APPLICATION OF UNCITRAL ARBITRATION RULES IN UGANDA AND NIGERIA: COMPARATIVE DEDUCTIONS AND LESSONS

Abstract

Arbitration has become a significant mechanism in modern dispute resolution, offering a flexible, efficient, and enforceable alternative to litigation. Arbitration is both domestic and international, cross-border, subnational, and transboundary in scope. This paper aims to inquire into the application of the UNCITRAL Rules through the legal frameworks on arbitration in Uganda and Nigeria. It analyses the inadequacy of the legal framework relating to arbitration in Uganda, as well as the incorporation of the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules under the Arbitration and Mediation Act 2023 of Nigeria. The paper adopts a doctrinal methodology by examining statutes, case law, and scholarly opinions among other secondary sources of legal research. It concludes with recommendations on the need for Uganda to adopt, subject to its local peculiarities, recent developments in Nigeria’s legal and policy frameworks for arbitration.