Arbitration in Africa has reached a tipping point. While Africa-related disputes have kept lawyers busy for a number of years in traditional arbitration centres, the market is steadily changing. The number of arbitral centres across the African continent is growing rapidly, and African lawyers are developing specialist arbitration skills to service this growth. As the market becomes more mature, notably in jurisdictions such as Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa, but also increasingly in francophone Africa, governments, arbitration lawyers and arbitrators are calling for these disputes to be heard in Africa rather than ‘exported’ to international centres. One of the leading advocates for the repatriation of arbitration is distinguished Somali Judge Yusuf, the newly appointed president of the International Court of Justice.1 At the ICCA Congress in Mauritius in 2016 he spoke passionately about the continent’s long tradition of ‘arbitration under the acacia tree’, and called for better representation of African arbitrators in Africa-related disputes to give the system legitimacy.
Arbitration out of Africa – is there a way back in?
African governments have grown wise to the fact that arbitration can be a source of economic activity, with conference centres, hotels and local lawyers set
