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1 Nnamdi Azikiwe U. J. Int'l L. & Juris. 1 (2010)

handle is hein.journals/naujilj1 and id is 1 raw text is: JIL 2010 ARBITRATION AND CONCILIATION ACT CAP A18 LAWS OF THE FEDERATION OF NIGERIA 2004 -CALL FOR AMENDMENT* Abstract The primary sources of the Nigerian Law of Arbitration are the English Common Law, the Nigerian Customary law and Nigerian statues. The English common law and the doctrines of equity including the English statutes of general application were received into Nigeria by the local legislatures during the colonial administration. However, the local legislatures have terminated the reception of English Statues of General Application in some parts of Nigeria but the common law and doctrine of equity still play important roles in our arbitration practice. Nigerian Arbitration and Conciliation Act 2004, which was a re-enactment of l990 Actplays important role in our arbitration and conciliation practice. Before 2004, a lot of juristic ink was poured out calling for the amendment of certain provisions of the Act. Unfortunately, the 2004 Act failed to address any of the issues raised by these jurists and scholars who are experts in Arbitration. To address these issues again motivated this work. 1. Sections of the Act Requiring Amendment The sections of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act which require urgent amendment include among others, the provisions of sections 4, 7(4), 15, 30, 31, 51, and 54. A. Sections 4 & 5 - Stay of Proceedings Sections 4 & 5 of the Act are on the same subject issue which is the issue of stay of proceedings in court. For proper appreciation of the need for this call for amendment of section 4 (1) & (2), I will reproduce the provisions of the two sections. 4(1) A court before which an action, which is the subject of an arbitration agreement is brought shall, if any party so requests not later than when submitting his first statement on the substance of the dispute, order a stay of proceedings and refer the parties to arbitration. (2) Where an action referred to in subsection (1) of this section has been brought before a court, arbitral proceedings may nevertheless be commenced or continued, and an award may be made by the arbitral tribunal while the matter is pending before the court. 5(1) If any party to an arbitration agreement commences any action in any court with respect to any matter which is the subject of an arbitration agreement, any party to the arbitration agreement may, at any time after appearance and before delivering any pleadings or taking any other steps in the proceedings, apply to the court to stay proceedings. (2) A court to which an application is made under subsection (1) of this section may, if it is satisfied- (a) that there is no sufficient reason why the matter should not be referred to arbitration in accordance with the arbitration agreement; and (b) that the applicant was at the time when the action was commenced and still remains ready and willing to do all things necessary to the proper conduct of the arbitration, make an order staying the proceedings. Sections 4 & 5 provide for stay of proceedings where a party to an arbitration agreement commences an action in court with respect to any matter which comes within the purview of * Prof. Greg. Chukwudi Nwakoby, Former Dean, Faculty of Law, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Expert in Commercial and Property Law, a Professional Arbitrator, and Fellow Chartered Institute of Arbitration of Nigeria (FCIArb).

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