Committee Members
Henk Louw - Chairperson
Riaan Booysen – Training and Communication
Sonia Guerra – Vice Chairperson
Henk Louw FCIArb is an Advocate of the High Court of South Africa and an Acting Judge of the High Court, practising from the Rivonia Group of Advocates at the Johannesburg Bar. He is also admitted as an Advocate in the Kingdom of Lesotho, where he has practised since 2000.
He is Chairperson of the CIArb South African Branch, a Fellow of
Henk Louw FCIArb is an Advocate of the High Court of South Africa and an Acting Judge of the High Court, practising from the Rivonia Group of Advocates at the Johannesburg Bar. He is also admitted as an Advocate in the Kingdom of Lesotho, where he has practised since 2000.
He is Chairperson of the CIArb South African Branch, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (UK), a Fellow of the Association of Arbitrators (Southern Africa), and a Commercial Panel Arbitrator of the Arbitration Foundation of Southern Africa (AFSA). He also chairs the Society of Construction Law Africa.
His practice spans commercial arbitration, litigation, adjudication and mediation, and he sits regularly as arbitrator, adjudicator and mediator. He serves on international panels including those of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre, the Shanghai International Arbitration Center, and the Russian Arbitration Center, and is an accredited mediator, also with the Society of Mediators (London).
Contact Details:
Email: advhlouw@rsabar.com
Cellphone: 083 327 5978
Sonia Guerra – Vice Chairperson
Riaan Booysen – Training and Communication
Sonia Guerra – Vice Chairperson
Sonia Guerra is a non-practicing attorney with over sixteen years of legal and commercial experience, specialising in detailed quantum analysis related to high-value construction, infrastructure and energy disputes. She is a Practicing Associate of the Academy of Experts and possesses a master’s degree in construction law and arbitratio
Sonia Guerra is a non-practicing attorney with over sixteen years of legal and commercial experience, specialising in detailed quantum analysis related to high-value construction, infrastructure and energy disputes. She is a Practicing Associate of the Academy of Experts and possesses a master’s degree in construction law and arbitration.
Her areas of expertise encompass contract and commercial advisory services, contract administration, claims analysis, management consulting, quantum assessments, labour relations, and arbitration.
Sonia has acquired extensive experience across various sectors, including infrastructure, building and housing, energy and chemicals, renewable energy, as well as minerals and metals. She possesses a thorough understanding of all standard forms of contract, including FIDIC, NEC, GCC, and JBCC. Moreover, Sonia holds multiple professional memberships, has served on the board of directors of the Corporate Counsel Association of South Africa (CCA), and currently acts as a committee member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) and Society of Construction Law for Africa (SCLA).
Contact details:
Email: soniaguerra@hka.com
Cellphone: 063 574 7169
Riaan Booysen – Training and Communication
Riaan Booysen – Training and Communication
Roelf Nel – Secretarial and administrative function
Riaan Booysen is a Chartered Arbitrator and Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb), a Fellow of the Association of Arbitrators (Southern Africa), an internationally accredited mediator, and an approved CIArb faculty member for both Arbitration and Mediation.
A practising advocate at the Johannesburg Bar, Riaan speciali
Riaan Booysen is a Chartered Arbitrator and Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb), a Fellow of the Association of Arbitrators (Southern Africa), an internationally accredited mediator, and an approved CIArb faculty member for both Arbitration and Mediation.
A practising advocate at the Johannesburg Bar, Riaan specialises in arbitration, adjudication, mediation, construction and engineering disputes, infrastructure projects, and complex commercial litigation. He is regularly appointed as arbitrator, adjudicator and mediator in major commercial and construction disputes, including those arising under GCC, JBCC and NEC contracts.
Riaan holds BCom (Law) and LLB degrees from the University of Pretoria and has completed advanced mediation training at Harvard Law School and the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR) in the United Kingdom. He has also served as an Acting Judge of the High Court of South Africa, Gauteng Local Division, in Johannesburg.
He is committed to advancing excellence in alternative dispute resolution and to developing dispute resolution practitioners in South Africa and internationally.
Contact details:
Email: ajrb@law.co.za
Cellphone: 083 326 4768
Roelf Nel – Secretarial and administrative function
Roelf Nel – Secretarial and administrative function
Roelf Nel – Secretarial and administrative function
Roelf Nel is the Managing Director at Roelf Nel Incorporated. Roelf obtained his LLB degree Cum Laude from the University of Pretoria. He is a Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) accredited civil commercial mediator and he serves as a mediator on the RICS Presidents Panel of Mediators and on the South African Institute of Ci
Roelf Nel is the Managing Director at Roelf Nel Incorporated. Roelf obtained his LLB degree Cum Laude from the University of Pretoria. He is a Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) accredited civil commercial mediator and he serves as a mediator on the RICS Presidents Panel of Mediators and on the South African Institute of Civil Engineers (SAICE) presidents list. Roelf also serves as Arbitrator and Adjudicator on the MBSA North and RICS panels and is a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (MCIArb).
Roelf specializes in Construction and Engineering Law and has extensive knowledge and experience in construction contract management and related arbitration and litigation proceedings. He is passionate about skills development training within the built environment industry.
