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ARTICLE · 19 SEPTEMBER 2019

Arbitration In Africa

Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP
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Traditionally, Africa's civil and common law jurisdictions have relied on court litigation to resolve disputes.

CanadaLitigation, Mediation & Arbitration
Malcolm Hartwell
Malcolm Hartwell
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Introduction

Traditionally, Africa's civil and common law jurisdictions have relied on court litigation to resolve disputes. However, arbitration has gained a real foothold in Africa, and in the last few years there has been continued growth in the acceptance of arbitration as a viable option for settling disputes, not only between private parties but also disputes involving States. A number of regional initiatives, discussed below, have given impetus to this growth.

Recent regional initiatives

The African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA) has now been ratified by 22 of the 49 signatories and accordingly came into effect in April 2019. The AfCFTA seeks, amongst other things, to create the world's largest free trade area covering the entire African continent. The AfCFTA includes dispute settlement mechanisms for any disputes that arise between member States. It provides that a dispute settlement body will hold consultations between the parties and,

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About Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP

Norton Rose Fulbright is a global law firm. We provide the world's preeminent corporations and financial institutions with a full business law service. We have 3800 lawyers and other legal staff based in more than 50 cities across Europe, the United States, Canada, Latin America, Asia, Australia, Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia.

Recognized for our industry focus, we are strong across all the key industry sectors: financial institutions; energy; infrastructure, mining and commodities; transport; technology and innovation; and life sciences and healthcare.

Wherever we are, we operate in accordance with our global business principles of quality, unity and integrity. We aim to provide the highest possible standard of legal service in each of our offices and to maintain that level of quality at every point of contact.

For more information about Norton Rose Fulbright, see nortonrosefulbright.com/legal-notices.

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