19 Feb AFSA launches inaugural Johannesburg Arbitration Week (JAW) conference
19 February 2024: The Arbitration Foundation of Southern Africa (AFSA) is pleased to announce the launch of the inaugural Johannesburg Arbitration Week (JAW) taking place at the Sandton Convention Centre from 9-11 April 2024, preceded by a welcome event taking place at AFSA’s offices in Sandton on 8 April 2024.
JAW, hosted by AFSA, and rated by SOAS University of London as Africa’s top arbitration centre, is co-hosted by leading solicitor firms, bars and other stakeholders, who are all founding members of the organisation. The event aims to unpack the issues and challenges in the fast-changing world of international commercial arbitration paying particular attention to key initiatives that are shaping and transforming dispute resolution in Africa.
Michael Kuper, AFSA’s Chairman states: “One of the key aims of JAW is to activate the AFSA Alliance that brings together the Law Societies of the 16 States of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in order to harmonise and standardise arbitration practice under the AFSA International banner – this initiative is a potential game changer for arbitration in Southern Africa.”
Kuper goes on to say that the aim of the Johannesburg Arbitration Week is to link leading arbitration centres across Africa to generate a shared jurisprudence and codes of practice as well as adopting the distinctive China-Africa Joint Arbitration Centre (CAJAC) model for resolving trade and commercial disputes along the African Belt and Road and in the formation of a BRICS arbitral mechanism.
Apart from an array of international as well as local speakers, one of the highlights of the event will be a Human vs Artificial Intelligence (AI) Moot Court hosted by Young AFSA at which a judgement will be made by both humans and AI. Participants at the conference will be presented with both judgements (anonymously) and will be asked to choose the judgement they believe to be the better.
The co-hosts for the conference include CAJAC; AFT; Allen & Overy; Bowman’s; CDH; GCB; HSF; KPMG; Pinsent Masons, Webber Wentzel and 39 Essex Chambers.
To register to attend and for sponsorship opportunities please visit www.johannesburgarbitrationweek.co.za
ENDS
About AFSA
The Arbitration Foundation of Southern Africa (AFSA) is a private dispute resolution authority which manages and administers the confidential resolution of a wide-range of local and international disputes by way of mediation, adjudication, arbitration and related processes. AFSA operates through a number of divisions including: AFSA Domestic, AFSA International, AFSA SADC, AFSA Mediation, AFA Training, AFSA Business Rescue and Young AFSA. With their head office is in Sandton, Johannesburg, the organisation has branch offices in Cape Town, Pretoria, Durban, Mthatha and the Garden Route.
Contact:
Deline Beukes
Chief Executive Officer
Tel: +27 (0)828375029
Email: deline@cajacjhb.com
Web: www.cajacjhb.com
Media Contact:
Charles Poulter
SWM Communications
Tel: +27 (0)768128429
Email: charles@swmcommunications.co.za
Web: https://swmcommunications.co.za/press-office