Varsity inks dispute resolution training pact

Mount Kenya University has signed a tripartite agreement with regional bodies that the institution said would deepen Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) in Kenya and Africa.

The university’s Centre for International and Development Law (CIDLaw) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators – Kenya (CIArb) and the ILI – South African Centre for Excellence (ILI-SACE),

Through the MOU, the three institutions will establish a tripartite framework for collaboration in the areas of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), with a special focus on investment arbitration and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) compliance.

In this agreement, MKU, through CIDLaw, shall contribute academic infrastructure and student reach while CIArb will bring professional arbitration expertise and global networks. South Africa’sILI-SACE will offer international standards in arbitration and ESG compliance training.

MKU Vice Chancellor Prof Deogratius Jaganyi said key activities under the MOU include organizing high-profile public lectures on investment arbitration and emerging legal themes, including investment, arbitration, and ESG compliance.
“Without deliberate and strategic action towards sustainability, we risk compromising the future of the next generation,” he said.

The partners will co-deliver arbitration training and certification, with CIArb offering its Entry Course at discounted rates and ILI-SACE providing advanced modules.

The collaboration also involves joint research on topics like ESG compliance, the use of mediation in public-private dispute resolution, and the integration of investment arbitration within Kenya’s trade ecosystem, amongst others.

“The Memorandum of Understanding…. is a shared recognition that the challenges we face demand nothing less than a reimagining of how we prepare the next generation of legal minds,” said Attorney General Dorcas Oduur in a statement delivered on her behalf by Ms. Njeri Wachira, Deputy Solicitor General, INternational Law Division.

She added that the government is aware of the challenges that it faces today and has undertaken initiatives to safeguard Kenyan interests and priorities, which it tries to balance with foreign investment.

Former Attorney General Githu Muigai challenged young Kenyan and African lawyers to take over and ensure that they are at the centre of representing Africa in global arbitration.

He noted that while this has in recent past started to changed, African countries have rarely been represented by African lawyers.

“Now, in Africa, we are seeing an evolution of investment arbitration… And one of the important things that we are beginning to see is that we are beginning to converge dispute resolutions into the arbitration arena,” he said.

“Very major arbitrations involve Africa but very few African arbitrators are involved in the resolution of these disputes.”

He added that the international arbitration space is full of opportunists, citing claims where investors put in little or no work and claim billions when the licences are cancelled due to failure to meet licence obligations.