Private legal practitioner, Bobby Banson is urging businesses and individuals seeking to resolve a dispute to make use of Ghana’s arbitrary system.

According to him, commercial arbitration in Ghana gives parties a lot of freedom and flexibility to make decisions that ensure that the dispute is resolved amicably.

Speaking on The Law on JoyNews, the Lead Consultant for Robert Smith Law Group said that decisions made during arbitration are final and binding like any court ruling.

He told the host Samson Lardy Anyenini that arbitration not only ensures a swift settlement of cases devoid of delays, but parties also have the freedom to choose who to resolve the dispute, where to hold the arbitration, what law should be applicable and others.

“So for example, in our country, we have a lot of Lebanese businessmen. They will enter into an agreement but because their personal law, as we call it, is Lebanese law, even though they are doing the transaction in Ghana, they can decide that when there's a dispute, they want the Lebanese law to be applicable to the dispute,” Mr Banson said.

“Or beyond that, ‘we want the president of the Bar Association of Lebanon to select who the arbitrator would be’. That is the freedom that arbitration gives you… You must also state who they intend the arbitrators to be or the institution that will appoint the arbitrator. Even where, you can decide to say the venue or what we call the seat of the arbitration. You have the freedom. That is the beauty of arbitration,” he added.

The legal practitioner stated that for parties in dispute to begin an arbitrary process, they must first agree to use the system to resolve their issues instead of going to court.

He explained that the agreement must be unequivocal; adding that the arbitration agreement can be executed either before the dispute or after the dispute. 

“So, even if in your original agreement you do not put in an arbitration clause, when the dispute arises you can agree subsequently to settle it by arbitration,” he stated.

Mr Banson added that choosing to settle a matter using an arbitration process allows for more privacy and confidentiality than court proceedings.

It helps settle disputes and protects both parties' interests, adding that not many individuals will know about the issue.