South Africa: business rescue - arbitration and the moratorium on bringing legal proceedings

This year the Supreme Court of Appeal has heard several cases concerning the business rescue framework contained in the Companies Act 2008. Within this framework, section 133 of the Act imposes a moratorium on the bringing or continuing of legal proceedings, including enforcement action. Today, in Chetty v Hart (20323/14) [2015] ZASCA 112, the court held this moratorium applied to arbitration proceedings. A summary is available here (pdf).

Earlier this year, in Cloete Murray NO v FirstRand Bank Ltd (20104/2014) [2015] ZASCA 39, the court held that 'enforcement action' under section 133 did not include the cancellation of an agreement concluded prior to the start of the business rescue proceedings. A summary is available here (pdf).