Whether CAS Arbitration Awards can be recognised and enforced in Zimbabwe?

The Court for Arbitration (‘CAS’), also known as the Tribunal Arbitral du Sport (‘TAS’) with its headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland is an international independent institution, which was established by the International Olympic Committee (‘IOC’) to facilitate the resolution of sports related disputes, through mediation and arbitration by specialists within particular sports disciplines.

CAS has its own arbitration rules, which provide for the resolution of different types of sports disputes. Generally speaking, each party chooses one arbitrator from the special list of arbitrators i.e., CAS list to serve as arbitrators, and then the two designated arbitrators appoint the President of the Panel.

The decision rendered by a CAS Panel or CAS Tribunal will be in accordance with the Code of Sports Related Arbitration. The decision is in the form of an Arbitral Award, which is enforceable immediately, as the CAS Rules do not provide for an appeal mechanism. Put differently, the decisions are final and binding on the parties.

In Zimbabwe, an arbitral award, irrespective of the country in which it was made, can be recognised as binding and enforced, upon application in writing to the High Court. On the 13 th September 1996, Zimbabwe promulgated the Arbitration Act [Chapter 7:15] which domesticated both the Model law on International Commercial Arbitration and the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (‘New York Convention’).

In adopting both the Model Law and New York Convention, the Republic of Zimbabwe did not restrict or limit the nature or type of awards which could be recognised and enforced in the country. In fact, in Zimbabwe the High Court has the authority to register domestic and international awards, commercial and non – commercial awards. In light of this, CAS Awards or TAS Awards can be recognised and enforced in Zimbabwe under the New York Convention which is the Second Schedule of the Arbitration Act [Chapter 7:15].