Cost and Event in Arbitration (Case Study: Nigeria)

Abstract

The Federal law governing arbitration in Nigeria is the Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1988. This paper is written on the presumption that the seat of the arbitration is in Nigeria and the Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1988, (ACA) is the governing law. The basic legal requirement of an arbitration agreement under this law is that an arbitration agreement must be in writing or must be contained in a written document signed by the parties, (ACA 1988, Article 1). While the basic requirement for an arbitrator is the arbitrator must be independent and impartial, (ACA 1988, Article 8). The ability to recover costs is often central to financial success in dispute resolutions, since where the costs exceed the value of the claim the victor would enjoy a mere empirical victory. In arbitration steps have been taken to ensure that the claimant’s returns are not unnecessarily impacted upon by the costs of dispute resolution. Do costs follow the event? The general rule is that an award of costs will generally flow with the result of arbitration; the successful party being entitled to an order for costs against the unsuccessful party. However every general rule comes with its exceptions.