An arbitrator is an independent person or body officially appointed to settle a dispute.
Below is How To Become An Arbitrator In Ghana
Arbitration is usually used to settle commercial disputes. With increasing globalization, arbitration is an emerging method of settling investment and business-related disputes. Multi-national companies doing business in Ghana, state-related contracts, and several corporate entities now opt for arbitration over litigation, which for many years had been the dominant dispute resolution mechanism. Arbitration is most commonly used in the following areas:
Energy.
Construction.
Labour disputes.
Oil and gas.
Mining.
Insurance services.
Intellectual property rights.
Maritime and shipping.
Property and land disputes.
The increased popularity of arbitration among multi-national companies is due to the greater confidentiality, privacy, and speed of proceedings it offers.
Small and medium-sized businesses still prefer to use litigation because of the lower short-term cost compared to the high costs of paying for the arbitral tribunal panel and the arbitration center’s administrative cost.
In addition, the financial sector (notably the banking sector) prefers litigation to arbitration as an authoritative method of recovering loans from defaulting customers.
Advantages/disadvantages
The advantages of arbitration compared to court litigation and other forms of dispute resolution are:
The expertise of the arbitral tribunal.
Speed.
Privacy of proceedings.
Finality of decision.
Procedural informality.
Low cost.
The disadvantages of arbitration compared to court litigation and other forms of dispute resolution are:
The cost associated with the venue and fees of the tribunal.
The need to invoke the court’s assistance for enforcement.
Limited powers of the arbitral tribunal for interim orders.
Lack of knowledge in arbitration advocacy by lawyers.
Requirements To Become An Arbitrator In Ghana
Substantive/formal requirements
The following requirements must be satisfied:
Parties’ consent.
Parties must have legal capacity.
The agreement must be in writing.
The subject matter must be arbitrable.
Separate arbitration agreement
A provision to submit to arbitration can be in the form of:
An arbitration clause in the agreement.
A separate agreement.
Any other modern electronic means of communication.
An exchange of pleadings where an assertion of an arbitration agreement is not denied.
An arbitration clause can be incorporated into a contract by reference to another document, e-mails, telexes, text messages, WhatsApp, and undisputed pleadings.
Who appoints the arbitrator?
In such a situation, the appointment shall be made, upon request of a party, by the Supreme Court or any person or institution designated by such Court, in the case of an International Commercial arbitration or by High Court or any person or institution designated by such Court, in case of domestic arbitration.