OVERVIEW · CHAPTER 02
Institutions and organisation of arbitration
Who administers the proceedings, who decides the dispute and how costs are organised.
Institutional and ad hoc arbitration
In institutional arbitration, an administering institution provides the services specified in the chosen rules. In ad hoc arbitration, the parties and tribunal organise the proceedings without permanent institutional administration, potentially using established rules and an appointing authority. In both cases, the arbitral tribunal decides the dispute.
The Centro de Arbitragem, Conciliação e Mediação de Maputo (CACM) publishes statutes and arbitration, costs and ethics rules. The clause should correctly identify the institution and applicable rules. Using the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules does not mean that UNCITRAL itself administers the proceedings.
Sources and references
- Law No. 11/99 of 8 July — Arbitration, Conciliation and Mediation · arts. 3 and 17
- CACM — legislation, statutes and rules · statutes and rules
State courts and specialist mechanisms
A State court, an arbitral tribunal and an administering institution perform different functions. Courts may support or review arbitration in the circumstances prescribed by law; the arbitral tribunal determines the submitted dispute; the institution administers it under its rules. A commercial division of a State court is not thereby an arbitral institution.
In employment matters, the Labour Law and the regulations governing the Comissão de Mediação e Arbitragem Laboral (COMAL) require separate analysis. Mediation, conciliation and arbitration are not interchangeable stages. In administrative litigation, Law No. 7/2014 contains a specific chapter on arbitration.
Sources and references
- Law No. 11/99 of 8 July — Arbitration, Conciliation and Mediation · art. 9
- Law No. 13/2023 of 25 August — Labour Law · arts. 189–198
- Decree No. 30/2016 of 27 July — COMAL · organisation
- Law No. 7/2014 of 28 February — Administrative Judicial Proceedings · arts. 202–226
Costs, advances and budgeting
Article 24 addresses arbitrators’ remuneration, administrative charges and evidentiary expenses, together with their determination and allocation. The chosen rules and any permitted party agreements should be checked before preparing a budget. Counsel’s fees, experts, translation and travel may be separate items.
The portal’s calculator estimates CACM costs using the schedules it identifies. Its output does not replace the Centre’s quotation or guarantee the final cost and must be read with its stated assumptions and exclusions. Cost comparisons should also take account of evidentiary complexity, the number of arbitrators and enforcement needs.