The past decade witnessed remarkable developments in the law and practice of arbitration in Africa (jurisdictions like Ghana and South Africa enacted new arbitration laws in 2010 and 2017 respectively; courts across the African continent have increasingly shown willingness to enforce validly made arbitration agreements and awards; various arbitration initiatives have sprung up and have been designed to encourage the growth and practice of arbitration on the continent, including the Africa Arbitration Academy, Africa Arbitration and the African Arbitration Association). In view of current happenings across the continent, there are already indications that this new decade will not be any different, with a number of African countries, including Tanzania and Nigeria already in the process of enacting new arbitration laws. (The Tanzanian government submitted the proposed law to the Tanzanian Parliament on 28 January 2020. The new bill will replace the existing arbitration law, which was enacted in 1931. On 1 February 2018, the Nigerian Senate passed the 2017 Amendment Bill to the Nigerian Arbitration and Conciliation Act. The existing Act, which was based on the UNCITRAL Model Law 1985, was introduced by the Nigerian Federal Military Government in March 1988. The Bill still awaits the ratification of the Federal House of Representatives and the subsequent assent of the President of Nigeria.) Continue reading
