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Eric Mutua, OGW: The 46th LSK President and an Outstanding Litigator

Eric is the founding and Managing Partner of the E.K. Mutua & Company Advocates, a medium-size corporate and commercial law firm established with a reputation of excellent and innovative legal practice of more than 25 years.

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2 years ago

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Eric K. Mutua, OGW, the 46th President of the Law Society of Kenya from 2012 to 2016 and Managing Partner of E.K Mutua & Company

Since the founding of LSK in 1949, Eric Kyalo Mutua is the only President of Law Society of Kenya to have served for 4 years having been elected for two consecutive terms of 2 years. Eric also remains the LSK President elected with the largest majority of votes (79%) in the last two decades. He served as the 46th Chairman/President of the Law Society of Kenya from 2012 to 2016 and oversaw the critical role LSK played in laying the ground for the peaceful first transition of Government under the Constitution of Kenya 2010. Eric is recognized as an excellent and formidable litigator and commercial lawyer and has successfully acted in dozens of precedent-setting and high value matters for individuals, corporates and public entities.

Eric Mutua is an advocate of the High Court of Kenya of more than 26 years good standing having been admitted to the bar in 1995. He holds Masters of Law (LLM) degree and Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree both from the University of Nairobi and a Diploma in Law from the Kenya School of Law and is also a Certified Public Secretary, a Commissioner of Oaths, a Notary Public and an Arbitrator and a specialist in litigation and dispute resolution and has handled numerous complex commercial and constitutional cases in all levels Kenyan and regional courts and tribunals including High Court, Court of Appeal, Supreme Court of Kenya and East African Court of Justice (EACJ). He also represents claimants and respondents in complex and contested arbitration claims before domestic and international arbitration panels.

Eric has extensive experience advising and handling cases in international law, constitutional law and human rights, land and environmental law, real estate and construction disputes, commercial litigation, corporate governance including shareholder disputes, insurance, aviation law and insurance, sports dispute resolution, intellectual property in particular trademarks opposition and expungement proceedings, insolvency, debt collection and creditors’ rights, banking and financial claims, communications, professional liability defense, regulatory compliance, employment and labour law, criminal and economic crimes law and international commercial arbitration.

Recent Key Cases Handled by Eric Mutua

One of the recent key case Eric has been involved in is representing Kenya Airport Authority (KAA) in the long-running landmark case of Mitu-Bell Welfare Society v Kenya Airports Authority & 2 others [2021] eKLR at the High Court, Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court. In this case which was filed in High Court in 2011 and went all the way to Supreme Court, Eric was defending KAA which was accused of forceful eviction without due notice and despite a Court order prohibiting evictions of more than 15,000 men, women and children from Mitumba village near Wilson Airport, through the demolition of their homes and schools, leaving them homeless.

The case featured prominently in the just concluded Chief Justice interviews because it is the standing authority on the place of structural interdicts as a form of relief in human rights litigation in Kenya. The Supreme Court upheld the applicability of structural interdicts by restating its holding in Communications Commission of Kenya & 4 others v Royal Media Services Limited & 7 others [2014] eKLR that Article 23(3) of the Constitution, in listing the appropriate reliefs a court may grant, uses the word ‘including’ implying that the reliefs listed therein are non-exhaustive. Therefore, a court can issue orders other than those listed as it deems fit, to be decided on a case-by-case basis.

Eric also successfully acted for a State Corporation in an Appeal to the High Court in a matter seeking to set aside a Ksh. 9.4 billion arbitration award given to a tenant on basis that it was unconstitutional and against public policy. High Court concurred with Eric that the impugned Arbitration award was contrary to public policy as the arbitrator (a former High Court Judge) had ignored, disregarded and/or misinterpreted the legal effect of a decision by the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) in a related matter where the Government of Kenya was a party.

Eric successfully represented the Plaintiff against a Major Insurance Company in a case that interrogated whether a clause in the insurance policy limiting liability to third parties to a certain amount is valid and enforceable in law under Insurance (Motor Vehicles Third Party Risks) Act, Cap. 405 of the Laws of Kenya. The clause currently limiting liability to Ksh. 3 Million did not exist at the time. The Court found that such clause was invalid, void and unenforceable and the insurer was bound to pay the third parties the amount of compensation awarded by Court.

