NICArb 2021 Conference to Address Disruption in Business Landscape

The Nigerian Institute of Chartered Arbitrators (NICArb) is set to hold its annual conference, themed: “Disruption and the New Normal in Arbitration/ADR in Africa: A Way Forward” this month.

The institute’s Registrar, Shola Oshodi-John, made this announcement in Lagos recently.
Oshodi-John said the focus of the Conference is geared towards addressing the effects of COVID-19 pandemic unexpected disruption in the arbitration and business landscape in such a way that threatens the survival of the practice in societies that are not technologically advanced.

“The disruption has created a new narrative and a new normal with the advent of online dispute resolution, digital economy, online trade in goods and services amongst others. At the inception of the pandemic, everyone had thought that it would soon fizzle away and that things would return to the old ways. That expectation has long been dropped for the more pragmatic approach of fashioning a way forward in order to adapt to the disruption and harness the benefits of the resultant changes.

According to the registrar, this year’s conference will be the first Hybrid Annual Conference held by NICArb to create a forum for users, experts and practitioners in Arbitration and other ADRs across sectors on the Africa continent and beyond, to discuss and proffer solutions in the wake of COVID-19 disruptions on how to improve the use and practice of Arbitration/ADRs to create an environment that attracts investment and investor confidence, and a roadmap for dispute resolution under the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).

“This conference seeks to, amongst other things, propose a viable way towards harnessing the benefits of the new normal for the arbitration and ADR community, with particular focus on the challenges of the African continent.

“There shall also be a discussion on an overview of the current trends in the digital economy and their implications for consumer protection and competition policies. Speakers at the Conference will be opportuned to review emerging issues in consumer protection in electronic commerce (e-commerce), in particular, how it relates to legal and policy frameworks, consumer empowerment and business guidance, enforcement, dispute resolution and redress,” she submitted.