You are here

Africa dispute resolution

Advising clients on all aspects of investment and risk across the continent for over 40 years

Share

Our premium Africa dispute resolution practice is serviced by lawyers across our global network, and in particular by our disputes teams in Johannesburg, Paris and London.

We have the capability and platform to assist clients on all types of dispute or contentious matter in Africa (including international commercial and investor-state arbitration, commercial litigation, tax investigations and disputes, class actions, public international law, corporate crime & investigations and ADR), as well as to provide specialist risk management expertise.

Our dispute resolution experience in Africa includes advising and representing parties to large, complex and high-value arbitrations across a range of industry sectors, including energy, natural resources, infrastructure and telecommunications. We also spend a significant amount of time behind the scenes advising clients on how to minimise their exposure to contentious risk. We have been consistently ranked in the top band for Africa-wide Dispute Resolution since this category was first introduced by Chambers Global in 2014.

Our experience has shown that a large number of disputes between foreign investors and governments in Africa can be resolved through negotiation. These discussions can be complex, requiring cultural sensitivity and local knowledge to determine which arguments carry weight, when it is time to be firm or flexible, and if and where support can be found within government.

We will put our many years’ experience to work in your negotiations, developing persuasive lines of argument while preserving existing rights, and talking to officials on the ground. Should negotiation prove unsuccessful, we can then help you craft the best dispute resolution strategy, including arbitration, litigation and ADR procedures.

The experience of our French-qualified lawyers includes appearing before the local courts in a number of Francophone jurisdictions.

The combination of our full-service multi-industry expertise, deep Africa experience and know-how ensures we can provide a real value added service to our clients in Africa whatever the challenge or opportunity.

Recent Experience

a trading company

as EPC contractor on delay and disruption claims in relation to three turbine power plants forming part of the US$4.1billion 10,000 MW integrated Power Project in Nigeria.

an international concession and construction group

on an ICC arbitration related to a stadium construction contract against the National Government in Algeria.

Saudi Arabian power and water company

on a series of disputes arising out of its projects in South Africa.

NORILSK NICKEL

on the disposal of its US$279 million interest in the Nkomati nickel joint venture in South Africa to BCL and the resultant disputes which have emanated from the transaction.

REPUBLIC OF TUNISIA

Representing the Republic of Tunisia in ICSID proceedings brought by a foreign investor concerning allegations of expropriation of its interest in a Tunisian bank - the value of claims exceeds US$1 billion.

BP

on contentious issues in contract and in tort, and in multiple jurisdictions and fora including the UK inquest proceedings, arising from the terrorist incident at the In Amenas gas facility in Algeria between 16-19 January 2013.

Awards and Accolades

Band 1 - Africa-wide Dispute Resolution Chambers Global 2014-2021

One source highlighted the team for being "extremely professional and proactive. I feel that they have this capacity to understand client needs and they can adjust."
The practice maintains a high degree of professionalism, has legal acumen in diverse fields and its services are efficient," said one market commentator. Another source praised the firm's "deep knowledge of the natural resource sector and of African jurisdictions.
Chambers Global 2021: Africa-wide Dispute Resolution
One client described the team as "great litigators," adding: "They have a good marriage of international and local knowledge combined with business acumen to execute our needs." Another client agreed, stating: "They are responsive, pragmatic and reasonable," and going on to comment: "They understand the needs of the client."
Chambers Global 2021: South Africa Dispute Resolution
One source described the firm as "excellent, exceptionally innovative, forward-thinking, extremely analytical and proactive," adding that "they have been super all round." Further interviewees value its ability to "deliver a very personal service" that is equal parts "professional, commercial and extremely supportive of its clients."
Chambers Global 2020: Africa-wide Dispute Resolution

Insights and updates

22nd March 2022
Covering the full span of the continent's courts and arbitral hubs, our authoritative guide breaks...
22nd February 2021
South Africa's High Court has refused to certify a high-profile securities claim. Will this curb...
16th February 2021
The UK Supreme Court has handed down its judgment in Okpabi v Royal Dutch Shell...
28th February 2020
Professor David Butler is Emeritus Professor of law at Stellenbosch University, South Africa, and was...

Our People

Learn more about how we help our clients in

Dispute Resolution

View Service

Learn more

Energy, Natural Resources & Infrastructure Finance

Administrative and Public Law

Commercial and regulated industries are faced with an increasingly complex landscape of public sector law and governance, resulting in more...
See more

Civil Fraud

Fraud is in the news ever increasingly, across borders and sectors alike and the financial costs are high It is estimated that every...
See more
Class actions

Class Actions

The current pace of change is rapid and, in many cases, business-critical decisions are being made without the luxury of time for thorough...
See more
Commercial litigation

Commercial Litigation

Every deal or transaction carries with it the risk of a dispute. Successful businesses require lawyers that can pre-empt the issues that...
See more
Infrastructure

Construction Disputes

When disputes arise, our global construction dispute resolution team has the experience and industry knowledge required to achieve the...
See more

Financial Services Disputes

The banking and wider financial services sectors increasingly dominate the global disputes landscape in terms of frequency, complexity and...
See more
Insurance coverage

Insurance Disputes

We understand that stakeholders across the insurance market require specialist expertise, often across jurisdictions, and the ability to...
See more

Intellectual Property

Our intellectual property lawyers help the world's foremost companies unlock the value of their intellectual property to protect their...
See more
Managing an Arbitration: Top tips for in-house counsel  - image of a drop of water

International Arbitration

Our specialist arbitration practitioners are based across Europe, Asia Pacific, the United States, Africa and the Middle East and have...
See more
Professional Negligence

Professional Negligence

Professionals across the world face an ever-increasing exposure from claims brought against them by their clients and others.
See more

Tax Investigations and Disputes

Our team of practitioners sits at the heart of our firm's preeminent dispute resolution practice. We don’t just understand tax: we are...
See more
TMT disputes

TMT Disputes

Our global multidisciplinary TMT disputes team leads the way in helping clients navigate complex cross-border and high-value technology...
See more

Trusts and private client disputes

Our trust and private client disputes team are specialists in matters involving offshore and onshore trusts, estates, charities and mental...
See more