He also acted for a claimant in an aviation insurance arbitration matter against four (4) major insurance companies who had insured his registered aircraft which was involved in an accident and was extensively damaged. The dispute involved the applicability of the “component parts clause” of the aviation insurance policy and whether the claimant incurred loss and damage payable under the insurance policy. Eric convinced the arbitration tribunal to find in favour of his client that the component parts clause was not applicable in the instant case and that the claimant incurred loss and damages covered and was entitled to compensation under the insurance policy.

Barely 5 years after admission, Eric hit the headlines representing Eric Keter, an international athlete, at the Court of Appeal following the decision of the Kenya Amateur Athletics Associations to exclude him from the national team selected to participate in Sydney Olympic Games of 2000 despite being the reigning national champion at the time.  The court found that the Defendants had discriminated the athlete and unfairly denied him the opportunity to to represent Kenya in the Olympics and issued a mandatory injunction ordering the Defendants to enlist and register him as a qualifying member of the Kenyan team for the games.

Eric also famously acted for the Murang’a Senator Hon Irungu Kangata and Nominated MP Hon David Sankok and 5 other student leaders of the University of Nairobi in a case that challenged the decision to expel them with the Late Mutula Kilonzo Senior representing the University. The High Court cancelled the expulsion but ordered their disciplinary case to be remitted back to the University with Directions that Kangata, Sankok and the fellow students to be tried. Eric appealed the order for retrial of the students and the Court of Appeal stayed that portion of the order allowing Kangata and Sankok and the rest to continue with their studies.

National, Regional and the Continental Legal Perspective

Eric is a member of the International Bar Association, Commonwealth Law Association, Pan African Lawyers Association (PALU), East Africa Law Society, the Law Society of Kenya, Institute of Certified Secretaries (ICS) of Kenya and Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. Eric has been awarded many professional accolades including MEA Africa Legal 100 and is a recipient of the Order of Grand Warrior of Kenya (OGW) award by the President of Kenya.

In addition to serving as the 46th President of the Law Society of Kenya, Eric served as Council Member of LSK for more than a decade, Treasurer of East African Law Society, Vice-President Pan African Lawyers Union (PALU) and Board Member of Council of Legal Education. The broad exposure and experience serving lawyers as a top official in these National, Regional and the Continental Associations has given Eric unique understanding of legal business environment across Africa. He is also able to leverage the extensive contacts built over the years across the world to offer a wide range of legal services for business in the Kenyan, East African and African markets for the past 22 years.

Eric is the founding and Managing Partner of the E.K. Mutua & Company Advocates, a medium-size corporate and commercial law firm established with a reputation of excellent and innovative legal practice of more than 25 years. The firm is structured into four main practice groups, namely, Litigation and Dispute Resolution Practice, Commercial and Corporate Practice, Banking and Finance Practice and Real and Intellectual Property Practice. The firm’s operations are based at its head office in the Flamingo Towers, 9th Floor, in Upperhill, the emerging Commercial and Financial Hub of Nairobi City.

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Chambers Global 2023 Ranks Dr. Kariuki Muigua Among Band 1 Arbitrators Again

For the third year in a row, ranked Dr. Kariuki Muigua Ph.D in Band 1 of Dispute Resolution (Arbitrators) by Chambers Global Guide 2023.

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1 month ago

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February 19, 2023

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Dr. Kariuki Muigua is once again ranked by Chambers and Partners in Band 1 among the Top 6 Arbitrators in Kenya

Chambers and Partners Global Guide 2023 has, for the third year in a row, ranked Dr. Kariuki Muigua Ph.D in Band 1 of Dispute Resolution (Arbitrators), the ranking which recognizes the Top 6 Arbitrators in Kenya for his “astute understanding of arbitration,” being “respected for his handling of litigation,” and having “a practice that touches upon commercial, constitutional and environmental law.” Last year, Chambers and Partners Partners had also ranked Dr. Muigua in Band 1 noting that “He has been involved in several ground-breaking arbitrations,” “has an astute understanding of arbitration” and “is respected for litigation.”

These high accolade is the start of yet another year of escalating peer and professional rec0nignition for Dr. Kariuki Muigua as a leader in ADR and Arbitration whose fame as top arbitrators has gone from national, to continental and is now at global league. In 2021, Dr. Muigua was the Inaugural Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) Kenya Branch ADR Lifetime Achievement Award Winner 2021 and Law Society of Kenya Nairobi Legal Awards ADR Practitioner of the Year 2021.

