Wakilii

Kampala Capital City Authority v Nalongo Estates Ltd (Miscellaneous Cause No. 31 of 2013)

High Court · [2014] UGCOMMC 134 · 2014 Application Dismissed AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application to set aside or remit arbitral award under Arbitration and Conciliation Act
Decision
Application to set aside arbitral award dismissed

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The High Court dismissed the application to set aside the arbitral award. The court held that an application to set aside an award is not an appeal and the court cannot re-examine evidence considered by the arbitrator. The applicant failed to demonstrate that the arbitrator acted arbitrarily, capriciously, irrationally or exceeded jurisdiction under section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act. The court found no inconsistencies making the award vague or ambiguous and no grounds for remission were established.

Outcome

Application to set aside arbitral award dismissed

Facts

Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) and Nalongo Estates Ltd entered into a management agreement dated 16 May 2006 (later revised 4 December 2008) for Nalongo to manage, develop, control and maintain Centenary Park. KCCA alleged numerous violations including the respondent erecting structures without approved plans, commencing works without prior approval, obstructing the park and failing to maintain it as green open space with unlimited public access. KCCA's predecessor KCC terminated the agreement on 26 April 2012. The matter was referred to arbitration. The arbitrator found in favour of Nalongo Estates on certain issues, declaring the management agreement still subsisting, granting an injunction restraining KCCA from taking over the park, and awarding compensatory damages of UGX 732,553,055 for demolition of structures damaged by KCCA's acts. KCCA applied to the High Court to set aside the award.

Issues

  1. Whether the arbitral award should be set aside on the ground that the arbitrator did not decide according to considerations of natural justice and fairness.
  2. Whether the arbitral award is in accordance with the terms of the management agreement between the parties.
  3. Whether the arbitral award is vague, ambiguous and contradictory thereby making it unjust and incapable of implementation.
  4. Whether the award contains errors in law and fact on the face of the record.
  5. Whether the award of compensatory damages for structures erected in breach of contract was irrational and unconscionable.
  6. Whether the arbitrator exceeded jurisdiction by deciding that the management contract was still subsisting despite alleged breaches.

Orders

  • Application dismissed with costs to the respondent.

Rules and key headnotes

Setting Aside Arbitral Awards — Grounds under Section 34
Recourse against an arbitral award is governed exclusively by section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act and a court is authorised to set aside an award only on the grounds laid down in that section.
Application to Set Aside — Distinguished from Appeal
An application to set aside an arbitral award is not an appeal. Arbitration is final unless it can be shown that the award was procured contrary to the law as provided under section 34 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act.
Judicial Review of Arbitral Awards — Limits on Court Intervention
The court cannot re-examine and reappraise evidence which has been considered by an arbitrator or sit on appeal over the arbitrator's conclusions in an application to set aside an award unless the award is perverse.
Arbitrator's Jurisdiction — Acting Within Contract Terms
An arbitrator cannot act arbitrarily, irrationally, capriciously or independently of the contract. The arbitrator's sole function is to arbitrate in terms of the contract as his authority is derived from the contract. If the arbitrator remains inside the parameters of the contract and construes its provisions, the award cannot be interfered with unless there are reasons showing error on the face of the award.
Remission of Award — Grounds
An award may be remitted for reconsideration by the arbitrator on the following grounds: (a) there is some defect or error apparent on the face of the award; (b) the arbitrator has admittedly made some mistake and desires the award to be remitted for correction; (c) material evidence which could not be discovered with reasonable diligence before the award was made has been produced; or (d) there has been misconduct on the part of the arbitrator of a technical nature.

Legislation cited (14)

Cases cited (6)

  • Associated Engineering Co. v Government of Andra Pradesh (1991) 4 SCC 93
  • Kilemebe Mines Ltd v BM Steel Ltd (High Court Miscellaneous Application No. 002 of 2005)
  • Seyani Bros v Cassia Ltd (High Court Civil Appeal No. 128 of 2011)
  • SDR Transami v Agrimag Ltd (Arbitration Cause No. 2 of 2006)
  • V.G George V India Rare Earths Ltd AIR 199 SC 1409
  • NSSF v Alcon (High Court Arbitration Cause No. 4 of 2001)

Full judgment

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The original judgment as reported. Read the original PDF before relying on any passage.

Kampala Capital City Authority v Nalongo Estates Ltd (Miscellaneous Cause No. 31 of 2013) [2014] UGCommC 134 (5 September 2014)
Source: this page presents Wakilii’s issue analysis and metadata for a publicly reported Ugandan judgment. Any AI-generated summary is marked as such. Judgment text is sourced from the Uganda Legal Information Institute (ulii.org). Wakilii is not affiliated with ULII.