Africa Rising? Prospects for Emerging African Arbitral Venues Bernadette UWICYEZA Secretary General Kigali International Arbitration Centre The legitimacy of African Arbitral Venues and KIAC approach Africa is the second fastest growing region in the world with nine out of the fifteen countries with the highest rate of economic growth. The East African region s total trade with the rest of the World doubled between 2005 and 2010, rising from 17,5 billion dollars to 37 billion dollars. With this kind of trend, we hope that Africa will continue to rise. Over the years, Rwanda has continued to make considerable efforts to enhance a conducive climate for investment and this has not only driven the growth of the private sector but also positioned the country as an investment destination. Rwanda had 8.8 GDP growth in the past five years and now it is targeting an annual growth of 11,5. Consequently, both domestic and cross border transactions increased considerably, with an emerging need to use arbitration. Thus, considering the current economic growth in Rwanda, and other countries of the African region, within the context of integrated Economies, there is a need to build well- resourced and more credible institutions in Africa to preside over disputes resolution out of national courts. Kigali International Arbitration Centre is committed to making this a reality in order to offer an option to all potential users of Arbitration in the African continent, targeting Economic Operators, and all Government Agencies being the main users of arbitration services. 1
Kigali International Arbitration was established at the initiative of the Private Sector Federation of Rwanda, an umbrella for professional organizations and was officially opened in May 2012 with a vision to be a regional choice for commercial dispute resolution. For KIAC to be a high quality venue, our focus as management, at the beginning was on the following key strategic objectives: (1) Setting standards ; (2)building stakeholders capability in arbitration ; (3) Building on what Rwanda can offer; (4)partnership with the greater arbitration Community; (5) knowledge sharing and learning from others. Settings standards The UNICITRAL Model Arbitration Law was adopted in Rwanda with the enactment of the Law governing Arbitration in Commercial Matters in 2008. The New York Convention was signed the same year in November and immediately after, the Private Sector Federation of Rwanda initiated a project of an Arbitration Centre, to ensure quality and professionalism in the arbitration practice in the country. However, after a wider consultation with all stakeholders, KIAC was established by an Act of Parliament in February 2011 with a mandate to help economic operators to resolve their disputes without resorting to courts. Henceforth, KIAC administers cases under its own Rules, a modern set of Rules consistent with international standards covering all aspects of arbitral proceedings. Arbitration services under KIAC are cost effective with a Schedule of fees allowing the costs of KIAC arbitration to be kept in line with the size and complexity of the disputes referred to the Centre. 2
Convinced that it is crucial to work with the greater arbitration community, KIAC Management made a call for international Arbitrators for admission to the panel of International Arbitrators. The panel of international arbitrators was made available to parties for consultation and it guides them when making appointments; it also enables local arbitrators to learn from experienced professionals. However, Parties to KIAC arbitration are free to nominate their arbitrators out of the Panel subject to Confirmation Thus KIAC is committed to providing logistical support to parties which is crucial in Africa where international cases involving international arbitrators are being conducted with a need to organize Calls and or video conferences at least for the preparatory work for the hearings. Building Stakeholders capability in Arbitration In order to create local capacity and promote a culture of arbitration, KIAC Management set up a capacity building program with training courses leading to CIarb accreditation and open to all professionals, Lawyers, Judges, Engineers, architects, Managers, Legal officers and procurement officers in Public institutions and their associated Agencies. About 300 professionals enrolled in this program that was open to regional participants from Uganda, Kenya and Burundi. This approach has already given good results since many cases that we have received so far are referred to us by Courts, staying courts proceedings before a valid arbitration agreement. In total KIAC registered 21 Cases including two international cases and an Emergency Arbitrator Case. This is a milestone for us since it usually takes a minimum of three years for a newly established Centre to register cases. 3
Building on what Rwanda can offer Kigali International Arbitration Centre is operating in a conducive environment. The government and the Judiciary are very supportive. The Government support does not mean interference in arbitration proceedings. For example, there were three arbitral awards issued where government parties lost their cases. Similarly, The Chief Justice of Rwanda issued instructions giving priority to arbitration related matters particularly at the time of enforcement. There are many reasons as to why Rwanda should be an attractive arbitral venue for Africa. First it is politically stable, has the lowest rate of crime in Africa, good governance, easy access to flight destination from and to across Africa with readily available facilities for visa. Rwanda is among the top 3 African countries in terms of internet connectivity, located centrally in Africa, bordering 3 countries in East Africa (Burundi, Uganda, Tanzania) and The DR-Congo (Democratic Republic of Congo). Rwanda is a bilingual country in English and French languages which are widely used as official languages in Africa. In addition it has sufficient facilities for conference services with translation/interpretation services. Learning from others and knowledge sharing In this regard, KIAC Management organizes regularly knowledge sharing forums at regional and international level to offer opportunities to African professionals to know each other and to learn from each other To mark its first anniversary, from 24 th to 25 th May 2013, KIAC hosted its inaugural regional workshop on arbitration under the theme: Arbitration in East African community, from Law to practice. Participants were able to share their insights and Expertise on the development and practice of international Commercial arbitration and the Region. 4
The outcome of this workshop guided the preparation of an international Arbitration Conference that we hosted from 25 th -27 th May, 2014 on Emerging issues in international Arbitration, attended by a gathering of over 150 practitioners from the world over. This was an opportunity to test in real life what Rwanda can offer as an arbitral venue for Africa. We at KIAC do organize regular mentorship programs provided by the greater arbitration community in the world and have signed more than one MoU with other institutions such as KLRCA and The Ivory Coast Centre providing framework for joint projects. KIAC is becoming a Centre of reference KIAC serves as an information desk and continues to play an advisory role, advising Economic Operators in cross border deals, government agencies when contracting with foreign counterparts, who are often reluctant to use national courts, Judges in related arbitration matters or local counsels involved in international arbitration cases. In so doing, KIAC is working toward inclusion of Africa in the International arbitration community and legitimacy of the worldwide arbitration practice. We are very grateful for the support that we continue to receive from the greater arbitration community to ensure that we are building on good and strong foundations. Bernadette UWICYEZA Secretary General Kigali International Arbitration Centre 5