Enforcement of Arbitral Awards in Sub-Sahara Africa

Abstract

As the world celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of the New York Convention in 2008 it became necessary to examine the enforcement regimes for arbitration awards in Sub-Sahara Africa. This article examines the provisions for the recognition and enforcement, and requirements for the setting aside of both domestic and international arbitral awards under the arbitration laws of OHADA member states, Nigeria and Sudan, as representative of the legal regimes in Sub-Sahara African countries. The New York Convention applies to Convention awards in half of the countries of Sub-Sahara Africa. It is therefore relevant to examine the requirements for the enforcement of non-Convention awards in those states that are members of the New York Convention, and also in those states that are not members of the New York Convention. Different arbitration laws and regimes apply in the three representative jurisdictions chosen for this comparative analysis and these are also representative of the legal regimes in those countries with arbitration laws in the region. Though a generally supportive tendency towards the enforcement of arbitral awards can be gleaned from the examination of some arbitration-related judgments, this article again highlights the importance for the remaining countries in the region yet to sign up to and implement the New York Convention to consider adopting it, and for more arbitration hearings to be held within the region.