Chief Justices of Eight African Countries Visits the SCIA
On 26 June 2024, a delegation of African Chief Justices visited the Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration (SCIA). Shen Liang, Grand Justice of the Second Rank of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Vice President of the Supreme People’s Court (SPC), accompanied the visit. Earlier, Chen Wenqing, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Secretary of the Political and Legislative Affairs Committee of the CPC Central Committee, and Zhang Jun, the Chief Justice of the PRC and President of the SPC, met separately with the delegation of African Chief Justices in Beijing.
In Shenzhen, Chief Justice Terence Rannowane from Botswana, Chief Justice Martha K. Koome from Kenya, Chief Justice Bashe Yusuf Ahmed from Somalia, Chief Justice Chan Reec Madut from South Sudan, Chief Justice Mumba Malila from Zambia, Chief Justice Luke Malaba from Zimbabwe, President of the East African Court of Justice (EACJ) Nestor Kayobera, President of the Court of Appeal of Tanzania Ignus Paul Kitusi, President of the Mozambique Maritime Court João Guilherme, Rector of the African Institute of International Law Judge Fatsah Ouguergouz and other delegates visited the SCIA Tower, SCIA’s international headquarters located in Qianhai, Shenzhen. They learnt in detail about the innovative development of international arbitration in the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone over the past 40 years of China’s reform and opening up.
At the thematic exchange session, Dr. Liu Xiaochun, President of the SCIA, Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors of the South China International Arbitration Center (HK) (SCIA HK), Rotating Chairman of the China-Africa Joint Arbitration Center (CAJAC) (2021-2022), welcomed the delegation composed of the above mentioned eight countries in Africa as well as the Court of Justice of the East African Community and the African Institute of International Law. From the perspective that the SCIA serving for the development of China-Africa economy and trade, Dr. Liu Xiaochun reviewed and looked forward to international arbitration and mediation cooperation between China and Africa. Since 2007, the SCIA has resolved a huge number of international trade disputes involving Africa in a timely and harmonious manner through “mediation + arbitration” mechanism at the successive sessions of the Canton Fair, and so far the arbitration and mediation services have covered 27 African countries: Algeria, Egypt, Ethiopia, Angola, Benin, Algeria, Egypt, Ethiopia, Angola, Benin, Togo, Eritrea, Congo, Guinea-Bissau, Ghana, Cameroon, Comoros, Côte d'Ivoire, Kenya, Libya, Mali, Mauritius, Morocco, South Africa, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Sudan, Somalia, Tanzania, Tunisia and Zambia. He said that in the new stage of development, the SCIA and SCIA HK will continuously play the role of “two cities, two arbitration institutions and two jurisdictions", and jointly serve China-Africa economic and trade exchanges, promoting business connectivity between China and Africa through the provision of higher quality international arbitration services.
Dr. Liu Xiaochun, President of the SCIA, Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors of the South China International Arbitration Center (HK) (SCIA HK), and Rotating Chairman of the China-Africa Joint Arbitration Center (CAJAC) (2021-2022), delivered a keynote speech.
Judge Fatsah Ouguergouz, Rector of the African Institute of International Law and Arbitrator of the SCIA, as the representative of the delegation, shared the innovative outcomes of China and Africa’s active promotion of bilateral and direct investment in the context of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation. He pointed out that China has been Africa’s largest trading partner for many years, and dispute resolution mechanisms such as international arbitration and mediation are crucial in serving China-Africa economic and trade cooperation. He hoped that with SCIA and SCIAHK as a bond, China and Africa would further enhance mutual trust and understanding, and continue to strengthen exchanges and cooperation in the field of international commercial arbitration.
Judge Fatsah Ouguergouz, Rector of the African Institute of International Law and Arbitrator of the SCIA delivered a keynote speech.
Dr. Liu Xiaochun presented the Letter of Appointment of Arbitrator to Fatsah Ouguergouz.
The SCIA has long maintained professional communication and cooperation with the business and legal communities in Africa. In 2017, to deepen the collaboration between China and Africa, the SCIA established the CAJAC Shenzhen to provide diversified dispute resolution services for China-Africa economic and trade exchanges. In the same year, the SCIA delegation was invited to visit the Republic of Mauritius and the Republic of South Africa, and paid a visit to the Ministry of Justice of Mauritius and the Mauritius Chamber of Commerce, the Mediation and Arbitration Centre of the Mauritius Chamber of Commerce, and attending the Committee Meeting of the CAJAC as well as the First General Assembly of the CAJAC in Cape Town. The SCIA then carried out a number of exchanges and co-operation activities with countries in Africa in the years following. In 2022, as the rotating chair institution of the CAJAC, the SCIA together with other member institutions issued the Statute of the CAJAC, CAJAC Arbitration Rules and the first CAJAC Recommended Panel of Arbitrators. In 2024, the SCIA delegation attended the Committee Meeting of CAJAC in South Africa, held a roadshow on arbitration rules in Johannesburg, and participated in the Johannesburg Arbitration Week. In recent years, justices, prosecutors, officials of the President’s Cabinet Office and the judicial department, lawyers, in-house counsels and other professionals from Egypt, South Africa, Mauritius, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and other African countries, visited the SCIA on many occasions to continuously strengthen exchanges and mutual understanding between China and Africa, creating a new pattern of China-Africa arbitration synergistic innovation and comprehensive cooperation.
Representatives of Chinese courts at various levels, relevant persons of the African Chief Justices delegation, and An Xin, Vice-President of the SCIA, accompanied the visit.
Photos of the On-site Seminar
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