2018, Fleet Africa submitted its statement of claim,
seeking payment for the outstanding amount related
to the fleet of
motor vehicles leased to the Municipality and other unpaid sums as
outlined in the SLA.
## Jurisdiction
Jurisdiction
[10]
The high court dismissed Fleet Africa's application for a declarator
solely
on the basis that it did not have jurisdiction to hear the
matter. Section 21(1) of the Superior Courts Act 10 of 2013 (the Act)
provides that a 'division has jurisdiction over all persons residing
or being in and in relation to all causes arising and of all
offences
triable within its area of jurisdiction…'. Although it was not
established at the time the SLA was entered into,
the high court is a
court of competent jurisdiction.
[11]
All key aspects of this case, such as the Municipality, the tender
award, the
SLA, and the services provided by Fleet Africa, are within
the court's jurisdiction. Fleet Africa's cause of action also arose
within the court's jurisdiction. However, during the high court
hearing, the Municipality argued
in limine
that, according to
the SLA, both parties had agreed to exclude the court's jurisdiction
and instead granted exclusive jurisdiction
to the Gauteng Division of
the High Court, Johannesburg (Johannesburg high court) to decide on
this matter.
[12]
The high court upheld the point
in limine
, finding that in
terms of clause 33.10 of the SLA, the parties had the mutual
intention that any dispute arising between them would
be subject to
the exclusive jurisdiction of the Johannesburg High Court and would
not be justiciable in its jurisdiction. Clause
33.10 of the SLA reads
as follows:
'Subject
to clause 23, the parties hereto hereby consent and submit to the
jurisdiction of such High Court of South Africa or division
thereof,
which has its seat in Johannesburg, in any dispute arising from or in
connection with this agreement.'
[13]
Clause 33.10 must be read together with Clause 23.15. It provides,
among others,
that any dispute between the parties regarding the
validity, enforceability, ratification, termination, or cancellation
of the
SLA or any matter that impacts the parties' interests under
the agreement must be resolved in accordance with Clause 23 of the
SLA unless the SLA specifies otherwise.
[14]
Two further sub-clauses record the parties' consent to the
jurisdiction of
a second court, namely the Gauteng Division of the
High Court, Pretoria (the Pretoria High Court), for specific legal
proceedings.
The first is clause 23.5, which preserves for parties
the right to obtain urgent relief through motion proceedings in the
Pretoria
High Court. The second is clause 23.15, which records that
the parties consent to the jurisdiction of the Pretoria High Court
for
any application to make the decision of the Arbitrator an order
of court.
[15]
The high court reasoned that clause 23.5 did not apply as the
proceedings before
it was not urgent. Nor did clause 23.15 apply.
Accordingly, it found that only clause 33.10 had application, and in
terms of this
clause, the parties had agreed to the exclusive
jurisdiction of the Johannesburg High Court.
[16]
The high court erred in this regard. Clause 33.10 of the SLA, read
together
with clause 23, does not establish exclusive jurisdiction to
the Johannesburg High Court, nor does it exclude the jurisdiction of
the high court. In the first place, it does not use the term
'exclusive jurisdiction', which one would expect if the intent of
the
parties had been to limit jurisdiction to the Johannesburg High
Court. It simply records, in express terms, a consent to that
court's
jurisdiction. That the parties had in mind that more than one court
could have jurisdiction by consent is demonstrated
by the fact that
in clause 23, they consented to the jurisdiction of the Pretoria High
Court.
[17]
Clause 33.10 does not state that all legal disputes arising from the
agreement
must be resolved exclusively in the Johannesburg High
Court. What the clause was designed to do was to permit the parties
to choose
from different courts, depending on the nature of the
dispute. For disputes falling within clause 33.10, an opposing party
would
be bound by its consent and would be prohibited from objecting
to the jurisdiction of the Johannesburg High Court.
