Nigerian Institute of Chartered Arbitrators holds annual conference

The Nigerian Institute of Chartered Arbitrators (NICArb) is set to begin a three-day virtual conference on Wednesday.

Shola Oshodi-John, the institute’s registrar, made this announcement in Lagos.

She disclosed that the conference is organised in technical partnership with the Arbitration place, Canada, and strongly supported by several international organizations.

Many experts are expected to deliver papers during the conference, with the theme: Making Arbitration (and ARD) Work for Africa.

On the opening day, Afe Babalola, chairman of the Nigerian Institute of Chartered Arbitrators, is expected to welcome participants to the event where Monica Dongban-Mensem, president of Nigeria’s court of appeal, is the guest of honour.

The registrar said the conference is organised to bring in international arbitrators to review bilateral treaties signed by the federal government.

“If you have been following the cause of events in Nigeria, you would find out that there are cases against the Federal Government of Nigeria, especially a particular case that ran into millions of dollars,” she said.

“You are also aware of the fact that we have signed a lot of bilateral treaties with so many nations and petroleum exporting countries; and a lot of these treaties were signed when Nigeria gained independence 60 years ago.

“A lot of those treaties have not taken into consideration the changes and the evolution that Nigeria has gone through. So, there is a need for those treaties to be reviewed; or like South Africa, we want to opt out.

“So, the conference is providing a platform for us to bring in international arbitrators, top lawyers, and representatives of international agencies like the United Nations, the World Bank, etc., to look at these for us.

She also said that the conference will bring together experts, to brainstorm on arbitration as an effective tool for conflict resolution.

“We want to look at how do can really make arbitration work for Africa and for Africans,” she said.

The institute, which was founded in 1979, tasks itself with the mandate to promote the administration and development of arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) practice in Nigeria.

Over the years, it had gained over five thousand professionals across diverse backgrounds.