Section 12: Competence of arbitral tribunal to rule on its jurisdiction.

(1) An arbitral tribunal shall be competent to rule on questions pertaining to its own jurisdiction and on any objections with respect to the existence or validity of an arbitration agreement.
(2) For the purposes of subsection (1) of this section, an arbitration clause which forms part of a contract shall be treated as an agreement independent of the other terms of the contract and a decision by the arbitral tribunal that the contract is null and void shall not entail ipso jure the validity of the arbitration clause.
(3) In any arbitral proceedings a plea that the arbitral tribunal-
(a) does not have jurisdiction may be raised not later than the time of submission of the points of defence and a party is not precluded from raising such plea by reason that he has appointed or participated in the appointment of an arbitrator;
(b) is exceeding the scope of its authority may, be raised as soon as the matter alleged to be beyond the scope of its authority is raised during the proceedings,
and the arbitral tribunal may, in either case, admit a later plea if it considers that the delay was justified.
(4) The arbitral tribunal may, rule on any plea referred to it under subsection (3) of this section, either as a preliminary question or in an award on the merits; and such ruling shall be final and binding.