[18]
The
Municipality argued that the principle of
pacta
sunt servanda
[1]
applies in this case because the parties explicitly selected and
agreed to be subject to the jurisdiction of the South Gauteng
and
North Gauteng Divisions of the High Court, effectively excluding the
Limpopo Division's jurisdiction. This submission is unsound.
In the
first place, as noted earlier, it is difficult to understand how the
parties could have agreed to exclude the jurisdiction
of a court that
was not yet even in existence. There is a second reason why the
submission is unsound. Our law is clear that when
a party consents to
a court's jurisdiction, it does not oust the jurisdiction of another
competent court. Rather, it designates
a specific court as the
appropriate one to adjudicate the dispute. It is now established that
parties cannot completely exclude
a court's jurisdiction through
their mutual agreement.
[19]
In
Foize
Africa v Foize Beheer
,
[2]
the Court clarified that
contractual clauses requiring disputes to be resolved in a foreign
court don't necessarily prevent South
African courts from
adjudicating disputes arising from them. This case involved a
licensing agreement between a South African and
a Dutch entity, which
mandated arbitration in the Netherlands and the application of Dutch
law to dispute resolution. When the
Dutch entity breached the
agreement, the South African party sought legal protection from the
Pretoria High Court. The Dutch company
argued that the foreign
jurisdiction clause barred South African courts from hearing the
case.
[20]
Regarding the issue of whether parties to a contract can mutually
exclude the
jurisdiction of South African courts, Leach JA stated the
following:
‘
.
. .
It
can now be regarded as well settled that a foreign jurisdiction or
arbitration clause does not exclude the court's jurisdiction.
Parties
to a contract cannot exclude the jurisdiction of a court by their own
agreement, and where a party wishes to invoke the
protection of a
foreign jurisdiction or arbitration clause, it should do so by way of
a special or dilatory plea seeking a stay
of the proceedings. That
having been done, the court will then be called on to exercise its
discretion whether or not to enforce
the clause in question ─
see eg
Commissioner
for Inland Revenue and another v Isaacs
NO
1960 (1) SA 126
(A) at 134B-H,
Yorigami
Maritime Construction Co Ltd v Nissho- Iwai Co Ltd
1977
(4) SA 682
(C),
Butler
v Banimar Shipping Co SA
1978
(4) SA 753
(SE) and
Universiteit
van Stellenbosch v J A Louw (Edms) Bpk
1983
(4) SA 321
(A) at 333G-H.’
[3]
[21]
In
Standard
Bank of SA Ltd and Others v Thobejane and Others,
[4]
Sutherland AJA held that a court is obliged by law to hear any matter
that falls within its jurisdiction and has no power to exercise
a
discretion to decline to hear such a matter on
the
ground
that
another
court,
the
magistrate's
court
in
that
instance,
had
concurrent jurisdiction unless there is an abuse of process.
[5]
Sutherland AJA affirmed that the British legal doctrine of
forum
non conveniens
[6]
does
not apply in South African law except within admiralty jurisdiction.
Consequently, the high court does not have the authority
to refuse to
hear cases appropriately brought before them within their
jurisdiction.
[22]
Applying the same reasoning, when parties have jointly agreed to
settle a dispute
in a different jurisdiction, this agreement does not
inherently remove the concurrent jurisdiction enjoyed by another
competent
court. Once the Polokwane High Court was established, it
had concurrent jurisdiction to consider disputes arising out of the
SLA.
Thus, Fleet Africa had the option to initiate legal proceedings
either in the Johannesburg or the Polokwane high court. It opted
for
the latter.
[23]
Accordingly, the high court did not have the discretion to decline to
hear
the matter as its jurisdiction was based on the location where
all jurisdictional facts occurred. The appeal falls to be upheld
on
this ground alone. We were asked to exercise our discretionary powers
in terms of s 19 (
a
) or (
d
) of the Act to declare that
the SLA is binding on the Municipality as the high court did not make
a decision despite the merits
being fully argued before the court. We
were urged to do so because the necessary facts are before this Court
and in view of the
delays already encountered in finalizing the
matter.
