Review of Commercial Litigation in Anglophone Africa: The Law Relating to Civil Jurisdiction, Enforcement of Foreign Judgments and Interim Remedies, 2nd edition

The second version of Business Litigation in Anglophone Africa: The Legislation Regarding Civil Jurisdiction, Enforcement of International Judgments and Interim Cures by Andrew Moran KC and Anthony Kennedy was revealed in December 2022. The blurb of the e-book reads as follows:

Business Litigation in Anglophone Africa particulars the broad framework of the personal worldwide legislation guidelines in operation in every of the sixteen Anglophone jurisdictions thought-about (Botswana, Gambia, Ghana, Eswatini, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe).

The authors establish and supply a refined clarification of the legislation to be utilized because it pertains to: (i) civil jurisdiction over industrial disputes involving a overseas aspect; (ii) the enforcement of overseas judgments; and (iii) the provision and nature of the interim cures, in every of the sixteen jurisdictions addressed. The authors have additionally supplied complete protection of the potential availability of an anti-suit injunction (in widespread legislation jurisdictions) or anti-suit interdict (in Roman-Dutch legislation jurisdictions). 

The primary version of the e-book was reviewed within the Journal of Personal Worldwide Legislation (Okoli, 2020), South African Legislation Journal (Ordor, 2019) and Lloyds Maritime and Business Legislation Quarterly (McParland, 2019). Total, the critiques of the first version of the e-book have been very optimistic.

The preface to the second version of the e-book notes a number of current developments which have been taken under consideration. One current growth price noting is the rise within the variety of anti-suit and anti-arbitration injunctions within the English-speaking African courts of, for instance, Ghana,[1] South Africa,[2] and Nigeria.[3] I additionally observe that the e-book incorporates about seventy new determined instances that weren’t utilised within the earlier version.

Total, my impression of this e-book is optimistic. Practitioners fascinated with industrial battle of legal guidelines in Africa will discover this work very helpful.

[1] The Legal professional Basic v Cassius Mining Restricted (Go well with No CM/MISC/0568/2023), selected 31 July 2023; Magna Worldwide Transport Ltd v Ghana Telecom Communications Co Ltd (Go well with No: H1/227/2018), selected 17 October 2019; Quantum Oil Terminals Ltd v Worldwide Finance Company, Go well with No: Misc/00228/17 (Rulings of 8 January 2018 and 23 February 2018).

[2] Vedanta Sources Holdings Restricted v ZCCM Funding Holdings PLC [2019] ZAGPJHC 250 (23 June 2019).

[3] Shell Petroleum Improvement Firm Nigeria Restricted v Crestar Built-in Pure Sources Restricted (2016) 9 NWLR 300, 322; Zenith International Service provider Restricted v Zhongfu Worldwide Funding (Nig) FZE (2017) All FWLR 1837.  See additionally Ecobank (Nig) Ltd & Ors v Aiteo Japanese E and P Co Ltd & Anor (2022) LPELR-56994(CA).