When Does An Arbitrator Have Jurisdiction To Entertain A Claim?

In the recent case of the Minister of International Relations and Corporations NO and Another v Neo Thando / Elliot Mobility (Pty) Ltd and Another, the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) dealt with a matter whereby it had to determine whether a dispute existed between the parties at the time of the arbitration referral and whether the dispute referred to arbitration was consistent with the claim presented in arbitration.

On 4 October2024, Judge Mocumie withJudges Zondi, Weiner, Hendricks and Dippenaar, ruled in the matter between The Minister of International Relations and Co-operation NO (the first appellant), the Department of International Relations and Co-operation NO ("DIRCO") (the second appellant), Neo Thando / Elliot Mobility (Pty) Ltd (the first respondent) and Advocate MC Erasmus SC NO (the second respondent). The matter before the court was an appeal from the Gauteng Division of High Court, Pretoria which was initially heard before Judge Mokose, who was sitting