1. 39ISSUE 72-16 39Alternative Dispute Resolution
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Next in our special feature on ADR, Lawyer Monthly speaks with Kwadwo Gyasi
Ntrakwah, a partner at Ntrakwah & Co., a leading full-service law firm in Ghana.
Kwadwo represents businesses and individuals in litigation, arbitration, and
transactions. Kwadwo heads the firm’s Arbitration practice group; he has extensive
experience as both counsel and arbitrator. A member of the Middle Temple, Kwadwo
has an LLM from University of Exeter and LLB from University of Reading. He has been
called to the Bars of Ghana and England and Wales.
As a professional with a wealth of experience
in both domestic and international arbitration –
what is the current state of arbitration in Ghana,
given that the Government has entered into
bilateral agreements and contracts with foreign
entities where arbitration clauses are included?
Arbitration in Ghana is still developing. There is
a growing use of domestic Arbitration centres
as well as traditional international centres
such as the ICSID,Ciarb Das,ICC, LCIA among
others.
What are the most frequently used forms of ADR
in Ghana?
Arbitration and Mediation are the most
frequently used forms of ADR in Ghana.
You have also been involved in a wide array
of corporate and commercial litigations - how
do you determine which types of disputes are
more suited to ADR rather than litigation?
Invariably the choice of the mode of dispute
resolution is with the parties. In practice
however foreign clients prefer Arbitration as the
mode of dispute resolution instead of Litigation.
Ghana’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Act
2010, Act 798 also applies to matters other than
those that relate to:
• the national or public interest
• the environment
• enforcement and interpretation of the
constitution or
• any other matter that by law cannot be
settled by an alternative dispute resolution
method
How common is Arbitration in dispute resolution
in Ghana and what would you say are its key
advantages?
Arbitration is increasingly becoming a common
mode of dispute resolution in Ghana, especially
for large-value international disputes. Some of
the Key advantages are as follows:
• Confidentiality and flexibility of arbitration
proceedings
• Awards are final and binding and not subject
to appeals on the merits
• Arbitration is seen as faster and relatively
cheaper compared to litigation. Albeit this
depends on the complexity of the dispute
and the willingness of the parties to
cooperate in the process
You advise a number of clients from the Oil and
Gas sector – given that the industry is relatively
young, what are some of the key recent
disputes to arise and what is the role of ADR as
a means of resolving them?
One of the most recent disputes to arise is
the dispute concerning the delimitation of
the maritime boundary between Ghana and
Côte d’ivoire in the Atlantic Ocean. Arbitration
has played a key role in trying to resolve this
dispute. Ghana commenced Arbitration
against Côte d’Ivoire before the International
Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, pursuant to
Annex VII of the United Nations Convention
on the Law of the Sea. On 25th April 2015,
the tribunal made certain provisional orders
against Ghana.
Your practice also involves resolving Banking
and Finance-related disputes – what are some
of the main disputes that arise in this sector and
how often are such disputes resolved through
arbitration?
Some of the main disputes that arise in the
Banking and Finance industry have to do with
debt recovery. Such disputes are not often
referred to arbitration. The underlying reasons
being creditors in Ghana tend to prefer the
adversarial system of the courts for debt
recovery. In addition where the debt is secured
by an asset that has been registered with
the collateral registry of the Bank of Ghana,
under the Borrowers and Lenders Act 2008,Act
773(Act 773), the realisation of the charge
without a court order is possible and in such
circumstances Arbitration is not needed.
Given your experience in Arbitrations across
multiple jurisdictions, what would you say is the
main challenge of international Arbitration in
Ghana?
Despite the passage of Ghana’s Alternative
Dispute Resolution Act, 2010(Act 798),
enforcement of arbitral awards in Ghana is
still a challenge. Enforcement proceedings
have to be done through the courts. At that
stage, the losing party in the Arbitration may
frustrate the process with applications for stay
of execution among others. LM
A LTER NAT I VE DISPUTE R ESOLUT ION
Kwadwo Ntrakwah
LLB(Hons),LLM,PGDIP
of the Middle Temple
Barrister AT-LAW
Ntrakwah and Co.
Email: kwadwontr@ntrakwahandco.com
www.ntrakwahandco.com