Attorney General and Minister for Justice, Godfred Yeboah Dame, has cautioned that arbitration claims against the government, if not managed well, could collapse the economy, revealing that Ghana narrowly escaped a potential economic crisis by successfully defending against arbitration claims amounting to nearly $9 billion over the past four years.
“There are certain glaring dangers that I think arbitration portends for Ghana and the developing world which seem to be overlooked. Whilst arbitration is touted to assure neutrality, privacy, and efficiency in the adjudication of disputes, arbitral claims filed against the government, if not diligently managed, tend to collapse the entire Ghanaian economy. A single arbitral claim, if successful can bring the economy of a developing country like Ghana, to its knees,” he told public sector lawyers yesterday.
Speaking at the Public Sector Lawyers Conference in Accra, Lawyer Dame detailed several high-stakes in arbitration cases, underscoring the significant financial burden Ghana would have faced if the outcomes had been unfavourable.
“I will cite a few examples to illustrate the point. One such case was the financial claim by ENI Viton against Ghana, which was initially $7 billion and subsequently reduced to $915 million after Ghana successfully challenged the proceedings in court. In fact, any of these amounts could have collapsed the Ghanaian economy,” he intimated.
Additionally, Dame cited a domestic arbitral claim which he said upon successful defense, had warded off GHC10trillion.
“In point of fact, over the past four years, the value of arbitral claims against the Republic has been over US$9Billion. I cite a few examples to illustrate the point: Cassius Mining Ltd’s claim against the Government of Ghana has a value of about US$300 million, GCNet’s arbitral claim involves a claim of over GHC4billion (the equivalent of about US$250Million),” the minister for justice stressed.
He added that the recently filed Eland arbitration claim against Government of Ghana involved a claim for a minimum US$320Million, citing that “These are just a sample of a few of the international arbitration claims against Ghana. Domestically, there have been claims in excess of over GHc10 Trillion successfully defended by the Office of the Attorney-General against the State.”
The maiden edition of the Conference for Lawyers in the Public Service commenced yesterday at the Aldon Ballroom, Kempinski Hotel in Ridge, Accra and would end tomorrow 7 November, 2024.
The 3-day conference which shall draw lawyers in state institutions is held between 9am – 4:30pm each day.
The conference, first of its kind and laudable in its object shall be under the theme, “Coordinating Legally for an Efficient and Cohesive Public Service“. The aim of the Conference is to strengthen “collaboration among lawyers representing the Government of Ghana and all agencies and corporations in which the Government of Ghana has interests.”
The conference also “have as it objective the enhancement of expertise in International Commercial Arbitration and Investor-State Arbitration, the negotiation, structuring, drafting and review of contracts affecting the State.”
Consequently, conference attendees would be trained in arbitration, civil procedure and how to effectively defend the state. This shall be conducted by leading lawyers from around the world, particularly, Ghana, London, Mauritius, Canada and Nigeria.
This conference comes at a time when the Office of the Attorney-General and Ministry of Justice (“OAGMOJ”) has seen a considerable facelift in terms of personnel training, retooling in terms of vehicle supply to agencies under the ministry, the completion and utilization of the 12-storey modern office complex for the Ministry, and a more committed posture in defending the State in litigation.
More profoundly, the conference comes at a time when the Office of the Attorney-General and Ministry of Justice (“OAGMOJ”) working together with other Ministries has achieved resounding victories in defending significant monetary claims against the Republic of Ghana, demonstrating the need for continuous training and capacity building in complex legal areas such as arbitration, contract management, and dispute resolution.
The Special Guest of Honour for the Conference which was anticipated widely by many a State Lawyer was the President of the Republic, His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. Also in attendance were the learned Chief Justice, the President of the Ghana Bar Association, Professors from Universities in Ghana and other leading role players in the legal profession shall be in attendance.
