Malawi has become the 167th Contracting State to the 1958 New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (the ‘Convention’). On 4 March 2021, Malawi deposited its instrument of accession to the Convention with the UN Secretary General. In accordance with article XII (2), the Convention will enter into force for … Read more

Choice of dispute resolution forum can have a fundamental impact on the ability of banks and financial institutions to enforce contractual obligations. In our client webinar on 23 September, Dispute Resolution Choices for Banks and Financial Institutions: Maximising the Chances of Successful Enforcement, Julian Copeman, Nick Peacock and Hannah Ambrose discussed recent trends in dispute … Read more

On Wednesday, 1 July 2020, the Arbitration Foundation of South Africa (AFSA), launched its new International Arbitration Rules for public comment. The international Drafting Committee was chaired by Professor Dr. Maxi Scherer and included other high profile individuals including Ndanga Kamau, Jennifer Kirby, Lise Bosman, Chiann Bao, Remy Gerbay and Jonathan Ripley-Evans (Director, HSF Johannesburg). … Read more

Authors: Emma Schaafsma and Kemi Wood Introduction  In 2017, the Tanzanian government introduced a raft of legislative reforms to the natural resources sector. Through the reforms the new government looked to ensure that investor disputes were resolved locally and that the Tanzanian government would not be subjected to international arbitrations. The new government showed a particular hostility towards … Read more

On 13 February 2020, Ethiopia’s parliament approved accession to the 1958 Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (the “New York Convention” or the “Convention“). Ethiopia will become the 163rd state signatory and the 39th African state to accede following the recent accessions of the Seychelles, Cabo Verde and Sudan. Read more

Herbert Smith Freehills is delighted to be the platinum sponsor of next year’s Johannesburg Arbitration Week, which will take place in March 2020 and is hosted by the Arbitration Foundation of Southern Africa (AFSA). Further details can be found here. We are also delighted that three of our International Arbitration team are involved as part … Read more

In a recent and controversial judgment, the High Court of South Africa set aside an attachment order authorising the attachment of an aircraft owned by the Tanzanian Government in satisfaction of a foreign arbitral award, on the ground that the award “ceased to exist” when it was converted into an order of the courts of … Read more

In the recent case of AIC Limited v. The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, the English High Court revisited the difficult question of whether to exercise its discretion under s103(5) of the Arbitration Act 1996 (the “1996 Act“) to stay enforcement proceedings in England in favour of pending set aside proceedings in a foreign court, … Read more