Arbitration Proceedings

Most commissioners and private arbitrators would follow the age-old rule that people who are going to give evidence should not be permitted to sit in during the arbitration proceedings. There is another rule of thumb to the effect that a representative should not also give evidence. But are these rules absolute? The Labour Court has held that the fact that a witness was present in the proceedings should not disqualify him or her from giving evidence. The onus then shifts to the arbitrator to decide, when determining what weight to attach to the witness’s evidence, to what extent he or she made her evidence fit what had been said previously. This is, naturally, difficult, and it still remains easier to simply excuse the witnesses at the beginning of the proceedings.

For any further Labour Law related queries, please contact Bernard on:
W. Tel: 021 423 3959
Fax: 021 423 2105
Cell: 082 433 3959
Email: bernard@capelabour.co.za