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"id": 152736,
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"content": "When it comes to the issue, which has been raised here about the cost of arbitration, particularly commercial arbitration; they can be a bit costly because you have to pay for the arbitrators. You know if you go before the courts, the State pays for the judges. You do not pay the courts. But if you go before arbitration, these are private professionals and so on. So, in addition to your own advocate, or whoever it is, you have also to pay for the arbitrators. But the centre under whose auspice that arbitration is being held, has a scale of fees, which everybody knows with this type of case, would be payable. I have told the Institute of Arbitrators, together with the Law Society of Kenya, to establish the Regional Centre for Commercial Arbitration as a matter of urgency. The Government will put in some money to ensure it begins. However thereafter, it will have to run on a commercial basis. It is that centre, when established that will say: \"If you come to us for an arbitration to be done under our auspices these are the charges that will be payable\" and so on. I had talked about the issue raised by Mr. Mungatana. I had forgotten to raise the fact that we are bringing in information Technology (IT) into arbitration by referring to fax and e-mails. I would like to thank Mr. Mungatana for bringing it out. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, on the issue of finality, this whole Bill is about how we can insulate the courts from arbitration. As I stated earlier, the mere fact that you have gone to court, under the law, will not stop the arbitration from going on. This is what is being said here. The arbitration will go on to the final conclusion and giving of the award. However, the award will now have to wait for that application to be disposed of. In this case, if the applicant to the High Court succeeds, then the award may be nullified automatically. However, if he does not succeed, the award will be enforced. We will not have the delay; where you delay in hearing arbitration awaiting the court decision. The arbitration will go on, irrespective. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, there are only specific grounds on which the courts can interfere. The courts are not an appellate court and the arbitral tribunal a junior court, so that what is decided here can be taken to the higher court of appeal. The arbitral tribunal is independent. However, there are cases in which the courts can interfere. One of the cases I said is, if you can really show the court that there was corruption, fraud and undue influence; you must prove it to the court. The Bill, as it was before, one could go to court on almost anything. However, now the grounds are very limited. I believe that with the passage of this Bill, any court applying itself to the law will be hard put to interfere with an arbitration that is going on. In fact, the courts as are there today, should welcome with open arms, the arbitrations. This is because the arbitrations are now helping them. They reduce the workload from them. They reduce the heavy responsibilities on their shoulders. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I think I have talked on the issue of guidelines and how much the arbitrators can charge. Mr. Ngugi raised that issue and also Mr.Chanzu. Thank you very much for your contributions. These hon. Members are arbitrators and that is why they were able to talk with competence on these issues. They are among the figures that I mentioned earlier. The other one is my name sake. I think he should become an arbitrator. I thought he is one of the accountants who are arbitrators. I think you should begin thinking about it so that when you leave politics it would be a very good thing to be sitting as an arbitrator and elder, settling disputes from various areas and so on."
}