Ethiopia has been on the pursuit of market liberalization in an effort to boost economic growth. We have been witnessing a wave of new laws in Ethiopia with significant implications to a market that has long been closed to foreigners. In April 2024, a law passed by the Investment Authority opened the import, wholesale, retail…
Almost 4 years ago, Kluwer Arbitration Blog published an article titled “The Fate of Finality Clause in Ethiopia” by Mintewab Afework, which clearly examined the parties’ prerogative to submit their disputes to arbitration and to waive their right of appeal on the final arbitral award, as applicable at the time. After 4 years, two significant…
Arbitration is one of the preferred modes of private dispute settlement. Off its several traits, the cornerstone is the fact that it is based primarily on party autonomy and enables the parties to control almost all aspect of it. On the other hand, States put in place a different review and/or control mechanism on the…
Five years after filing the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) Case No. 2013-32 under the European Development Fund Arbitration Rules (EDF Rules), the claimant, Consta JV (an Italian contractor), would have hoped for a successful award against the CDE (a joint enterprise between the Ethiopian and Djibouti government) that would be upheld by the local…
The cassation bench of the Supreme Court of Ethiopia, whose decisions have precedential value, in National Motors Corp. v. General Business Development case has ruled that parties’ final intention to be bound by an arbitration award shall be final and may not be subject to review by courts, including the cassation bench. The bench, however,…
If you are a counsel in an ongoing arbitration, you have two obligations: 1) navigate your ways through provisions of the applicable law so that you can litigate as a professional; 2) satisfy your client with your service and make sure that all his questions are answered properly. Especially, if an arbitrator (whether or not…