Contact details:
Email: roelf@rninc.co.za
Cellphone: 083 393 8530
Paul Hjul
Roelf Nel – Secretarial and administrative function
Chantelle (Humphries) Vermeulen – Treasurer
Paul is a former philosophy student whose life philosophy is Postel’s Law. He holds a Master of Laws degree, with a specialization in Corporate and Commercial Law from the University of London, and a BA in Philosophy and Economics from Rhodes University.
His primary research interest lies in the history and emergence of liberalism as a p
Paul is a former philosophy student whose life philosophy is Postel’s Law. He holds a Master of Laws degree, with a specialization in Corporate and Commercial Law from the University of London, and a BA in Philosophy and Economics from Rhodes University.
His primary research interest lies in the history and emergence of liberalism as a political and legal ideology. He was a founder of an almost-successful startup Internet service provider and telecommunications company in South Africa, and remains involved in several startup ventures.
Paul strives to help build a South African incubator for the many possibilities enabled by the global Internet. He balances his interests in information technology and law while advocating against regulatory capture in the ICT sector.
A resident of Jeffrey’s Bay, Paul telecommutes whenever possible from the beach, having advocated for remote work long before its imposed popularity in 2020. Despite the location, he is unable to surf anything except the web.
Contact details:
Whatsapp: 065 828 7085
Phone: 0614057930
Email: paul@hjul.co.za/ hjul.paul@gmail.com
Chantelle (Humphries) Vermeulen – Treasurer
Roelf Nel – Secretarial and administrative function
Chantelle (Humphries) Vermeulen – Treasurer
- Advocate of the High Court of South Africa
- Member of the Johannesburg Society of Advocates
- Member of the Rivonia Group of Advocates
- Fellow – Association of Arbitrators (Southern Africa) (Arbitrator Adjudicator Mediator)
- Fellow – Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (UK)
Mr Jaco de la Rey – Training and marketing
Ghandi Badela - SADC & Southern Africa Developmentnt
Jaco de la Rey is a Managing Director of Construction Claims and Expert Services with HKA, based in Cape Town, South Africa. He holds an LLM in Construction Law and Arbitration and is member of the Charted Institute of Arbitrators (MCIArb) with over 18 years of experience in the construction and engineering sector.
Jaco gained extensive
Jaco de la Rey is a Managing Director of Construction Claims and Expert Services with HKA, based in Cape Town, South Africa. He holds an LLM in Construction Law and Arbitration and is member of the Charted Institute of Arbitrators (MCIArb) with over 18 years of experience in the construction and engineering sector.
Jaco gained extensive commercial experience through senior management positions at various Financial and Construction Sector businesses. This broad-based managerial, commercial, and contractual experience equips him as a specialist in construction law and dispute resolution.
In his leadership role at HKA, Jaco oversees multi-disciplinary teams of quantum, delay, and contract specialists on major infrastructure and energy projects governed by FIDIC, NEC, and other standard-form contracts. He provides strategic advice to clients on contracting strategy, complex claims, counterclaims, contract management, and commercial dispute matters. Having participated in over 230 dispute adjudications, Jaco brings deep insight into the interconnected legal, technical, and commercial dimensions of construction disputes.
Being passionate about skills transfer and mentorship, he provides management support to the HKA Training Academy. Jaco currently serves as Co-Chair of the RICS Diploma in Adjudication (South Africa) and is a sought-after speaker at regional industry conferences and professional events. He also contributes to academic development as a visiting lecturer at the University of Pretoria’s Department of Construction Economics, where he teaches postgraduate modules in dispute resolution, contract law, and standard-form construction contracts.
Contact details:
Email: jacodelarey@outlook.com
Cellphone: : 082 337 2055
Ghandi Badela - SADC & Southern Africa Developmentnt
Ghandi Badela - SADC & Southern Africa Developmentnt
- Advocate of the High Court of South Africa and member of the Johannesburg Bar
- Member of the Johannesburg, Polokwane and Bhisho Societies of Advocates
- Non-Executive Director of the Arbitration Foundation of Southern Africa
- Member of the Guiding Committee of China Africa Joint Arbitration Centre
- Accredited arbitrator of the Arbitration Founda
- Advocate of the High Court of South Africa and member of the Johannesburg Bar
- Member of the Johannesburg, Polokwane and Bhisho Societies of Advocates
- Non-Executive Director of the Arbitration Foundation of Southern Africa
- Member of the Guiding Committee of China Africa Joint Arbitration Centre
- Accredited arbitrator of the Arbitration Foundation of Southern Africa (Commercial and construction arbitration and international arbitration)
- Member and Arbitrator Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, UK.
- Member of the Pension Lawyers Association
- Member of the International Institute of Space Law
- Former Councillor of the Legal Practice Council
- Former member of the Legal Sector Code Steering Committee and Legal Sector Code Steering Technical Committee
- Member of the PLC team for negotiation of liberalisation of trade in legal services in SADC under the Africa Continental Free Trade Area agreement
- Former member of the BRICS Legal Forum Steering Committee
- Member of the Johannesburg Bar Council