Anchoring Fairness: The Art of Maritime Arbitration in Resolving High-Stake Disputes in Africa

Maritime arbitration plays an increasingly critical role in for the resolution of disputes in an industry that supports over 90% of global international trade. The occupational risk of significant economic vulnerability, as exemplified by the 2021 Suez Canal blockage and resulting $9.6 billion dollars a day risk of loss from aggravated commerce, is crucial to understanding maritime arbitration effectiveness. The study analyzes the effectiveness of maritime arbitration in an African jurisdiction by assessing the adequacy of the relevant international legal tools, namely, the New York Convention of 1958 and the UNCITRAL Model Law of 2023, and also determining the issues of institutional, technological, and human barriers to ensure fair hearings. A mixed-methods approach (120 surveys of stakeholders: 18 interviews with experts; 10 case studies; and comparative legal analysis), demonstrated that arbitration has globally, an enforceability rate of 80%; whereas, for Africa the enforceability rate drops below 50%. Low enforceability rates and risk of resolution are often a result of inadequate enforcement mechanisms, weak institutional capacity of the institution, arbitrator bias, and failure to adopt digital enabling technologies – with findings that only 25% of arbitration centres reported using Artificial Intelligence (AI) or case management technologies. In comparison arbitration was 40% faster in terms of process, and would mitigate operational downtime by 25% in maritime disputes. The study proposes a hybrid arbitration model, specifically designed for Africa, to ensure an optimal legal framework – combining internationally recognised arbitration best practices with distinct for Africa traditional dispute resolution customs. The precedence of the international best practices is incorporated into the custom in order to optimise enforcement, create legal certainty, and enhance the positive moral obligation of sustainability in the environmental accountabilities assumed in maritime governance.