In 2022, Dr. Kariuki Muigua won the coveted Africa Arbitration Awards Africa Arbitrator of the Year 2022 which is hosted by the East Africa International Arbitration Conference. In addition, Dr. Kariuki Muigua was also the prestigious African Arbitration Association ADR Practitioner of the Year 2022. These two continental arbitration awards combined with stature of Dr. Kariuki Muigua as the Africa CIArb Trustee since 2019 cemented his position as the leading arbitrator in the African continent.

Dr. Kariuki Muigua, PhD straddles the narrow ADR world like a giant and his epic journey to claim the top prize in ADR in the continent as well as the dominance of the rankings of Top Arbitrators listings is ample proof. Dr. Muigua became a Member of Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (MCIarb) in 2002 and 10 years later he was elected as the Chairman of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (Kenya Branch) serving up to 2015. In 2019, Dr Muigua was elected (unopposed) to the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) Board of Trustees as the Regional Trustee for Africa.

There is no other practitioner before Dr. Kariuki Muigua who had achieved the milestone of winning the African Arbitrator of the Year and the AfAA Africa’s ADR Practitioner of the Year in the same year before Dr. Kariuki Muigua. This not only affirms him as the top in the ADR game, but it ushers a new era as he enters into the realm of international ADR practitioners from Africa. With no more prizes and awards for Dr. Kariuki Muigua, PhD to win in Africa having scooped all, how the indefatigable ADR Scholar will shift his attention to dominating the international sphere will be interesting to watch.

Dr. Kariuki Muigua’s journey to the top of ADR and Arbitration in the Africa continent is testament that discipline and hard work pays. It has has seen him painstakingly and consistently research, teach, write, edit, publish, train, mentor and practice arbitration, alternative dispute resolution (ADR), conflict management and dispute resolution for the last 30 years with excellence as a leading lawyer, authoritative scholar and ADR expert.

Today, Dr. Kariuki Muigua, Phd, C.Arb is a Chartered Arbitrator and the African Trustee of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and the African Arbitrator of the Year 2022. He is an advocate of 33 years standing and the Managing Partner of Kariuki Muigua & Co. Advocates. He is also the author of the Leading Textbooks on ADR, Mediation and Arbitration including the seminal Settling Disputes Through Arbitration in Kenya, now in 4th Edition.

Dr. Kariuki Muigua is also both the founder, publisher and editor of Africa’s leading Conflict Management Journal as well as one of the PhD Academics who majored in resolution of Natural Resources and Environmental Conflicts using mediation. Dr. Kariuki Muigua is also a leading author in the area of conflict management and has published several books on the topic including Resolving Conflicts through Mediation and Natural Resources and Environmental Justice in Kenya. It is these exploits that have left many of his admirers convinced that his next stop would be Professorship and admission to the Rank of Senior Counsel.

As an ADR Practitioner, Dr. Muigua was declared the first ever winner of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (Kenya Branch) ADR Lifetime Achievement Award, the highest honour given by the Institute to one member every year for his immense contribution to the growth of practice, research and scholarship of ADR in Kenya and across Africa. The award came barely a week after Dr. Muigua had won the coveted Law Society of Kenya ADR Practitioner of the Year Award at the 4th Edition of the Nairobi Legal Awards. LSK recognized Dr. Muigua for his outstanding practice in ADR and especially arbitration and his role as mentor to many lawyers venturing into the area. Dr. Kariuki Muigua was also awarded the ADR Publisher of the Year for his scholarship, authorship and editorship of leading research and publications on ADR in Africa including the Journal of Conflict Management and Sustainable Development and Alternative Dispute Resolution, the Official Journal of the CIArb (Kenya).

The tripartite awards have been hailed by many of Dr. Kariuki Muigua’s peers in the ADR and Arbitration fraternity as a fitting tributes to his made immense contribution to mainstreaming of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and especially arbitration as way of resolving disputes in Kenya, East Africa and across Africa in the last two (2) decades. Indeed, starting in 2002 when Dr. Muigua took the Special Member Course leading to membership to the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (MCIArb), Dr. Muigua one of the staunchest advocates of ADR in Africa in addition to becoming the foremost intellectual voice shaping ADR practitioners and scholars of the future. The contribution of Dr. Kariuki Muigua to the alternative dispute resolution (ADR) sector has taken many shapes and forms including as a practitioner, leader, policy maker, scholar, author, trainer, mentor and trailblazer among others.

