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Compulsory Arbitration in Zimbabwe under Consumer Protection Act, 2019

Not much has been written concerning compulsory arbitration in Zimbabwe under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 or consumer arbitration in Zimbabwe. It appears the only scholarly work on consumer arbitration in Zimbabwe is P Kanokanga, ‘Consumer Arbitration in Zimbabwe: A Road Less Travelled’ (2022) Midlands State University Law Review Special Issue 8 – 34. 

Section 60(1) of the Consumer Protection Act [Chapter 14:14] provides for consumer arbitration. This means that consumer disputes may be referred for compulsory arbitration in Zimbabwe. Where a consumer dispute is referred for compulsory arbitration in Zimbabwe it must be conducted in terms of the Arbitration Act [Chapter 7:15] which adopted the Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration (‘the Model Law’). 

The Model Law applies to all arbitration processes in Zimbabwe irrespective of their genesis. This means that any compulsory arbitration in Zimbabwe under the Consumer Protection Act [Chapter 14:14] should be conducted in accordance with the Model Law. see Econet Wireless (Pvt) Ltd v Tendayi 2020 (1) ZLR 915 (S) 922E. 

The recognition and enforcement of an award arising from compulsory arbitration in Zimbabwe under the Consumer Protection Act [Chapter 14:14] is not regulated by the Model Law. Similar to labour awards, the recognition and enforcement of a consumer arbitration award is in terms of section 60(10) of the Consumer Protection Act [Chapter 14:14] in respect of which any party may apply to the Magistrates Court, or if the arbitral award exceeds the jurisdiction of the Magistrates Court, the High Court for registration.