Summary

A milestone decision was passed down by South Africa’s premier court seated in Braamfontein, Johannesburg. This was in the case of Agri South Africa v. Minister for Minerals and Energy.[1] It is a case testing the legality of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA) 28 of 2002 (as amended), particularly its black empowerment provisions. Simply put this piece of legislation had the effect of vesting all mineral ownership to the state. Before it came into being, mineral resources underground were owned by the land owners who in most instances happened to be farmers.[2] These farmers had inter alia the right to exploit the minerals and to lease such mining rights to anyone on their terms. The claimants challenged it on the basis that it expropriated their property. The court ruled that there is a difference between expropriation and deprivation. And basically provided that the concept of indirect expropriation did not apply in South African law.

Continue reading »

On 20 May 2013 the Democratic Republic of Sâo Tomé and Principe deposited with the World Bank its instrument of ratification of the ICSID Convention.[1] The Convention shall enter into force for that State on 19 June 2013.

Continue reading »

Pursuant to Rule 48(4) of its current Arbitration Rules, ICSID has just published excerpts of the final award (in French) dispatched to the parties on 12 May 2011 in M. Meerapfel Söhne AG v. Central African Republic (ICSID Case No. ARB/07/10).[1]

Continue reading »

OVERVIEW

Investment treaties provide a way for investors to mitigate sovereign risk problems, including those arising from changing regulatory frameworks. Companies investing in Africa may be able to structure their investment to take advantage of the protections provided by over 400 bilateral investment treaties which African countries have entered into with developed countries. For example, Egypt has entered into over 100 investment treaties, with both developed and developing countries, while Nigeria has entered into more than 20 such treaties, including with France, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Continue reading »

Introduction

Arbitral awards cover a range of remedies such as monetary compensation, punitive damages, specific performance and restitution, injunctions, declaratory reliefs, rectification, adaptation of contracts, interest and costs. The successful party in an arbitration proceeding expects the award to be performed without delay. However, it may happen that the beneficiary of an award has to forcefully execute it for him to enjoy the fruit of the award. Continue reading »

Challenges are opportunities in disguise. Despite the global economic slowdown which has significantly affected developed economies, Africa, particularly Sub-Saharan Africa, has apparently shown good signs of economic expansion.  According to the International Monetary Fund World Economic Outlook of September 2011, the region’s economy is expected to expand by up to 5¾ per cent in 2012 owing to its use of macroeconomic policies.  This has in turn increased the volume of foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows.  With the increase of FDI, it is inevitable that disputes will arise.  It is therefore an opportune time for the region to return to its long-standing responsibilities for developing expertise and building capacity in investment treaty law and arbitration.  Continue reading »