Godfred Yeboah Dame
The Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame, has called on African lawyers to be world class, working as part of an open global community to resolve modern-day disputes, many of which have cross-border elements, in the face of globalisation and the need to harmonise legal systems.
He has also emphasised the need for the African continent to take a second look at the established means of dispute resolution, taking into account phenomena such as consolidation of democracy, industrialisation and the quest for infrastructure, coupled with recent developments on the continent.
According to him, litigation and dispute resolution in Africa has evolved over time – from the traditional dispute resolution mechanism of referral to the family or tribal head, now to more complex mechanisms for resolving conflicts in place – and must be explored by legal practitioners.
He said the rapidly developing business space in Africa has also necessitated the development of parallel structures in the nature of arbitration mechanisms for the resolution of disputes.
“The need for the professional development of the lawyer to rise to the demands of a virtualised world cannot be overemphasised. A poorly trained lawyer becomes not only a danger to his client but the global society in general,” he pointed out.
Mr. Dame was speaking as the guest of honour at the International Bar Association Conference (African Regional Forum) Lunch, 2024, in Mexico City, Mexico.
He also called for the removal of the barriers of licencing regimes which constrain the capacity of lawyers to appear in jurisdictions other than where they were trained to practise, “if our practice is indeed, international.”
While recognising the different systems for training of lawyers, Mr. Dame, however suggested that “We can begin with a common understanding to provide for state counsel or lawyers who are constitutionally and statutorily empowered in their respective countries, to represent nations in disputes, to be able to, without the inhibition of the requirement for licence to practice, appear freely in domestic courts of other countries when disputes involving the nation occurs.”
AfCFTA Impact
Mr. Dame also observed that the setting up of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Dispute Settlement Body has the tendency to raise questions bordering on conflicts with the statutorily recognised structures for dispute resolution in individual countries as well as questions bordering on the sovereignty of nations.
He, therefore, called for a deliberate effort to train African lawyers in the benefits, complexities and requirements for dispute adjudication in the regional integration body.
“The AfCFTA Secretariat ought to explore means of instituting training programmes for lawyers from around Africa,” he said.
The Attorney General also stated that in addition to the firm political will of African states, the authority of the AfCFTA’s dispute resolution mechanisms can only be established through the cooperation of lawyers around the continent.
To this end, he called for support for the AfCFTA in its work, particularly, in ensuring that the dispute settlement body launched in 2021 succeeds.
International Arbitration On Africa
Mr. Dame also observed with worry the situation where disputes between two African parties often end up being contested at huge cost outside Africa, with London, Paris and New York being the most popular seats for arbitration, and tend to be subject to either the rules of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) or London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA).
“This, among other things, limits the opportunities for African arbitrators and stunts the development of the continent’s prowess in arbitration. The enormity of funds spent by the continent in international arbitration claims outside the continent cannot be overlooked,” Mr. Dame said.
He also touched on prejudice suffered by African countries as well as some obnoxious and perverse awards against African countries in international arbitrations, and suggested that African nations must take steps to ensure that most international arbitrations involving them take place in their respective countries and are regulated by the laws of their own countries.
“We must boost the integrity of our legal systems by setting up fair and efficient mechanisms for commercial dispute adjudication and strengthening the systems for the conduct of arbitration in our various countries,” Mr. Dame added.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak