- He said establishing an effective and reliable mode of resolving commercial disputes is desirable and invaluable.
- He underscored the need for arbitration saying it is an efficient and timely method of resolving and settling commercial disputes.
Image: PCSP
Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi has said revamping arbitration practices in the country will help Kenya stick on the regional and global business map moving forward.
He said the government is taking steps to ensure that Kenya has a world-class institution to provide international commercial arbitration services in Nairobi.
"My office in consultation with other relevant state agencies, including the Office of the Attorney-General is at an advanced stage of developing a Bill that will ensure the establishment of a viable and private international arbitration Centre in Nairobi," he said.
He said establishing an effective and reliable mode of resolving commercial disputes is desirable and invaluable.
"Whereas commercial and international trade disputes are unavoidable, efficient mechanisms for the resolution and management of such disputes are essential," he said.
"The resolution and management of such disputes lie in alternative dispute resolutions (ADR’s) mechanisms that are ways and methods of resolving disputes outside the judicial process, and include negotiations, conciliation, mediation and arbitration," he said.
He spoke in Kwale during the seventh International Arbitration Conference organized by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (Kenya Branch).
He underscored the need for arbitration saying it is an efficient and timely method of resolving and settling commercial disputes.
Mudavadi said disputes arising out of commercial transactions require a commercial approach to their resolution.
He added that it is a global reality that business is concerned more with getting an occupational solution to a commercial dispute rather than being dragged into lengthy and protracted procedures in courts.
"Africa’s experience is that the International business community is usually reluctant to resolve commercial disputes in domestic courts thus, increasingly resolved by arbitration in the various established international arbitration centres," he said.
This, he said, is enough evidence that there is a need for Africa to adopt international arbitration as the 21st-century mechanism for the resolution of commercial disputes.
“The international commercial and business community invests in countries that have modern commercial and business laws. A modern arbitration law framework is indispensable if a country has to attract international business and investments,” he noted.
He urged African states to embrace, adopt and modernize their arbitration laws to accord with the international legal instruments.
The CS added that the resultant legal frameworks must ensure the arbitral process is insulated from ceaseless court interventions.
"The legal frameworks must be supported by jurisdictional and political recognition that the foundation of arbitral proceedings is the arbitration agreement. This implies understanding that parties choose arbitration as a private dispute settlement mechanism to enable them to conduct all proceedings by considering their respective needs and desires,” he said.