Introduction
The thesis of this article is the recent developments in
Nigerian case law, which are inimically influencing arbitration law
and practice. Taking into account the interdependent yet
dichotomous relationship between public dispute resolution system
through the courts and private dispute resolution systems of which
arbitration is primus, there is a need to analytically and
appropriately position arbitration proceedings - insisting that
arbitration as proceedings is 'sui generis' of
itself. It is not a mere replica of public dispute resolution
systems, typical of state machinery. This article seeks to examine
modern international best practice and law in arbitration, trace
the current judicial trends emanating from the increasingly
notorious Supreme Court decision in Okafor v
Nweke1 and to critique its ratio while analysing
its precedential effect on the decision of the Court of Appeal in
Shell v Fed Inland Rev Service. In the final analysis
there is need
