International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Kenya yesterday hosted the second edition of the International Conference on Arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) in Nairobi.
Emerging trends in ADR, arbitration in Africa, providing a learning platform where ideas could be exchanged by policy makers, arbitration practitioners, enthusiasts, and private sector players who form the consumer market for arbitration and ADR in Kenya were some of the topics discussed in the conference.
“In addition to sensitizing the private sector on ADR, its opportunities and advantages, this year’s conference also sets the stage for Kenyan ADR and arbitration practitioners to engage directly with the International Court of Arbitration and progress towards their professionalization in international ADR practice”, said Aleem Visram Chairperson, ICC-Kenya, Commission on ADR and Arbitration.
In the forum, ICC- Kenya talked about how increased business innovation, government spending on infrastructure projects, and the opening of new markets had affected the nascent industry.
This had further led to the springing up of legal and corporate challenges leading to the uptake of ADR and Arbitration in place of litigation which proved to be much costlier.
ICC- Kenya additionally revealed that it was pursuing the growth of the number of local practitioners in the country.
This, they stated could be achieved through training and capacity building around emergent sectors such as block chain driven online trade characterized by greenfield opportunities and cutting across multiple jurisdictions among other areas.
Diamana Diawara, the director Arbitration and ADR for Africa at ICC stated that ICC dispute resolution system structures have grown exponentially in Africa in the past 2 years with the increase in arbitration and mediation cases.
“In 2020, African States represented 40 per cent of African parties involved in ICC arbitrations. In 2021 the figure rose to 50 per cent and since 2022 we have deployed a series of training to provide a robust legal platform for users while consolidating the ADR client base in the continent”, Diawara said.
The cases grew by 13 per cent and 166 per cent respectively, between 2020 and 2021.
ICC Kenya has been in partnership with the Kenya Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and the Nairobi Centre for International Arbitration (NCIA) on developing programs to educate the private sector on alternative dispute resolution procedures in collaboration with the Kenya Private Sector Alliance KEPSA.