The Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame, has emphasized the need for reform in Africa’s legal frameworks concerning international arbitration.
Speaking at the African Regional Forum during the International Bar Association’s annual conference in Mexico City, Dame highlighted that Africa’s evolving business environment and the increasing use of alternative dispute resolution clauses in contracts make arbitration an essential aspect of commercial dispute resolution.
He noted that the secrecy and finality of arbitration proceedings often allow fraud and abuse, disadvantaging African economies.
Dame pointed out that many arbitration cases involving African countries are handled outside the continent, primarily in cities like London, Paris, and New York, even when the disputes are between African parties.
This practice, he argued, limits the development of arbitration expertise in Africa and imposes significant financial costs on African nations.
Referencing the $11 billion arbitration award against Nigeria, which was later overturned, Dame underscored the need for African nations to host and regulate their own arbitration cases.
He advocated for Africa to become a respected center for arbitration, with local laws and venues handling disputes involving African parties.
Ghana, he revealed, is moving towards such reforms by amending its laws to mandate that contracts involving the state be governed by Ghanaian law and arbitrated within the country.
In addition to arbitration reform, Dame called for the removal of global legal barriers that prevent African lawyers from representing their countries in foreign courts, noting that a more open, cross-border legal system is essential in the modern globalized world.
He also discussed the role of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in shaping dispute resolution on the continent, stressing the importance of cooperation among African lawyers to ensure the success of the AfCFTA’s Dispute Settlement Body.
“I urge you all to support the AfCTA in its work, particularly, in ensuring that the dispute settlement body launched 3 years ago succeed.
Respectfully, there must be a deliberate effort to train the African lawyer in the benefits, complexities and requirements for dispute adjudication in the regional integration body.
African lawyers have to be voices in promoting the benefits of regional integration and the global multilateral trading system.” The A-G stated.
