The Chairman of the Nigeria Branch of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, Mr Olatunde Busari (SAN), has charged arbitration practitioners to stimulate Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) to engender confidence of foreigners to invest in Nigeria.
He made the call in Lagos on Wednesday at a news conference to create awareness on the upcoming annual conference of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb), scheduled for Nigeria from Nov. 7 to Nov. 8 in Lagos.
Busari, who is also a chartered arbitrator said: “if we have a viable dispute resolution mechanism and an organisation promoting arbitration and ADR, we will attract foreign direct investments.
“We need to contribute our quota in portraying our country as an arbitration friendly nation such that investors will see Nigeria as a good destination not only for resolution of disputes but also a good destination for investments.”
He said that the CIArb conference would provide an opportunity for arbitration practitioners in Nigeria to show to the world that Nigeria had knowledgeable ADR and arbitration practitioners.
According to him, the event will show that Nigeria has an environment that is conducive for the practice of ADR and arbitration.
“We believe that activities like this will make Nigeria more economically viable for investors.
“We are expecting practitioners not only from Nigeria but all over the world to share their knowledge of arbitration procedures at the conference.
“It will also afford us an opportunity to discuss, identify challenges and proffer ways of advancing arbitration in Africa in terms of standard of services and support for infrastructural development.”
Also speaking, Mr Wale Olawoyin (SAN), a chartered arbitrator, said that issues contemporary to African continent like the African Continental Free Trade Agreement and the Singapore Convention on the Enforcement of Cross-border Settlement would be discussed at the conference.
He said that the theme of the conference would be “Positioning Africa: The Changing Landscape in Alternative Dispute Resolution.
“Arbitration is now focusing on specialization. Therefore, issues on sports arbitration, Islamic finance arbitration and energy arbitration would be dealt with to enable the world understand what they entail.
“We will look at ethics in ADR generally and the intercept between culture and professionalism.”
The arbitration is an alternative means of settling disputes commercial in nature by impartial persons without proceeding to a court trial to avoid the cost, delay and acrimony in litigation.
Other chartered arbitrators at the news conference are Chief Gbola Akinola, First Vice-Chairman CIArb, Mrs Sola Adegbonmire, Second Vice-Chairman and Mrs Chinelo Agbala, General Manager CIArb.
