INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION 1/3LY
I would also hope that in five years’ time Africawill be beginning to come together; its legal communities will be beginning to share a heritage which allows them the scope to interact in a waywhich gives them the strength and unity that they have lacked in the past. DANIEL I think that there is a clear trend to refer commercial disputes to arbitration and based upon our practice there is no reason to think it will change in future. On the contrary, I think the referrals to arbitrationwill expand and grow rapidly, as I see our client base expanding into Africa and investing in various countries throughout the continent. South Africa is nowwell placed to develop an arbitral institution for dispute resolution across Africa. I agree withMichael’s view that hopefully in the next five years that will come about andwe will see a growth also in the international arbitrations being hosted by the likes of AFSA.
On one level we need it because of the costs involved in going elsewhere. On another more philosophical level, it will help to reduce the number of African disputes being resolved outside of Africa by persons who are not necessarily African arbitrators. It makes sense for the legal communities of Africa to have a shared community of interest and shared arbitral institutions and systems. In saying that, I’mnot for amoment suggesting an arbitral institutionwhichwould not welcome onto its panels international practitioners fromaround the world – of course it would – but it would be a secretariat and a centre of knowledge and institutional experience whichwould be nurtured in Africa. That has been a blank page up to nowand I believe we should start writing on that blank page on the basis of Africa sharing a combined initiative, rather thanmerely opening the continent to the European or American arbitral institutions. NI COL A Very interesting indeed. I wish you every success on your journey. I would like to conclude by asking you both howyouwould like to see arbitration in South Africamoving forward in say the next five years? MI CHAEL I think the domestic picture of arbitration at themoment is a good and healthy one. There’s plenty of room for improvement and expansion but I think it’s going to evolve without difficulty and improve considerably. There’s everything to play for where international or regional continental arbitration is concerned. We are starting froma very lowbase with a combination of exciting prospects and serious challenges. In five years’ time I would hope to be able to say that there is a vibrant, regional arbitral institution operating in Africa and that Johannesburg or Cape Town has the same arbitral initiatives as Singapore or Kuala Lumpur or Brazil.
However, recently it’s been raised again at a high level and in the last month I’ve received a note saying that theMinistry of Justice has already notified the Parliamentary Secretary that it intends to submit the International Arbitration Bill to Parliament towards the end of this year. We know the content of the Bill because AFSA and other bodies were consulted and it is a good piece of work. It’s been largely researched and led by Professor Butler fromStellenbosch Universitywho has a long track record in international arbitration. So at some point during 2016 the legislative infrastructure should be in place and there will be plenty of happy announcements fromSouth Africa about international arbitration conferences and other international arbitration initiatives.
L OOK ING A HE A D : WH AT DOE S T HE F U T URE HOLD?
NI COL A That’s excellent news. Youmentioned before Africa ADR. Can you tell us a bit about that and your involvement in it? MI CHAEL Yes. We have a strong belief that Africamust develop its own arbitral institutions with their own secretariats and panels of arbitrators. The idea of Africa ADRwas to establish a secretariat which could administer matters primarily in Africa but with an international dimension. This could give to Africa a kind of shared arbitral system that we desperately need to facilitate the continents’ markets, trade and shared economic initiatives.
IN F I VE YE ARS ’ T IME I WOULD HOPE TO BE ABLE TO S AY THAT THERE I S A V IBRANT, REGIONAL ARBI TRAL INS T I TUT ION OPERAT ING IN AFRI C A AND THAT JOHANNESBURG OR C APE TOWN HA S THE S AME ARBI TRAL INI T I AT I VES A S S INGAPORE OR KUAL A LUMPUR OR BRAZ IL .
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