Dr. Muigua is a leading Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) practitioner in Kenya, Africa and the world at large who has been recognized nationally and globally by peers. The world leading peer-reviewed lawyers’ directory, Chambers and Partners, rates Dr. Kariuki Muigua as one of the best alternative dispute resolution experts in the country. It describes as ‘a highly respected arbitrator and mediator with a sterling background in commercial and constitutional cases, as well as matters relating to the environment and natural resources.’ The most recent ranking adds: “Kariuki Muigua of Kariuki Muigua & Co is held in high regard by market commentators for his role in the Kenyan arbitration sphere. He possesses stellar experience in commercial and constitutional disputes, as well as environmental matters and those relating to the extractive industries. In addition to being “a big noise in the arbitration association,” he is widely recognized for his academic work.”

Dr. Muigua has served in many panels as an arbitrator appointed by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb)-Kenya, the Law Society of Kenya (LSK), the Nairobi Centre for International Arbitration (NCIA), the London Court Of International Arbitration (LCIA) and the International Court of Arbitration under the auspices of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) on several occasions as a sole arbitrator and a member of arbitral tribunals in arbitrations involving commercial disputes. He has vast experience and expertise in adjudication and has sat as both as a panel member and a chairperson in various adjudication Boards both locally and internationally. He is also an accomplished mediator and has successfully presided over numerous matters both as a private mediator and a court appointed mediator under the Court-Annexed Mediation program in Kenya.

Dr Muigua was elected (unopposed) to the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) Board of Trustees as the Regional Trustee for Africa, for the term beginning 1 January 2019. Previously, he served as the Branch Chairman of CIArb-Kenya from 2012 to 2015. He also served CIArb as Member and past Chairperson of the Sub-committee on Information Technology (IT), CIArb and as Member of the Legal Committee Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) – Kenya chapter. He is a Fellow of Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb)-Kenya chapter. He is also a member of the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (UK) and Kenya Branch. He is also a Member of Kigali International Arbitration Centre (KIAC) and Nairobi Centre for International Arbitration (NCIA). For his contributions, he was awarded Chartered Institute of Arbitrators Chairman’s Medal with a citation for exemplary service in December, 2015.

In policy-making, Dr. Kariuki Muigua is currently a member of the National Steering Committee for Formulation of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Policy representing the Academia since 2020. The team is providing guidance and overseeing the process for formulation of a national policy and institutional framework on Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) in Kenya. He has also served as Member of the Meditation Accreditation Committee Panel of Mediators Accredited for Commercial Mediation under the Judiciary of Kenya. Recently, he led negotiations that achieved partnership with Chartered Institute of Arbitrators UK on GPR 625 (International Commercial Arbitration) for University of Nairobi LLM students to achieve membership status without further tests, 2020 to 2023.

On ADR Scholarship, Dr. Muigua is the author of the leading textbook on Arbitration in Kenya, namely, Settling Disputes through Arbitration in Kenya, now in its 4th Edition (2022) and available for free download, Alternative Dispute Resolution and Access to Justice in Kenya (2015) and Resolving Conflicts through Mediation in Kenya (2013). He has been cited hundreds of times as an ADR Scholar, contributed at least 3 chapters of published books, authored dozens of peer-reviewed articles in the areas of arbitration and alternative dispute resolution and presented over two dozen papers on ADR in diverse fora. Dr. Muigua has also facilitated numerous trainings, workshops and conferences on ADR. He has supervised and supervised at least two (2) completed PhD thesis on ADR, Dozens of Masters Thesis and is supervising three (3) PhDs in the area as a lecturer and mentor in ADR practice and scholarship. Dr. Muigua is a lecturer in International Commercial Arbitration at the University of Nairobi and tutor, trainer and assessor at the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (Kenya Branch).

Dr. Kariuki Muigua is a Chartered Arbitrator (since January 2015) and Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (since October 2010) and Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (since 2002). He holds a Diploma in Arbitration (2012) and became Accredited as a Mediator by the Mediation Training Institute in 2015. He is also a renowned consultant on ADR Law and Practice and has authored reports whose recommendations had far reaching impact on the sector. As a professional who strives to attain excellence in the legal and ADR arenas, Dr. Muigua has gone out of his way to put ADR in the frontline as one of the leading modes of dispute resolution in Kenya, Africa and at global stage. Dr. Muigua is a holder of a Ph. D in law from the University of Nairobi and has widespread training and experience in both international and national commercial arbitration and mediation. Previously, he served as the chairperson, Department of Private Law of the University of Nairobi School of Law 2020-2021.

