Commercial disputes are an inescapable feature of business activity, and the mechanism a party selects for resolving those disputes is among the most consequential decisions in any contractual relationship. In Ethiopia, the dispute resolution landscape has undergone fundamental transformation since 2020, driven by the country's accession to the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards and by the enactment of Proclamation 1237/2021 — Ethiopia's first standalone arbitration statute aligned with the UNCITRAL Model Law. These developments have dramatically expanded the options available to both domestic and foreign-invested enterprises, making it essential for any business operating in Ethiopia to understand the practical differences between court litigation, institutional arbitration under the Addis Ababa Chamber of Commerce and Sectoral Associations (AACCSA), and ad hoc arbitration. This guide provides a senior practitioner's analysis of those
