Jonathan Ripley-Evans
Jonathan is a Disputes Partner based in the Johannesburg office.
Jonathan Ripley-Evans is a Partner based in the Johannesburg office and heads up the South African Disputes practice. Jonathan has extensive experience in alternative dispute resolution and general commercial litigation. He has also acted as mediator and as advisor/representative in both mediations and arbitrations, domestic and international.
Jonathan is an AFSA accredited mediator and arbitrator and currently sits on the AFSA Management Committee. He was member of the core drafting committee responsible for the revision of the AFSA International Commercial Arbitration Rules which were launched in 2021. He is currently a member of the AFSA International Court and also sits as a member of the court of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and International Arbitration Centre (LACIAC).
He is an accredited Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) and currently sits on the board of the South African Branch.
His practice is geared towards alternative dispute resolution, in particular arbitration and mediation but is equally placed to administer complex commercial court litigation. He specialises in the resolution of commercial disputes in a wide range of sectors including energy, mining, tourism, hospitality, property, construction and engineering.
Jonathan is ranked by Chambers Global Guide 2022 for Dispute Resolution with clients commenting that, "he is a broad thinker and comes up with different solutions, he's very experienced with court matters and considers risks" and "he gives excellent advice, is incredibly responsive and has incredible knowledge of the market."
Background
- BCom – Bachelor of Commerce, Rand Afrikaans University
- LLB: Bachelor of Laws, University of Johannesburg
- LLM: Master of Laws (comparative civil procedure), Universitaet des Saarlandes (Germany)
Admitted as a Notary Public - Advanced Certificate in Alternative Dispute Resolution, University of Pretoria/AFSA
- Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb)
- A member of the LACIAC Court (Lagos)
Experience & expertise
Selected matters
- Gartner Inc in relation to its involvement and participation in the Nugent Commission of Inquiry into the Tax Administration and Governance by the South African Revenue Service during 2018
- a multinational European headquartered manufacturer of electronic & communications devices in highly publicised criminal trial proceedings in relation to corruption charges brought by the South African prosecuting authorities against the company's South African subsidiary
- Oya Energy/G7, Mulilo-Total, EDF and Scatec in judicial review proceedings challenging the legality of the process awarding preferred bidder status in the Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (RMIPPP).
- various clients operating in the tourism industry regarding the impact of COVID-19 and the global movement restrictions on their businesses, most notably in relation to disputes arising from insurance claims and large commercial leases.
- the owner of a large Ghanian power plant in a construction dispute with its main contractor which was referred to arbitration under ICC Rules.
- Vitol S.A. and Vesquin Trading (Proprietary) Limited in judicial review proceedings that were launched by the Central Energy Fund SOC Ltd and the Strategic Fuel Fund Association NPC regarding South Africa's strategic crude oil reserves
