INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION 1/3LY
K EN YA
As a result, the independent and not-for-profit Nairobi Centre for International Arbitration (NCIA) was set up to promote and encourage international commercial arbitration. The Centre administers domestic and international arbitrations and provides assistance with the enforcement and translation of arbitral awards. Lawrence Ngugi, Acting Registrar of the NCIA has been involvedwith the Centre from its inception and has a long history in Kenya’s legal sphere. He explained: “The Centre is in the formative stage, so our focus has been on setting up a structure and rules whichwe expect will be operational by the end of June 2015. Commercial dispute resolution in the country has relied heavily on litigation. However the popularity of arbitration and other forms of dispute resolution has increased. The judiciary is involved in a project to introduce pre-actionmediation as a pre-requisite to litigation. The Centre is part of this initiative workingwith theMediation Accreditation Committee.” Steps are also being taken to limit the role of the local courts. Furthermore, just likemany other jurisdictions, Kenya is exerting considerable effort on training in its legal profession: “We are also developing the capacity to conduct arbitration under our rules through training. We have strong links with CIArb andwe are involved in the series of events which they are running in Nairobi covering arbitration practices. We are heavily involved in training and quality assurance, having recently put on amediation course with the C E DR.” As such, Nairobi is slowly developing into an attractive and cost-effective dispute resolution venue.
LOC ATED ON THE EQUATOR WITH THE INDIAN OCE AN TO THE SOUTH-E A ST, KENYA IS THE FOUNDING MEMBER OF THE E A ST AFRIC AN COMMUNIT Y (E AC), AN ECONOMIC BLOC AND REGIONAL INTERGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIS ATION OF THE REPUBLICS OF BURUNDI, KENYA , RWANDA , THE UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZ ANIA , AND THE REPUBLIC OF UGANDA , ESTABLISHED BY TRE AT Y IN 1999. ACCORDING TO THE WORLD INVESTMENT REPORT 2014, KENYA RECEIVED USD 514 MILLION THROUGH FDI DURING 2013, WITH KE Y INVESTMENTS IN THE INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION, OIL AND GA S AND TRANSPORT SECTORS. Based on the 1985 UNCITRALModel Law, the Kenyan Arbitration Act was adopted in 1995 and amended in 2009 to reflect the 2006 amendments to the UNCITRALModel Law. Kenya signed the New York Convention in 1989 and has also ratified bilateral investment treaties with a number of western countries to provide for investor-state arbitration. Recent amendments to the Civil Procedure Act 2010 to enhance court appended mediation and assisted arbitration, further demonstrates the growth in acceptance of alternative dispute resolution. The Kenyan court experience is similar to that of other jurisdictions across Africa, characterised by prolonged and expensive procedures. Consequently, major international companies tend to opt for arbitration clauses providing for offshore settlement of disputes in foreign centres such as London and Paris. The passing of the Nairobi Centre for International Arbitration Act of 2013 sought to address this problemand establish Nairobi as a hub for international companies to settle disputes.
THE CENTRE I S IN THE FORMAT I VE S TAGE , SO OUR FOCUS HA S BEEN ON SE T T ING UP A S TRUCTURE AND RULES WHI CH WE EXPECT WILL BE OPERAT IONAL BY THE END OF JUNE 2015 .
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