Revue - Les Cahiers de l'Arbitrage N°2 - 2023 - 47

NUMÉRO SPÉCIAL AFRIQUE
Series of workshops and training sessions are organised as part of a project to
support the popularization and dissemination of OHADA law in Central Africa. 48
The inclusion of investment arbitration in the UAA and the CCJA Arbitration
Rules, though an innovation in the OHADA investment dispute resolution
landscape, has not yet achieved the intended results, and to the knowledge of the
author no BIT concluded by an OHADA member has yet included a reference to
dispute resolution using the CCJA Rules.
Recent changes to the arbitration legal framework on a national basis, as
discussed below, further signifies the increasing attention which African countries
are paying to international arbitration in general and to investment arbitration in
particular.
(i) Tanzania
Possibly in response to the backlash of negative commentary and investment
treaty arbitrations commenced against the Tanzanian government, as a result
of its enactment of the Natural Wealth and Resources (Permanent Sovereignty)
Act 2017 ( " NWA " ) 49
The NWA had prohibited recourse to
and the Natural Wealth and Resources (Review and
Re-Negotiation of Unconscionable Terms) Act 2017, in 2020 Tanzania enacted
a new legislation on arbitration. 50
international arbitration as Section 11(2) of the act stated that " [f]or the purpose
of subsection (1), disputes arising from extraction, exploitation or acquisition and
use of natural wealth and resources shall be adjudicated by judicial bodies or
other organs established in the United Republic and in accordance with laws of
Tanzania. " The Tanzanian Arbitration Act 2020 ( " TAA " ) amends Sections 11(2)
and (3) of the NWA, 51
2010 ( " PPA " ) 52
and Section 22(b) of the Public Private Partnership Act
to remove the word " established " in respect of judicial bodies
or other organs. This permits access to arbitration under the auspices of foreign
arbitral bodies (such as ICC and LCIA) which are not 'established' in Tanzania;
however retaining the words " in the United Republic " ' and " in accordance with
laws of Tanzania " would seem to indicate that Tanzania wishes to retain both the
seat and venue of the arbitration within the country. Perhaps because the TAA
is attuned to having Tanzania as the seat for all investment disputes, it does not
mention the New York Convention, and permits extensive court intervention in
the arbitration process.
48. See, for instance, on the 13-14 March 2023, a workshop on the popularization of alternative
dispute resolution was organised in Kinshasa as part of project for the support of the popularization
and dissemination of OHADA law in Central Africa (https://www.ohada.org/en/ohada-news/).
49. Natural Wealth and Resources (Permanent Sovereignty) Act 2017, United Republic of
Tanzania, 7 July 2017, Section 11 prohibited investors from resorting to international arbitration,
where the subject matter of the dispute concerned natural resources (https://faolex.fao.org/docs/pdf/
tan185073.pdf).
50. The Arbitration Act 2020, United Republic of Tanzania, 21 February 2020 (https://www.
velmalaw.co.tz/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Arbitration-Act-2020.pdf).
51. Natural Wealth and Resources (Permanent Sovereignty) Act 2017, United Republic of
Tanzania, 7 July 2017, Section 11 (https://faolex.fao.org/docs/pdf/tan185073.pdf).
52. Public Private Partnership Act 2010, United Republic of Tanzania, 18 June 2010 (https://
ppp.worldbank.org/public-private-partnership/sites/ppp.worldbank.org/files/documents/Tanzania_
PPP%20Act_EN.pdf).
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https://www.ohada.org/en/ohada-news/ https://faolex.fao.org/docs/pdf/tan185073.pdf https://faolex.fao.org/docs/pdf/tan185073.pdf https://www.velmalaw.co.tz/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Arbitration-Act-2020.pdf https://www.velmalaw.co.tz/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Arbitration-Act-2020.pdf https://faolex.fao.org/docs/pdf/tan185073.pdf https://ppp.worldbank.org/public-private-partnership/sites/ppp.worldbank.org/files/documents/Tanzania_PPP%20Act_EN.pdf https://ppp.worldbank.org/public-private-partnership/sites/ppp.worldbank.org/files/documents/Tanzania_PPP%20Act_EN.pdf https://ppp.worldbank.org/public-private-partnership/sites/ppp.worldbank.org/files/documents/Tanzania_PPP%20Act_EN.pdf

Revue - Les Cahiers de l'Arbitrage N°2 - 2023

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