## The alleged irregularity
The alleged irregularity
[24]
As outlined in its statement of defence, the Municipality's defence
is that
the procurement process leading to the SLA did not meet the
mandatory requirements specified in
regulation 29(2)
of the
Municipal
Supply Chain Management Regulations, GN
868 in
GG
27636, 30
May 2005. The Municipality contended that the Bid Adjudication
Committee was not properly constituted according to
regulation 29(2).
It argued that certain key senior managers, including the chief
financial officer, a senior supply chain management practitioner,
and
a technical expert in the relevant field, who were mandated to be
present, were conspicuously absent during the meeting.
[25]
Regulation 29
, inter alia, provides:
'(1)
a bid adjudication committee must-
(a)
consider the report and recommendations of the bid evaluation
committee and
(b)
either-
(i)
depending on its delegations, make a final award or a recommendation
to the accounting officer to make a final award
or
(ii)
make another recommendation to the accounting officer on how to
proceed with the relevant procurement.
(2)
A bid adjudication committee must consist
of at least four senior
managers of the Municipality or the municipal entity, which must
include-
(i)
the chief financial officer or,
if the chief financial officer is
not available, another manager in the budget and treasury office
reporting directly to the chief
financial officer and designated by
the chief financial officer
;
(ii)
at least one senior supply chain management practitioner who is an
official of the Municipality or municipal
entity and
(iii)
a technical expert in the relevant field who is an official of the
Municipality or municipal entity,
if the municipality or municipal
entity has such an expert
.' (My emphasis.)
[26]
The Regulation allows a representative authorized by the chief
financial officer
to act on their behalf. A technical expert is
required only if the Municipality has one. Despite the Municipality's
complaints
about the composition of the BAC, it has not provided
copies of the attendance register and the written recommendations
from the
BAC meeting in its answering affidavit to support its claim
of non-compliance with the regulations. Additionally, the
Municipality
has not disclosed the identities and roles of the
individuals involved in the BAC decision-making process. The
Municipality argues
that whether it complied with Regulation 29.2 is
a factual question to be determined by the Arbitrator, and it intends
to submit
further evidence and documents before the Arbitrator to
support its claim of non-compliance. Notably, the Municipality has
not
included any of these purported documents demonstrating
irregularities in the tender process in its answering affidavit.
[27]
The Municipality raised its defence, for the first time, in the
statement of
defence submitted to the Arbitrator. This happened eight
years after the Bid was initially awarded and two years after the
formal
expiration of the SLA in February 2018. The Arbitrator
informed the parties that the Municipality's argument about its
failure
to comply with the provisions of the
Local Government:
Municipal Finance Management Act, 56 of 2003
and the
Municipal Supply
Chain Management Regulations raised
a constitutional issue that might
not fall under his jurisdiction.
[28]
The Arbitrator enquired whether the Municipality planned to review
its own
decision or if Fleet Africa intended to seek a court
declaration that the Municipality must honour the SLA agreement. In
either
case, the matter would need to be taken to the high court.
Importantly, the Municipality never responded to the Arbitrator's
question
and has not initiated a self-review of its decision so far.
[29]
The legality of the Municipality's tender decision is primarily
within the
jurisdiction of the high court. Therefore, The
Municipality's argument that Fleet Africa should have first sought a
ruling from
the Arbitrator on jurisdiction before approaching the
high court has no merit because the Arbitrator cannot rule on the
self-review
issue. Additionally, the Municipality did not file a
cross-appeal arguing that even if the court erred in the first point,
the
second point should still be upheld.