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John Ohaga SC Scoops Kenya and Africa Top Arbitrator Accolades

Published

3 months ago

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December 23, 2022

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John M. Ohaga SC, Arbitrator of the Year Award Winner 2022 and Africa 20 Arbitration Powerlist 2022 Finalist

In the year 2022, Senior Counsel John M. Ohaga scooped the highest National and Continental Awards in Arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) and confirmed his peerless place among the top arbitrators in Kenya as well as Africa.  On one hand, the Managing Partner of TripleOKLaw Advocates LLP was feted by his peers as the Top Arbitrator in Kenya in the Year 2022 and awarded the most prestigious arbitration award by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (Kenya Branch). On the other hand, the celebrated leading arbitrator was ranked among the Top 3 Arbitrators in Kenya by Chambers and Partners, among the Top 4 Arbitrators in Kenya by The Lawyer Africa and was one of the two Kenyan Arbitrators to make it to the list of the 20 most elite Arbitrators in Africa by the Africa Arbitration Academy.

First, Senior Counsel Ohaga was the winner of the Kenya’s Arbitrator of the Year 2022, the most prestigious and highest awards given to an Arbitrator at the CIArb (Kenya) Excellence in Arbitration Awards. The award was in recognition of Ohaga’s consistent contribution to ADR Practice as a leading arbitrator and arbitration counsel in the country and around the world. It is proof of the high regard the Senior Counsel is held by his colleagues and peers in the ADR fraternity for being one of the most experienced and sought after Arbitrators amongst the less than three dozen Chartered Arbitrators in Kenya (C.Arb) and as a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb). The Arbitrator of the Award 2022 came hot in heels of the Runner-Up ADR Practitioner of the Year Award at the Nairobi Legal Awards in 2021.

Second, Ohaga SC made it to the Second Edition of the Africa 20 Arbitration Powerlist 2022, the most exclusive and matchless listing of Arbitrators in the Africa continent. The list which is curated by the Africa Arbitration Academy in collaboration with Association of Young Arbitrators (AYA) and Africa Arbitration, Africa’s leading continent-wide arbitration institutions, recognizes the most elite arbitrators and leaders in ADR from across the continent. Senior Counsel Ohaga was one of the only two Kenyans to make it to the list confirming his place as the top arbitrator in Kenya. Ohaga is among the top crop of arbitrators from across Africa who maintained their place in the Powerlist even as it was trimmed from Top 30 Arbitrators (in 2020) to Top 20 Arbitrators (in 2022).

At the same time, Senior Counsel Ohaga as the TripleOKLaw Advocates LLP Co-Head of the Litigation and Dispute Resolution Department led the team to scoop the top award in the category at the African Legal Awards 2022. The Litigation and Dispute Resolution Team Award is a testament of Ohaga and the firm’s expertise, commitment and excellence to providing quality representation in numerous complex litigation matters and high-value domestic and international arbitration proceedings. John Ohaga SC was also a finalist in the Partner of the Year Award 2022 at the same awards. He is also ranked in Band 1 in both Dispute Resolution Category and Arbitrators Category as one of the top 3 arbitrators in Kenya by world-renown Chambers and Partners.

At the global stage, John Ohaga SC was in October 2022 enrolled to the Panel of Arbitrators of International Centre of Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), one of the most coveted arbitration panels in the world. He was also nominated as one of the Kenya Delegate to the ICC Commission on Arbitration and ADR at ICC Commission on Arbitration and ADR. In effect, Ohaga joined the exclusive club of a handful of top-drawer arbitrators who are called upon to determine international arbitration matters between nations, or nations and international investors or among multinationals themselves. As a result, The Lawyer Africa put John Ohaga in the list of the Top 4 Arbitrators in Kenya in its list of Top 200 Kenyan Arbitrators in the Year 2022.

