“Mozambique needs to quickly join the global arbitration trend” – Facts

Gilberto Correia, chairman of the Mozambique Internationalization Committee of the Commercial Arbitration Centre of the Portuguese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CAC), believes that Mozambique must quickly join the global arbitration trend to make justice faster, more professional and more predictable in order to promote domestic and foreign investment and boost the national economy, which will help improve the country’s position in the business environment rankings.

Attorney Gilberto Correa spoke on the sidelines of the Second International Arbitration Conference, organized by the Commercial Arbitration Centre of the Portuguese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, through its Mozambique Internationalization Committee, in Maputo on Thursday, June 20. Today, worldwide, the resolution of commercial conflicts and business disputes mostly takes place in arbitration courts, which can relieve the congestion of judicial courts.

As mentioned before, Mozambique is a bit behind the global reality when it comes to arbitration, but from a legislative point of view, the Constitution of the Republic provides for the Court of Arbitration as a type of court in the country.

“Among the package of economic acceleration measures drawn up by the government, one of the measures considered essential to accelerate national economic growth is the need to expand alternative means of dispute resolution, among which arbitration clearly stands out”, he stressed.

Therefore, as Gilberto Correia stressed, the Mozambique International Commercial Arbitration Commission has been promoting and accelerating the development of this alternative means in recent years, namely arbitration, having trained 31 arbitrators this year, with the participation of international arbitrators as trainers: “We believe that these initiatives will sow the seeds for the germination of arbitration in Mozambique”, he stressed.

At the second arbitration conference, the president of the Mozambican Bar Association (OAM), Carlos Martins, said that there is now reason to believe that the administrative jurisdiction should also be more open to alternative conflict resolution mechanisms, allowing for the resolution of disputes concerning tax and customs actions, public employment relations, while allowing for greater specialization and the need for timely justice.

“Initiatives such as this upcoming conference and training by the OAM, the Centre for Arbitration, Mediation and Conciliation and the Mozambique Institute of Arbitration contribute to spreading and awakening people to the importance of these dispute resolution mechanisms,” he stressed.

It is worth highlighting that, within the context of the development of arbitration in the country, the Commercial Arbitration Centre, through the Mozambique Internationalization Committee, in collaboration with the OAM Sofala Provincial Council, organized an introductory course on arbitration, which included 108 participants. It also organized an intermediate arbitration course, with 66 participants, and the first International Arbitration Conference, with 90 participants (on-site) and another 130 (remotely).