[30]
The arbitration process has stalled due to the Arbitrator's inability
to address
the question of self-review. This prolonged delay is
causing a significant impact on Fleet Africa's contractual right to a
timely
resolution of the dispute as stipulated in the SLA. Instead of
submitting its statement of defence and counterclaim, the
Municipality
initially pursued a series of unsuccessful interlocutory
applications, including three unsuccessful urgent applications and
two
failed applications for leave to appeal in the Johannesburg High
Court. This was followed by two unsuccessful applications for leave
to appeal to this Court and its President for reconsideration. The
Municipality also sought leave to appeal to the Constitutional
Court,
which was also dismissed with costs. Importantly, none of these
applications mentioned the allegation that the Municipality’s
appointment of Fleet Africa might have been irregular.
[31]
The
principle of legality necessitates that parties initiate review
proceedings within a reasonable time frame. Cameron JA in
Merafong
City Local Municipality v AngloGold Ashanti Limited
[7]
emphasized that the rule against delaying the initiation of a review
prevents potential harm caused by prolonged uncertainty about
the
legality of a decision. He held that:
'The
rule against delay in instituting review exists for a good reason: to
curb the potential prejudice that would ensue if the
lawfulness of
the decision remains uncertain. Protracted delays could give rise to
calamitous effects. Not just for those who rely
upon the decision but
also for the efficient functioning of the decision-making body
itself.'
[8]
[32]
In
Department
of Transport and Others v Tasima (Pty) Limited
,
[9]
the Constitutional Court explained that while a court should be slow
to allow procedural obstacles to prevent it from looking into
a
challenge to the lawfulness of an exercise of public power, it is
equally a feature of the rule of law that undue delay should
not be
tolerated. Delay can prejudice the respondent, weaken the ability of
a court to consider the merits of a review, and undermine
the public
interest in bringing certainty and finality to administrative action.
A court should, therefore, exhibit vigilance,
consideration and
propriety before overlooking a late review, reactive or otherwise.
[33]
Throughout the legal proceedings, the Municipality acknowledges that
Fleet
Africa's selection as the preferred service provider was the
outcome of a comprehensive bidding process, which involved multiple
rounds of negotiations and presentations. The Municipality explicitly
affirmed the validity and legality of Fleet Africa's appointment
in a
letter dated 7 September 2020 addressed to Fleet Africa.
Additionally, on 21 September 2012, the Municipal Manager issued
a
public notice in accordance with s 33 of the Municipal Finance
Management Act 56 of 2003 (MFMA), confirming that the process
of
awarding the fleet management contract had been completed, with Fleet
Africa as the successful bidder for a five-year contract.
[34]
There is no indication of fraud, dishonesty, or corruption in
awarding the
contract. Fleet Africa entered into the contract with
the Municipality in good faith. The defence raised by the
Municipality that
its award of the tender was
ultra vires
because
of the absence of certain officials who were required to be present
is unsubstantiated. It was the high court, and not the
Arbitrator,
with jurisdiction to determine whether the SLA complied with the
principle of legality. Consequently, the burden fell
on the
Municipality to tender sufficient evidence in the high court
proceedings to succeed in its defence. It failed to do so.
It follows
that the defence must fail.
[35]
There is a
further reason for the Municipality's defence on the merits to fail.
It goes to the question of whether the asserted
irregularity even
engages the legality issue. If not, the question is whether the
Municipality should be estopped from raising
the contract's
invalidity as a defence. In
City
of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality v RPM Bricks Proprietary
Ltd
,
[10]
Ponnan JA stressed that whether the doctrine of estoppel can be
applied depends on whether the public authority's actions fall
within
its legal powers or involve irregular or informal exercises of power,
with estoppel being more likely to be invoked in the
latter scenario.
At best for the Municipality, its defence that the award of the
tender was irregular due to the non- attendance
of specific
individuals at the BAC involves an irregular exercise of public power
as described above, and therefore, the doctrine
of estoppel is
available to Fleet Africa
in
this
case.
Fleet
Africa
was
not
obligated,
without
knowledge
to
the
contrary, to investigate whether all internal processes or
formalities had been fulfilled. It was entitled to assume that all
necessary arrangements and formalities have been properly met.
