SPECIAL REPORT 13
In North Africa, all countries, with the exception of Libya, have ratified the New York Convention. InMorocco, political stability combinedwith a buoyant economy ismaking the country an attractive base for foreign investors. The opening of the Casablanca International Mediation and Arbitration Centre (CIMAC) in late 2014 highlightsMorocco’s intention to promote arbitration for resolving disputes. Progress is also discernible in Egypt: following a period of political stability, FDI has resumed and in 2014 the Arbitration Act, based on the UNCITRALModel Law, was passed. InWest Africa, the Lagos State government in Nigeria recently established the Lagos Court of Arbitration (LCA) under the Lagos Court of Arbitration Act (2009). The ICC has also announced its intention to set up an arbitral centre in Ghana. The trend continues across Eastern and Central Africa, where new regional centres have been created. In the past three years, the Kigali International Arbitration Centre (KIAC) has opened in Rwandawhilst the Nairobi Centre for International Arbitration (NCIA) has been established in Kenya. A Tanzanian International Arbitration Centre is expected to be launched later this year. In Southern Africa, only four countries base their arbitration laws on the UNCITRALModel Law and all of the six common law countries have arbitration legislation based primarily on the 1950 English Arbitration Act. However, Africa ADRwas recently established by arbitral institutions from across Southern Africa, along with the Institute of Directors of Southern Africa, aiming to become an arbitral authority in the region and beyond. Additional progress is beingmade in South Africa, where at the end of this year, the Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industrywill launch the Cape Town International Arbitration Institute.
AFRIC A’S INVESTMENT CLIMATE Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Africa is driving growth and increased commercial activity. In 2014, Africawas the secondmost attractive investment destination 1 and the world’s fastest- growing region for FDI 2 , reaching its highest level for over a decade (5.7%) resulting in job creation figures reaching an all-time high. Concurrently, the growth of inter-regional investment and the continued development of supporting infrastructures are funding the growth of existing regional economic communities and fuelling newhotspots of interest and activity. African investors accounted for 23% of FDI in 2013, while China, the UK, Japan, UAE and India continue to bemajor investors in the continent. According to China’sMinistry of Commerce (MOFCOM) statistics, direct investments fromChina to Africa increased by 33.9% in 2013 3 . This investment has fuelled a transportation, power and communication infrastructure boom that, combinedwith associated financial services, has had a profound impact on the aspirations of middle class Africans, producing significant growth in the consumer economy. Improved infrastructure has facilitated access to goods and resulted in the growth of both large and small manufacturers. ARBITRAL FORA ACROSS THE CONTINENT Arbitration is growing in popularity across Africa andmost arbitral centres around the globe are reporting an increase in the number of cases with African claimants 4 . However, countries across Africa are at very different stages of development in relation to arbitration and other methods of alternative dispute resolution (ADR). For example, only ten out of 54 African countries (Uganda, Tunisia, Rwanda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Mauritius, Kenya, Egypt andMadagascar) have chosen to base their arbitration laws on the UNCITRALModel Lawand just under half of all African countries have signed and ratified the New York Convention, prompting concerns about the enforceability of arbitral awards in African jurisdictions. Albeit in relation to investment disputes, themajority are party to the ICSID Convention. Seventeen African countries aremembers of the Organisation pour l’Harmonisation en Afrique du Droit des Affaires (OHADA), a systemof business laws and implementing institutions, and themajority of OHADAmembers are French-speaking civil law jurisdictions. In 1999, the OHADA states adopted the UniformAct, which, based on the UNCITRALModel Law, sets out the basic principles for any arbitration seated in an OHADA member state. Owing to concerns regarding the reliability of local courts, foreign parties tend to opt for arbitration under the auspices of one of the established institutions or sets of rules in a seat outside the continent. However, a number of African jurisdictions appear to perceive the commercial opportunity represented by arbitration in its own right, in addition to the knock-on benefits in terms of attracting foreign investment. As a result, newarbitral centres are springing up across Africa, providing foreign and domestic parties with home-grown fora for settling disputes.
1 J. Nibbe and A. Sita (2014), “EY’s attractiveness survey Africa 2014: Executing growth”, EYGM Limited [Electronic] 2 C. Fingar (2015), “The fDi Report 2015”, The Financial Times Ltd [Electronic] 3 See http://english.mofcom.gov.cn/article/newsrelease/significantnews/201409/20140900727958.shtml. Ministry Of Commerce People’s Republic Of China Website 4 M. Bezant, J. Nicholson and H. Rosen (2015), “Trends in International Arbitration: A NewWorld Order”, FTI Journal [Electronic]
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