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Make Nigeria seat of Arbitration, SAN tasks stakeholders

By Silver Nwokoro
30 May 2023   |   4:04 am
The chairperson of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Nigeria, Commission on Arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), Mrs. Dorothy Ufot (SAN) has charged the international community to make Nigeria a seat of arbitration.

Dorothy Ufot (SAN)

The chairperson of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Nigeria, Commission on Arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), Mrs. Dorothy Ufot (SAN) has charged the international community to make Nigeria a seat of arbitration.

She gave the charge during a press conference ahead of its 7th ICC Africa conference on International Arbitration. Ufot said: “We are challenging the international community to appoint Nigerians as arbitrators and counselors, make Nigeria a preferred seat for your international arbitration.”

Speaking on the forth coming conference with the theme ‘International Arbitration and ADR: The African journey so far and looking forward’, Ufot noted that the conference is a premier event that brings together legal professionals, business leaders, policymakers, and experts to discuss and promote the development of international arbitration and ADR in Africa.

“The conference serves as a platform for knowledge exchange, networking, and collaboration to enhance the practice and understanding of arbitration on the African continent,” she said.

The conference which commemorates the Centenary Anniversary of the ICC International Court of Arbitration will take place from May 31 to June 2, 2023 at Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos.

The conference, organised by the ICC Nigeria Commission on Arbitration and ADR, in partnership with the ICC International Court of Arbitration in Paris and the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) will begin with a training session.

Her words: “The African continent is currently an attractive investment destination. The influx of foreign investors insisting on arbitration as the dispute settlement mechanism of choice has increased the demand for international commercial arbitration.

“The future of international arbitration in Africa looks incredibly promising. With the increasing legislative changes, the growing importance of third-party funding and investment arbitration, there are exciting opportunities and positive developments in the use of arbitration as a dispute settlement mechanism in Africa.

“As the premier platform for emerging trends and cutting-edge insights in African arbitration, this conference brings together top international practitioners and academics to discuss the most pressing issues affecting the African dispute resolution landscape.

“The theme has been carefully coined from taking a retrospective evaluation of the African Arbitration experience and holistically taking an optimistic view of what the future holds for Arbitration in Africa.”

The conference, she said, would be targeting all sectors particularly the business, oil and gas, telecommunication, shipping, maritime, banking and even sports.

The conference chairman, Adedapo Tunde-Olowu added that an ICC Institute will hold Advanced Level Training entitled ‘Catch me if (and While) You Can and How to Navigate Interim Measures in International Arbitration’.

Those will be their focal point of the training on May 31, 2023. Practicing lawyers, arbitrators, mediators, corporate counsels, and Academic Professionals interested in and/or involved in international arbitration in Africa are expected as delegates to the conference.

To mark 100 years of the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce and in echo of the purpose and core mission of ICC, the President of the ICC Court, Ms Claudia Salomon will engage, in a fireside chat with successful African businessman, Oscar Onyema and the president of ICC, Tony Elumelu.

Dignitaries expected at the conference cut across the high echelon of the organised private sector and the government.

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