| 9 February 2026 – Johannesburg – Accelerating legislative reform, rising cross-border investment, and a sharp increase in complex commercial disputes across Africa have transformed Africa’s dispute resolution landscape, compelling countries to strengthen the enforceability of arbitral awards and align their national frameworks with international best practice.
Over the past few years, African states have intensified efforts to modernise arbitration laws, strengthen the enforceability of arbitral awards and align national frameworks with international best practice. From the growing adoption of the UNCITRAL Model Law on international arbitration to the establishment of specialist arbitration courts, the continent’s dispute-resolution ecosystem is undergoing a period of rapid maturation.
“Across Africa, we are seeing this shift, which to an extent was started by the historic signing of the AFSA-SADC Alliance Charter by 11 SADC member states at the Johannesburg Arbitration Week (JAW) 2024, hosted by the Arbitration Foundation of Southern Africa (AFSA),” says AFSA CEO Andile Nikani.
“Governments, investors and businesses are no longer asking whether arbitration should play a central role in dispute resolution, they are asking how to deploy it effectively, credibly and at scale and at this year’s JAW, we will address these questions,” he adds. |
