However, the rise of arbitration may provide a new way to resolve disputes. An arbitrator is a person (usually a retired lawyer or judge) who can appoint the parties by mutual agreement to hear and resolve disputes between them. If the parties include an arbitration clause in the agreement and expressly designate a person to act as an arbitrator, the arbitrator will be valid and binding under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996 (also known as the Arbitration Act). However, if the defendant contests the plaintiff`s liability or contests the plaintiff`s claims, there is a dispute that must be arbitrated by the parties before being brought before the court. When considering a defendant`s application for a stay of proceedings pending arbitration or to be withdrawn from the action in light of the plaintiff`s failure to comply with the arbitration clause contained in the contract between the parties, the court must rigorously examine and interpret the arbitration clause contained in the contract. This is the position of the Court of Appeal in SCOA (Nig) Plc v. Sterling Bank Plc (2016) LPELR-40566(CA) (p. 22, para. B-E) where it has been established that the arbitration clause must be interpreted in accordance with the language used by the parties, without external attribution. Dr. Mekwunye had dragged Imoukhuede before an arbitration board in 2006 because of a wage dispute between them.

After the arbitral tribunal ruled in Mekwunye`s favour, Imoukhuede appealed to the Lagos Supreme Court to overturn the arbitrary arbitral award that the Supreme Court rejected. Arbitration agreements must contain certain basic conditions to be binding on the parties. With few exceptions, arbitration agreements must be in writing and signed by the parties. The agreement must describe the extent of the controversy or request for arbitration and whether or not the arbitration will be binding. The arbitration agreement should also set out the arbitration rules to be applied to the proceedings and whether the arbitrator or an ADR organization will administer the proceedings. In Bendex Engineering Corporation & Anor v. Efficient Petroleum Nigeria Ltd (2000) LPELR-10143(CA) (p. 54, para.

A-B), the Court of Appeal referred to page 424 of 5. Edition of Black`s Law Dictionary, as it defines a dispute as “a conflict or controversy; a conflict of claims or rights; the assertion of a right, claim or claim, on the one hand, which is satisfied by conflicting claims or allegations, on the other hand”. Therefore, any claim of rights that is not contested or contested by the other party does not constitute a dispute and may be applied directly by the court without reference to arbitration. Except for claims related to the Tenant`s failure to pay rent, any other claim, controversy and dispute between the Tenant and the Lessor arising out of or in connection with the Premises, this Lease or the services of the parties due under it shall be resolved by binding arbitration administered by and in accordance with the business rules of the American Arbitration Association. and each court of competent jurisdiction shall render a final judgment on such final arbitral award by the arbitrators. The implication of the above is that the parties may decide to waive the provision of their contract, which obliges them to submit any dispute to arbitration and therefore go directly to court. In this context, § 5 para. 1 of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act; A typical arbitration clause is generally that “any dispute arising out of this Agreement shall be referred by the parties to arbitration … ». What is therefore referred to arbitration is the dispute between the parties arising from the contract between the parties. Since the wording of the arbitration clause should be interpreted restrictively, it is important to understand what constitutes a dispute or what constitutes a dispute in order to clearly determine whether the court can enforce the contract between the parties, regardless of the arbitration clause contained in the contract.

This article briefly and succinctly examines the essential conditions and characteristics that must guide the tribunal in deciding whether to accept or deny jurisdiction over an arbitration clause. “The law will not impose the specific enforcement of such agreements, but if duly challenged, it has the power, in its sole discretion, to deny a party the alternative of having the dispute settled by a court, thus leaving it with the position of having no recourse other than arbitration. If the court has refused to stay the proceedings or if the defendant has abstained from voting, the court has settled the dispute and the rights of the parties are governed by its decision and only by its decision. Also in Akpaji v. Udemba (2003) 6 NWLR (Part 815) 169 The Court has held that if a defendant does not raise the issue of an arbitration clause and invokes it at an early stage of the proceedings but takes positive steps in the action, it is presumed that he has waived his right under the arbitration clause. Mediation. Mediation is a procedure in which a neutral third party promotes and facilitates the resolution of a dispute between the parties in an informal procedure in order to reach a voluntary and binding agreement. The mediator does not make any decisions or decisions for the parties. Here is an example of a mediation clause for a Florida mall in this sense: An arbitration clause is a written consensus that contains the parties` agreement to resort to arbitration in the event of a dispute arising in connection with the obligations that both parties have agreed to abide by and that such a dispute should be resolved by a third party or a court of their choice and the constitution1. According to the Court of Appeal in BCC Tropical Nigeria Ltd.c. The Yobe State Government of Nigeria & Anor (2011) LPELR-9230 (CA) (p. 13, paragraph D-F), an arbitration clause is a provision inserted in a contract that provides for binding arbitration in the event of disputes over the rights and obligations arising from such a contract. It is therefore for the defendant to express its waiver of the contractual obligation to bring the matter before arbitration by immediately requesting the stay of proceedings in the appeal before submitting its pleadings7.

On the basis of the provision of Article 5(2) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, the defendant requesting the stay of proceedings must submit to the court in its affidavit the following: Similarly, the arbitration clause of the lease could also provide: (a) the chair of the arbitration panel must be a certified lawyer in real estate law or commercial disputes; and (b) the other two arbitrators must be non-lawyers, commercial property managers with at least 15 years of experience in shopping centre management. The arbitration clause may also restrict disclosure and require the final hearing to be held in a short period of time. In this way, the parties have an optimized and timely process to resolve their dispute and then (hopefully) continue their business relationship with as little bitterness as possible. The following is a standard arbitration clause for the Florida Shopping Center: Parties to the arbitration may not make more than three (3) statements, each of which may not exceed five (5) hours. Parties also have the right to discover documents through referral requests. Any disclosure is subject to Florida`s applicable rules of civil procedure. Arbitrators are bound by and comply with the choice of law provision of the lease for the issuance of a final arbitral award. Any final decision must reflect the arbitrators` reasoning for the award, but is not required to provide findings of fact and legal conclusions. Each party to the arbitration shall, in equal shares, advance all costs and indemnities of the arbitrators awarded to the prevailing party in the final award. He also appealed to the Court of Appeal to set aside the decision on several grounds, including that the arbitration agreement was flawed.

The parties may agree on the appointment of a neutral person (other than a presiding judge) as mediator, and as long as the parties agree, the mediator generally does not need to be certified. Depending on the level of “truth-checking” that the parties wish to have carried out by the mediator, the parties should take into account the material experience of the mediator in the field of the dispute. In the absence of an agreement between the parties, the court may appoint only a licensed mediator to conduct the mediation conference. Furthermore, in Kano State Urban Development Board v. Fanz Construction Company Ltd (1990) LPELR-SC.45/1988 (pp. 58-60, para. . C-B), the Supreme Court has stated that there is no litigation within the meaning of a dispute referral agreement when there is no controversy, a party already admits responsibility, but simply does not pay. .