[36]
Fleet Africa is asking the court to make a final determination on the
merits
of their application, substituting the order of the high court
with that sought in the notice of motion. Fleet Africa has already
fulfilled its obligations under the SLA by providing all the required
services and goods to the Municipality. Further, more than
ten years
have passed since the alleged irregular decision was made, and the
Municipality has not taken any steps to challenge
the decision
through a self-review application despite being encouraged to do so
by the Arbitrator. Given the excessive delay,
the absence of a
reasonable and satisfactory explanation for the delay, and the
unconscionable and highly prejudicial conduct of
the Municipality, it
would be in the interest of justice for this Court to allow Fleet
Africa to proceed to enforce its rights
by way of the arbitration
proceedings.
[37]
In the result, I make the following order:
1
The appeal is
upheld with costs, costs to include those of two
counsel.
2
The order of
the court below is set aside and substituted with the
following order:
‘
2.1
The defences raised by the respondent in the pending arbitration
between the parties, namely that:
(a)
The awarding of the Bid under bid number 49/2012
('the Bid') by the
respondent to the applicant is unlawful due to non-compliance with,
inter alia,
Regulation 29(2)
of the
Municipal Supply Chain Management
Regulations published
under GN 868 in Government Gazette 27636 of 30
May 2005; and
(b)
The service level agreement ('SLA') concluded between
the parties
pursuant to the award of the Bid is null and void and unenforceable;
have
no merit and can be disregarded by the Arbitrator in determining and
adjudicating the remaining disputes before him in the
arbitration
between the parties.
2.2
The SLA is binding on the respondent.
2.3
The respondent is to pay the costs of the application
on attorney and
client scale, such costs to include those occasioned by the
employment of two counsel where two counsel have been
employed.’
K
E MATOJANE
JUDGE
OF APPEAL
Appearances
For
the appellant: I Miltz SC with V.J Heideman
Instructed
by: Fluxmans
Incorporated, Johannesburg
Lovius
Block Attorneys, Bloemfontein
For
the respondent: G Shakoane SC with J.A.L Pretorius
Instructed
by:
Mohale Incorporated, Polokwane
Honey
Attorneys, Bloemfontein
[1]
The principle of pacta sunt servanda is a cornerstone of South
African contractual law in terms of which an obligation created
in
an agreement must be honoured as it reflects the parties' intention
at the time of the conclusion of the agreement.
[2]
Foize Africa (Pty) Ltd v Foize Beheer BV and Others
[2012] ZASCA
123
;
[2012] 4 All SA 387
(SCA);
2013 (3) SA
91
(SCA).
[3]
Ibid para 21.
[4]
Standard Bank of SA Ltd and Others v Thobejane and Others; Standard
Bank of SA Ltd v Gqirana N O and Another
[2021]
ZASCA 92; [2021] 3 All SA 812 (SCA); 2021 (6) SA 403 (SCA).
[5]
Ibid paras 27 and 59.
[6]
Forum non conveniens’ is a Latin legal term that translates to
‘inconvenient forum’ in English. It is a legal
doctrine
used in civil litigation to allow a court to dismiss a case when it
determines that another court, typically in a different
jurisdiction, would be a more appropriate and convenient forum for
the case to be heard.
[7]
Merafong City Local Municipality v AngloGold Ashanti Limited [2016]
ZACC 35; 2017 (2) BCLR 182 (CC); 2017
(2)
SA 211 (CC).
[8]
Ibid para 73.
[9]
Department of Transport and Others v Tasima (Pty) Limited
[2016]
ZACC 39
;
2017 (1) BCLR 1
(CC);
2017 (2) SA
622
(CC) para 142.
[10]
City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality v RPM Bricks Proprietary
Ltd.
[2007] ZASCA 28
; [2007] SCA 28 (RSA);
2008 (3) SA 1
(SCA) paras
11 and 12.
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