JUDGMENT OF THE COURT
A. INTRODUCTION
[1] The Petition before us dated 13th February, 2017 is anchored on Article 163(4)(a) of the Constitution, Section 15(2) of the Supreme Court Act, 2011 and Rules 9 and 33 of the Supreme Court Rules, 2012. The Petitioner appeals the Ruling of the Court of Appeal delivered on 20th December, 2016, in which that Court held that it has no jurisdiction to hear appeals from decisions of the High Court arising from arbitration proceedings seeking to set aside an arbitral award under Section 35 of the Arbitration Act, No. 4 of 1995.
B. BACKGROUND
[2] Approximately 10 years ago, the parties before the Court entered into a partly oral and partly written sale agreement whereby the Petitioner offered to purchase office blocks and parking spaces from the Respondent. Later on, a dispute arose and according to the terms of the agreement, a sole arbitrator was to be appointed to resolve it. By the time the dispute arose, the Petitioner had disbursed a significant amou…