Laura Lusiji recently attended the 9th East African International Arbitration Conference that took place in Kigali, Rwanda, from June 16th to 17th, 2022. This year’s theme was ‘Resettling for a New Age of International Arbitration in Africa: Climate Change, Global Partnerships & Sustainable Development.’
This conference provided an opportunity to discuss a variety of issues that we are contending with, such as arbitration disputes arising from infrastructure developments in Africa, practitioners’ involvement in ESG claims, knowledge and skill required to nurture the ADR profession, intra-Africa investment treaties and arbitration, and the importance of integrating ESG standards into our laws and reshaping laws in general.
Furthermore, eye-opening talks took place in respect of the present global scenario as a result of the pandemic and conflicts, and how the same has affected contracts and arbitration hearings, as well as a look at the numerous African regional blocs and the amount of state investment protection in each of them.
We were thrilled to be voted and named Finalist under the category, Leading Case Counsel Team 2022 alongside Stephenson Harwood LLP, while IKM – DLA Piper Africa came in 1st place, at the African Arbitration Awards held at the close of the conference. As they promote, publicize, and celebrate Africa’s achievement in international arbitration, these awards reflect their objective of growing international arbitration capability and increasing Africa’s networks.