Wakilii

Plinth Technical Works Ltd v Mbale Municipal Local Government Council (CAD ARB 61 of 2017)

Tribunal · [2018] UGCADER 5 · 2018 Application Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application to enforce settlement agreement through arbitration proceedings
Decision
Application to enforce settlement agreement through arbitration granted

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

The tribunal held that the arbitration clause in Clause 25.4 applies to any disputes arising under the contract, not only appeals from adjudicator decisions under Clause 25.3. The settlement agreement dispute falls within the scope of the arbitration clause. The absence of a project manager decision and the project manager's non-participation in the settlement agreement support this construction. Application granted with costs to the applicant.

Outcome

Application to enforce settlement agreement through arbitration granted

Facts

The parties executed a construction contract on 2 June 2014 for road works in Mbale Municipal Local Government Council. A dispute arose and was compromised by a settlement agreement dated 22 August 2017, in which the Council agreed to pay the contractor UGX 1,984,000,000 after verification by the supervising consultant. The settlement agreement was not honored. The applicant sought to enforce the settlement agreement through arbitration. The respondent opposed on grounds that arbitration would disrupt ongoing verification, that the appointing authority under Clause 26 was the Uganda Institute of Professional Engineers, and that no notice of reference to arbitration had been provided.

Issues

  1. Whether the settlement agreement is envisaged by the arbitration clause in the construction contract.
  2. Whether the arbitration proceedings would hinder or disrupt the ongoing verification exercise.
  3. Whether the applicant was required to provide notice of reference to arbitration.

Orders

  • Application granted.
  • Costs of the application awarded to the applicant.

Rules and key headnotes

Arbitration & ADR — Scope of Arbitration Clause — Disputes Arising Under Contract
An arbitration clause providing that any arbitration shall be conducted in accordance with the Arbitration law applies to any disputes arising under the contract and is not confined to appeals from adjudicator decisions under a separate adjudication clause.
Arbitration & ADR — Adjudication and Arbitration — Relationship Between Clauses
Where a contract provides for adjudication as a first tier dispute resolution mechanism with appeal to arbitration, and also contains a general arbitration clause for any disputes, the general arbitration clause is not limited by the adjudication appeal provision and applies to disputes that do not pass through adjudication.
Contract Law — Settlement Agreements — Enforcement Through Arbitration
A settlement agreement arising from a dispute under a contract containing an arbitration clause may be enforced through arbitration proceedings where the settlement agreement falls within the scope of disputes envisaged by the arbitration clause.

Legislation cited (1)

Cases cited (2)

  • Pile Corporation Ltd v Twed Property Development Ltd (CAD ARB 4 of 2018)
  • Centrotrade Minerals & Metal Inc. versus Hindustan Copper Limited, Supreme Court of India

Full judgment

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

Plinth Technical Works Ltd v Mbale Municipal Local Government Council (CAD ARB 61 of 2017) [2018] UGCADER 5 (9 March 2018)
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.