These accolades confirm John Ohaga SC as one of Kenya’s most accomplished and awarded dispute resolution expert in Kenya. In the last 32 years, John has handled numerous complex and precedent setting litigation matters, presided over high value domestic and international arbitration cases. He leads an outstanding elite team of some of Kenya’s most venerated and all-round dispute resolution practitioners as co-head of the dispute resolution practice at TripleOKLaw. He also stands out as the leader of one of Kenya’s most enduring and leading law firms for the last 25 years, steering it to Africa’s Top 50 law firms in 2022 at No. 39 with 44 lawyers.

John was conferred the rank and dignity of Senior Counsel, the highest level of professional recognition for lawyers, by the President of the Republic of Kenya in July 2020. He was named Kenya’s Lawyer of the Year in 2020 in the 3rd Edition of Nairobi Legal Awards in December 2020 and the Pupil Master of the Year in 2019 and 2021 as recognition of his commitment to mentoring young lawyers. He was one of the Top 50 Arbitrators in Africa by The Legal 500 in Arbitration Powerlist 2021: Africa. In 2010, 2016, 2017 and 2021, John was the winner of the International Law Office (ILO) Client Choice Awards (Litigation) in Kenya.

John is ranked in Band 1 by Chambers Global 2022 as one of the Top 10 Outstanding lawyers in dispute resolution in Kenya and one who “displays an astute understanding of dispute resolution processes.” As a Chartered Arbitrator, John is considered one Kenya’s elite Arbitrators and sits on the CIArb Presidential Panel of Arbitrators. He is described by The Legal 500 as “a genuine leader in arbitration.” He has represented parties as counsel in several arbitration proceedings and acted in numerous disputes as either Party Appointed Arbitrator, Sole Arbitrator or Presiding Arbitrator.

Due to his passion for arbitration, John was appointed Chairperson of the National Steering Committee for formulation of the ADR Policy by the Attorney General of Kenya. He is also member of the Judiciary’s Mediation Accreditation Committee and Chair of its Accreditation Committee as well as a member of the Judiciary Taskforce on the Implementation of the Court-Annexed Mediation Programme. He has also been  the Convener of the Law Society of Kenya’s Committee on Alternative Dispute Resolution and previously served as a board member of the Nairobi Centre for International Arbitration (NCIA).  He is Chairman of the Sports Disputes Tribunal, Chair of the Appeals Committee of the Advertising Standards Board and Trustee of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (Kenya Branch).

John is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and Asian Institute of Alternative Dispute Resolution and Member of Law Society of Kenya, East African Law Society (which recently appointed him to lead its Arbitration Committee), International Bar Association, Commonwealth Lawyers Association, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, International Council for Commercial Arbitration and International Association of Managing Partners.  He qualified as Member of the CIArb (MCIArb) in 2007, was admitted as Fellow of CIArb (FCIArb) in 2012, installed as a Chartered Arbitrator (C.Arb) in 2018 and Accredited as a CIArb Mediator same year. He holds a Certificate in Sports Arbitration from Kuala Lumpur Centre for International Arbitration (2017), a Certificate in Negotiation and Leadership from Harvard Law School (2019) and is pursuing an LLM in International Dispute Resolution from Queen Mary, University of London.

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Dr. Kariuki Muigua, PhD: The Top Arbitrator in Africa

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4 months ago

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November 21, 2022

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Dr. Kariuki Muigua, African Arbitrator of the Year 2022 and African Arbitration Association (AfAA) ADR Practitioner of the Year 2022

If winning the African Arbitrator of the Year 2022 confirmed Dr. Kariuki Muigua, PhD as the continent’s Top Arbitrator in the making, his award of the African Arbitration Association (AfAA) ADR Practitioner of the Year 2022 in November 2022 is proof that the Africa CIArb Trustee has finally arrived as the Top Arbitrator and ADR Practitioner in Africa. The AfAA ADR Practitioner of the Year is awarded to the arbitrator/ADR practitioner who is adjudged to have made outstanding achievements in, or contribution to, the development of arbitration/ADR in Africa. Dr. Kariuki Muigua, PhD fits the bill and it came as no surprise to see him shortlisted and awarded this prestigious award by his esteemed peers in the ADR fraternity across the continent.

Dr. Kariuki Muigua, PhD straddles the narrow ADR world like a giant and his epic journey to claim the top prize in ADR in the continent is proof of it. Dr. Muigua became a Member of Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (MCIarb) in 2002 and 10 years later he was elected as the Chairman of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (Kenya Branch) serving up to 2015. In 2019, Dr Muigua was elected (unopposed) to the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) Board of Trustees as the Regional Trustee for Africa. In 2021, he won the Law Society 0f Kenya award for the ADR Practitioner of the Year Award 2021. In the same month, he was awarded the CIArb (Kenya) Lifetime Achievement Award, as the inaugural winner of the highest award of the Branch.

