2026 Chambers Global Practice Guide on International Arbitration - South Africa

Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer's Jonathan Ripley-Evans (Partner), Fiorella Noriega Del Valle (Director), Veronica Connolly (Senior Associate) and Kyle Melville (Associate), have authored both the Law and Practice and the Trends and Developments sections of the South Africa chapter in the 2026 Chambers Global Practice Guide on International Arbitration. This is the second time the Johannesburg team have contributed to the Chambers Global Practice Guide on International Arbitration, having previously contributed to the 2024 edition. 

The International Arbitration guide covers over 60 jurisdictions and provides up to date information and analysis on global arbitration practice, legislation, judicial precedent, and trends. The South Africa chapter examines the country's emergence as a leading arbitration seat on the African continent, charting the convergence of legislative reform, institutional development and an increasingly pro-arbitration judiciary that has positioned South Africa as a prominent jurisdiction for international dispute resolution.

The Law and Practice section provides commentary on South Africa's legislative framework, anchored by the International Arbitration Act 15 of 2017 (IAA), which incorporates the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration. It covers key areas including the enforceability of arbitration agreements, challenges to jurisdiction, preliminary and interim relief, emergency arbitration, confidentiality, evidentiary practice, the requirements for valid awards, and the recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards.

The Trends and Developments section considers the growing demand for arbitration involving African parties and the gap that persists between that growth and proportionate African institutional ownership of the arbitral process. It analyses the factors distinguishing South Africa from other African seats, including the depth of its legal expertise, the quality of its legislative infrastructure and the principled support of its courts as demonstrated in recent landmark judgments. The section also addresses residual challenges, including South Africa's departure from the traditional investor-state dispute settlement architecture, including its decision not to accede to the ICSID Convention and its termination of numerous bilateral investment treaties with the Protection of Investment Act 22 of 2015 serving as the primary instrument governing investment dispute resolution.