Taiwo, D O (2022) Incremental development of a legal framework for arbitration in emerging markets: A case study of construction arbitration in Nigeria. PhD thesis, University of Essex, UK.
Abstract
The effectiveness of a country's justice system can be measured by the efficacy of the mechanisms provided for access to justice. These include national courts and alternative dispute resolution mechanisms (ADR) including commercial arbitration which provides a private avenue for resolving business disputes as a complement to state courts. The principle of party autonomy which enables a reasonable amount of procedural flexibility, and the international enforceability of agreements and awards accounts for the global popularity of arbitration. This procedural flexibility is particularly relevant for international construction and engineering projects where disputes are often technically complex requiring personnel with the requisite skill and expertise to resolve disputes. Nevertheless, the popularity of international commercial arbitration is seemingly circumscribed to certain seats outside Africa despite the region contributing a large percentage of disputes resolved by major international arbitration institutions. Nigeria features as a major African jurisdiction struggling to attract the international arbitration market despite its size and the critical role it plays in regional economic integration. Reasons for this include inefficient formal legal structures comprising of dated legislations, inconsistent judicial attitudes, and negative perceptions about the impartiality of legal systems. As recent surveys suggest more sector-specific arbitration would make international arbitration better suited to resolve construction disputes, this thesis investigates the extent to which a specialist construction arbitration framework can facilitate meaningful access to justice in emerging markets like Nigeria. The thesis proposes an Incremental Development Arbitration Framework that addresses arbitration and other issues that affect arbitration proceedings and parties' choice of seat. The thesis argues that the establishment of a construction framework in Nigeria should have the twin effect of expanding the parameters of access to justice and promoting Nigeria to the international arbitration market as one with the expertise to resolve construction contract disputes with a positive domino effect on sustainable development.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | flexibility; personnel; international construction; alternative dispute resolution; arbitration; dispute resolution; disputes; integration; markets; Nigeria; case study; market; legislation |
| Index terms: | effectiveness, party autonomy, international construction, alternative dispute resolution, integration, resolution, justice, case study, survey, legislation, arbitration, construction dispute, jurisdiction, markets, Africa, regional economic, dispute, construction contract, emerging market, agreements, sustainable development, personnel, Nigeria |
| Subjects: | contract type, economic analysis, contract management, organizational analysis, conflict resolution, regions and continents, legal systems, Geography, strategic management, data collection methods, management, performance management, health safety and environment, contract formation, dispute resolution |
| Topics: | Human Resources, Contract Administration, Business Strategy, Organizational Design, Geographical Context, International Construction, Procurement, Stakeholder Management, Research Practice, Legal Issues, Health and Safety, Quality Management |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTE |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here