Course modules
As an associate member, you’ll always be in good company with a professional network of legal practitioners (attorneys, advocates and other legally qualified persons), members of the construction industry (architects, quantity surveyors, claims consultants, engineers and project managers), and other businesspersons (accountants, for example).
In the interests of specialisation pertaining to the construction industry, we recommend the Specialisation in Construction Law course module. Click here for full details.
All course notes and examination papers are in English.
Continuing Professional Development (CPD)
Advocate Tjaart van der Walt reinforces the AOA’s commitment to CPD and cross-association collaboration.
At the Association of Arbitrators (Southern Africa) NPC, we place a high premium on Continuing Professional Development (CPD) as an internationally recognised process of tracking, documenting and reflecting on the skills, knowledge and experience gained by our members in their respective professions.
In addition to its Certificate Course, Fellowship Admission Course, Accelerated Fellowship Admission Course and Specialisation in Construction Law Course, the Association presents regular evening lectures and weekend workshops at its head office in Sandton and its branches in KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape. Only members of the Association may enroll for our courses, but our evening lectures and weekend workshops are open to members and the public. Our courses, lectures and workshops all contribute to the Continuing Professional Development of our members – and, ultimately, to a high level of professional services rendered by our Fellows when they are appointed as arbitrators, adjudicators and in other alternative dispute resolution capacities.
The accumulation of CPD credits is of particular importance to many of our members involved in the built environment and, in particular, in the various disciplines of the engineering profession. The Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) regulates the accreditation and validation of engineering-related CPD activities. Registered engineering practitioners are required to accumulate a minimum of 25 CPD credits over a five-year cycle.
To this end, the Association is in close collaboration with like-minded institutions, for example the South African Institution of Civil Engineering (SAICE). Like the Association, SAICE hosts ECSA-accredited CPD activities, and there is a significant membership overlap between the Association and SAICE. Collaboration between the Association and SAICE includes, for example, the joint presentation of discussion forums, lectures and workshops, and the sharing of facilities and promotional platforms.
The Association is proud to announce that it was recently certified as an approved CPD Provider under ECSA for its construction contract-related Hardcore GCC lectures (2.5 hours/0.25 CPD credits). The lectures will be presented on more than one occasion in 2020 by the highly experienced Association Member, SAICE Fellow and Professional Engineer, Benti Czanik. Our General Manager, Rochelle Appleton, will distribute details of the lectures closer to the time.
Historically, a number of the Association’s activities were CPD-accredited under ECSA. They include:
- A CPD Workshop for Arbitrators
- Construction Conundrums
- The Advanced Law of Contract course module
- The Advanced Law of Delict course module
- The Law and Practice of Arbitration course module
- The Advanced Law and Practice of Arbitration course module
- How to conduct an arbitration and write an award
- The Chairman’s lecture on security for costs
- Negotiation skills training
- Commercial Mediation: Legal, Contractual and Practical Aspects
Because the Association continuously revises its activities to remain relevant in an ever-changing world, we are in the process of applying for renewed ECSA CPD accreditation for some of the previously accredited activities, and for some new activities. We hope to report positively in this regard in the near future.