The year 2022 has seen Dr. Kariuki Muigua repeat the impossible feat he had achieved at National level at Continental level by winning the top Arbitration and ADR Awards at the same year. There is no other practitioner who has achieved this milestone of winning the African Arbitrator of the Year and the AfAA Africa’s ADR Practitioner of the Year in the same year before Dr. Kariuki Muigua. This not only affirms him as the top in the ADR game, but it ushers a new era as he enters into the realm of international ADR practitioners from Africa. With no more prizes and awards for Dr. Kariuki Muigua, PhD to win in Africa having scooped all, how the indefatigable ADR Scholar will shift his attention to dominating the international sphere will be interesting to watch.

Dr. Kariuki Muigua’s journey to the top of ADR and Arbitration in the Africa continent is testament that discipline and hardwork pays. It has has seen him painstakingly and consistently research, teach, write, edit, publish, train, mentor and practice arbitration, alternative dispute resolution (ADR), conflict management and dispute resolution for the last 30 years with excellence as a leading lawyer, authoritative scholar and ADR expert. Today, Dr. Kariuki Muigua, Phd, C.Arb is a Chartered Arbitrator and the African Trustee of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and the African Arbitrator of the Year 2022. He is an advocate of 33 years standing and the Managing Partner of Kariuki Muigua & Co. Advocates. He is also the author of the Leading Textbooks on ADR, Mediation and Arbitration including the seminal Settling Disputes Through Arbitration in Kenya, now in 4th Edition. Dr. Kariuki Muigua is ranked at Band 1 by Chambers & Partners among the leading Arbitrators in Kenya noting that “He has been involved in several ground-breaking arbitrations,” “has an astute understanding of arbitration” and “is respected for litigation.”

Dr. Kariuki Muigua is also both the founder, publisher and editor of Africa’s leading Conflict Management Journal as well as one of the PhD Academics who majored in resolution of Natural Resources and Environmental Conflicts using mediation. Dr. Kariuki Muigua is also a leading author in the area of conflict management and has published several books on the topic including Resolving Conflicts through Mediation and Natural Resources and Environmental Justice in Kenya. It is these exploits that have left many of his admirers convinced that his next stop would be Professorship and admission to the Rank of Senior Counsel.

As an ADR Practitioner, Dr. Muigua was declared the first ever winner of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (Kenya Branch) ADR Lifetime Achievement Award, the highest honour given by the Institute to one member every year for his immense contribution to the growth of practice, research and scholarship of ADR in Kenya and across Africa. The award came barely a week after Dr. Muigua had won the coveted Law Society of Kenya ADR Practitioner of the Year Award at the 4th Edition of the Nairobi Legal Awards. LSK recognized Dr. Muigua for his outstanding practice in ADR and especially arbitration and his role as mentor to many lawyers venturing into the area. Dr. Kariuki Muigua was also awarded the ADR Publisher of the Year for his scholarship, authorship and editorship of leading research and publications on ADR in Africa including the Journal of Conflict Management and Sustainable Development and Alternative Dispute Resolution, the Official Journal of the CIArb (Kenya).

The tripartite awards have been hailed by many of Dr. Kariuki Muigua’s peers in the ADR and Arbitration fraternity as a fitting tributes to his made immense contribution to mainstreaming of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and especially arbitration as way of resolving disputes in Kenya, East Africa and across Africa in the last two (2) decades. Indeed, starting in 2002 when Dr. Muigua took the Special Member Course leading to membership to the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (MCIArb), Dr. Muigua one of the staunchest advocates of ADR in Africa in addition to becoming the foremost intellectual voice shaping ADR practitioners and scholars of the future. The contribution of Dr. Kariuki Muigua to the alternative dispute resolution (ADR) sector has taken many shapes and forms including as a practitioner, leader, policy maker, scholar, author, trainer, mentor and trailblazer among others.

