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Africa: arbitration round up 2010/2011
Practical Law UK Articles 8-504-6881 (Approx. 4 pages)
Africa: arbitration round up 2010/2011
by Kamal Shah (Partner) and Antony Singh (Trainee), Stephenson Harwood
| Published on 02 Feb 2011 • Africa |
An article highlighting the key arbitration related developments in Africa in 2010/2011.
Foreign investment into Africa has continued to increase in 2010, thereby contributing to the continued and, in some cases, positive development of the arbitration laws and infrastructure, which nowadays is a prerequisite for attracting foreign investment. In 2010, three countries demonstrated a commitment in the development of their arbitration infrastructure - namely Nigeria, Ghana and Mauritius.
Top developments of 2010
Nigeria
Nigeria reviewed its legislation in a push to become a more attractive venue for the arbitration of commercial disputes. The Nigerian National Assembly is currently considering three new Bills (numbers 282, 283 and 285 - see Legal update, Nigeria's National Assembly reviews three Bills to effect change in arbitration in Nigeria).
The key objectives of the Bills are to:
- Enact legislation creating a new centre for arbitration and ADR in Nigeria.
- Establish a new national arbitration commission, which will centralise all matters regarding the work and operation of arbitration centres.
- Bring about change in the law relating to commercial arbitration and conciliation, and modify Nigeria's existing Arbitration and Conciliation Act 2004 (ACA 2004).
It is hoped that even though Nigeria is in an election year, these Bills will still be enacted into law in 2011. This would be an important stepping stone to ensure that Nigeria attracts the regional and local business community to resolve their disputes in Nigeria.
Ghana
Ghana has attracted increasing foreign investment since the discovery of oil in 2007, the commercial production of which will begin this year. This investment in the economy has resulted in Ghana taking steps to make its legislation more arbitration friendly.
The LCIA African Users Council held its first ever symposium in Accra, Ghana from 4-5 November 2010 (see Legal update, LCIA and Ghana Arbitration Centre symposium: the new Alternative Dispute Resolution Act 2010). The event, supported by the Ghana Arbitration Centre, had about 180 delegates in attendance representing countries in East and Central Africa, as well as countries in Europe.
The main discussion at the symposium was the introduction of the recently enacted Alternative Dispute Resolution Act (Act 798 of 2010). The aim of the legislation is to provide greater opportunities for court intervention when compared to most Model Law based arbitration laws. The delegates were also shown the new Alternative Dispute Resolution Centre (ADR Centre), which was created by section 114 of the new Act.
The ADR Centre's functions include maintaining a register of arbitrators and mediators, providing guidelines on fees for arbitrators, mediators and customary arbitrators and, if required, reviewing and advising on changes to the arbitration and mediation rules.
Mauritius
Mauritius held a conference entitled "Flaws and Presumptions: Rethinking International Arbitration" from 13-14 December 2010, attended by 350 delegates. The aim of the conference was to promote Mauritius' status as an international arbitration centre for the African continent and the region.
The Mauritian Prime Minister spoke at the conference, showing the importance and commitment towards the advancement of Mauritius as an arbitration-friendly jurisdiction. The conference was the culmination of several years of co-operation between Mauritius and the leading institutions in the field of arbitration such as ICSID, LCIA, ICC, PCA, UNCITRAL and ICCA.
Mauritius has set the foundations to become a regional leader in arbitration over the last few years by:
- Adopting legislation based on the UNCITRAL Model Law to serve the interests of international users (see Legal update, New Mauritian International Arbitration Act).
- Concluding a Host Country Agreement with the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) pursuant to which the PCA will appoint a permanent representative in Mauritius (see Legal update, PCA signs host country agreement with Mauritius).
- Opening a state-of-the art centre for international arbitration.
Mauritius offers an optimal climate to host arbitration disputes as it is politically stable, neutral, has good infrastructure and has an excellent geographical location lying at a cross-roads of Asia, Africa and Europe. The conference was an important step for Mauritius in putting it on the arbitration map.
Anticipated developments in 2011
Nigeria, Ghana and Mauritius will no doubt wish to maintain the momentum of the arbitration developments made in 2010 as they face stiff competition from the Middle Eastern arbitration centres such as Dubai and Bahrain. East Africa is also expected to make some progress in its arbitration legislation, following the implementation of the Common Market protocol, which became operational on 1 July 2010.