Dr. Muigua is a leading Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) practitioner in Kenya, Africa and the world at large who has been recognized nationally and globally by peers. The world leading peer-reviewed lawyers’ directory, Chambers and Partners, rates Dr. Kariuki Muigua as one of the best alternative dispute resolution experts in the country. It describes as ‘a highly respected arbitrator and mediator with a sterling background in commercial and constitutional cases, as well as matters relating to the environment and natural resources.’ The most recent ranking adds: “Kariuki Muigua of Kariuki Muigua & Co is held in high regard by market commentators for his role in the Kenyan arbitration sphere. He possesses stellar experience in commercial and constitutional disputes, as well as environmental matters and those relating to the extractive industries. In addition to being “a big noise in the arbitration association,” he is widely recognized for his academic work.”

Dr. Muigua has served in many panels as an arbitrator appointed by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb)-Kenya, the Law Society of Kenya (LSK), the Nairobi Centre for International Arbitration (NCIA), the London Court Of International Arbitration (LCIA) and the International Court of Arbitration under the auspices of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) on several occasions as a sole arbitrator and a member of arbitral tribunals in arbitrations involving commercial disputes. He has vast experience and expertise in adjudication and has sat as both as a panel member and a chairperson in various adjudication Boards both locally and internationally. He is also an accomplished mediator and has successfully presided over numerous matters both as a private mediator and a court appointed mediator under the Court-Annexed Mediation program in Kenya.

Dr Muigua was elected (unopposed) to the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) Board of Trustees as the Regional Trustee for Africa, for the term beginning 1 January 2019. Previously, he served as the Branch Chairman of CIArb-Kenya from 2012 to 2015. He also served CIArb as Member and past Chairperson of the Sub-committee on Information Technology (IT), CIArb and as Member of the Legal Committee Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) – Kenya chapter. He is a Fellow of Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb)-Kenya chapter. He is also a member of the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (UK) and Kenya Branch. He is also a Member of Kigali International Arbitration Centre (KIAC) and Nairobi Centre for International Arbitration (NCIA). For his contributions, he was awarded Chartered Institute of Arbitrators Chairman’s Medal with a citation for exemplary service in December, 2015.

In policy-making, Dr. Kariuki Muigua is currently a member of the National Steering Committee for Formulation of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Policy representing the Academia since 2020. The team is providing guidance and overseeing the process for formulation of a national policy and institutional framework on Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) in Kenya. He has also served as Member of the Meditation Accreditation Committee Panel of Mediators Accredited for Commercial Mediation under the Judiciary of Kenya. Recently, he led negotiations that achieved partnership with Chartered Institute of Arbitrators UK on GPR 625 (International Commercial Arbitration) for University of Nairobi LLM students to achieve membership status without further tests, 2020 to 2023.

On ADR Scholarship, Dr. Muigua is the author of the leading textbook on Arbitration in Kenya, namely, Settling Disputes through Arbitration in Kenya, now in its 4th Edition (2022) and available for free download, Alternative Dispute Resolution and Access to Justice in Kenya (2015) and Resolving Conflicts through Mediation in Kenya (2013). He has been cited hundreds of times as an ADR Scholar, contributed at least 3 chapters of published books, authored dozens of peer-reviewed articles in the areas of arbitration and alternative dispute resolution and presented over two dozen papers on ADR in diverse fora. Dr. Muigua has also facilitated numerous trainings, workshops and conferences on ADR. He has supervised and supervised at least two (2) completed PhD thesis on ADR, Dozens of Masters Thesis and is supervising three (3) PhDs in the area as a lecturer and mentor in ADR practice and scholarship. Dr. Muigua is a lecturer in International Commercial Arbitration at the University of Nairobi and tutor, trainer and assessor at the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (Kenya Branch).

Dr. Kariuki Muigua is a Chartered Arbitrator (since January 2015) and Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (since October 2010) and Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (since 2002). He holds a Diploma in Arbitration (2012) and became Accredited as a Mediator by the Mediation Training Institute in 2015. He is also a renowned consultant on ADR Law and Practice and has authored reports whose recommendations had far reaching impact on the sector. As a professional who strives to attain excellence in the legal and ADR arenas, Dr. Muigua has gone out of his way to put ADR in the frontline as one of the leading modes of dispute resolution in Kenya, Africa and at global stage. Dr. Muigua is a holder of a Ph. D in law from the University of Nairobi and has widespread training and experience in both international and national commercial arbitration and mediation. Previously, he served as the chairperson, Department of Private Law of the University of Nairobi School of Law 2020-2021.

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