Lawyers
Why We Nominated Dr. Kariuki Muigua as African Arbitrator of the Year 2022
Published
11 months agoon
By
Admin
By Paul Musyimi, Publisher & Editor, The Lawyer Africa & The Arbitrator Africa.
Dr. Kariuki Muigua, PhD is a Chartered Arbitrator since 2015, Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators since 2012 and the Africa’s Trustee of the Chartered Arbitrators since 2019. He is Kenya’s foremost Arbitrator and ADR Practitioner as confirmed by the Inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award accorded to him by CIArb (Kenya) in 2021 and being named the Law Society of Kenya (Nairobi) ADR Practitioner of the Year 2021 at the Nairobi Legal Awards. Dr. Muigua is the author of Kenya’s leading Arbitration Law Textbook, Settling Disputes Through Arbitration in Kenya, now in its 4th Edition, and one of the Founders and the Editor-in-Chief of the Official Journal of Arbitration in Kenya, the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Journal of the CIArb (Kenya Branch).
Dr. Muigua is ranked among the top 6 Arbitrators in Kenya (Band 1) by the prestigious Chambers & Partners in the year 2022. He has handled dozens of international and domestic arbitrations whose cumulative subject matter value is north of a quarter of a Billion US Dollars (over Ksh. 250 Billion) in the last decade alone. He is an avid Arbitration Law and ADR Scholar, writer and researcher and has supervised numerous LL.M and PhD Thesis in the area in the last decade. He also teaches International Commercial Arbitration at the University of Nairobi and is a tutor and examiner of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.
If any African Arbitrator deserves to be named the African Arbitrator of the Year 2022 at the 3rd African Arbitration Awards to be held on Friday, 17th June 2022 at Kigali, Rwanda, it is Dr. Kariuki Muigua, PhD for his efforts in advancing the practice of ADR and Arbitration in Africa as Africa’s Trustee of CIArb and also in his private capacity as a mentor to many across the continent. He is the patron of the Young Arbitrators Club of the University of Nairobi and supported the launch of the Award which bears his name to encourage upcoming arbitrators enhance their writing skills. He has been involved in every aspect of ADR and arbitration including practice and leaders and for that he deserves the recognition and to win the Africa Arbitration Awards.
Dr. Kariuki Muigua, PhD: Twenty (20) Years of Excellence in Arbitration and ADR
In 2022, Dr. Kariuki Muigua, PhD commemorated 20 years as Arbitrator and ADR Practitioner. His journey in Arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) started in 2002 when he took the Special member course leading to membership of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (MCIArb). In the same year, he also became a member of the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) (2002). Three years later, in 2005, Dr. Kariuki Muigua graduated with Master of Laws (LL.M) from the University of Nairobi and his Thesis focused on resolving Natural Resource Conflicts through mediation.
In October 2010, Dr. Muigua completed Arbitration Module 4 Course leading to Fellowship to the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb). He also undertook the Certified Professional in Managing Workplace Conflict from the Mediation Training Institute (International). The following year, on 2nd December 2011, he successfully defended his PhD Thesis titled “Resolving Environmental Conflicts in Kenya through Mediation” at the University of Nairobi.
In 2012, Dr. Muigua graduated with Diploma in Arbitration from the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (UK). In same year, Dr. Muigua was elected Chairman of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (Kenya branch) where he served for the next 3 years up to 2015. His tenure as CIArb (Kenya Branch) Chair was pivotal as it marked the constitutional transition period which included efforts to spearhead the mainstreaming of ADR methods into the justice system as envisaged under Article 159 of the Constitution culminating in launch of the Court-Annexed Mediation Pilot in 2015.
In September 2012, Dr. Muigua served as a Consultant of Commission for the Implementation of the Constitution and IDLO in preparing a report on the “Framework for the Consolidation and Harmonization of National Policies, Strategies and Legislative Instruments Relating to Access to Justice in Kenya.” In August 2013, he was engaged as a Consultant by the Kenya Land Alliance in preparing a “Review and Analysis of its Draft ADR guide and Training Manual with a view to improve on its contents and structure to match the intended use of offering guidance in resolution of land disputes.”
In 2013, he authored and published the first editions of the two of the leading books on ADR in Kenya: Resolving Conflicts through Mediation in Kenya (2013) and Settling Disputes through Arbitration in Kenya. Settling Disputes through Arbitration is now in its 4th Edition (published in February 2022) and Dr. Muigua has made it available free for download as part of Social Responsibility and mentorship to upcoming Arbitrators.
In 2013, Dr. Muigua also launched the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Journal, the official Journal of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (Kenya Branch) Journal, now in its 10th Volume. He continues to serve as the Editor-in-Chief of the acclaimed journal which was awarded the Africa’s Arbitration Publication of the Year 2020 at the Africa Arbitration Awards for its authoritative publishing of ADR research and scholarship from across Africa.
In January 2015, Dr. Muigua was conferred the rank of Chartered Arbitrator, the highest status of an Arbitrator. In the same year, he was also admitted as an Accredited Mediator by the Mediation Training Institute (International). In December 2015, Dr. Muigua was awarded the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators Chairman’s medal with a citation for exemplary service in December, 2015. He also authored Alternative Dispute Resolution and Access to Justice in Kenya (2015). In 2015, Dr. Muigua was also engaged as a consultant by the Commission for the Implementation of the Constitution in preparing a “Report for the Institutionalization of Traditional Dispute Resolution Mechanisms (TDRMs) and other Community Justice Systems.
In 2017, Dr. Muigua launched the Journal of Conflict Management and Sustainable Development, now in its 8th Volume. The journal has in the last 5 years earned its place as the leading peer-reviewed and most cited and authoritative publications in the fields of Conflict Management and Sustainable Development. Dr. Kariuki Muigua still leads the editorial board of the Journal as the Publisher and Editor in Chief. In January 2018, he was engaged as a consultant by the Court of Justice of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA Court of Justice) in the Consultancy to Review and Revise COMESA Court of Justice Arbitration Rules (2003).
In 2019, he was voted unopposed as the CIArb Regional Trustee for Africa where he represents Africa at the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators Board of Trustees which is responsible for all the monies as well as the strategic direction of the Institute. In 2020, he was appointed by the Attorney General as a member of the National Steering Committee for Formulation of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Policy, 2020 representing the Academia.
In 2021, he scooped the three top ADR Award in Kenya. The first award was the inaugural CIArb (Kenya) Lifetime Achievement Award, the highest honour ever awarded by the Institution. Dr. Muigua was also voted by his peers in the legal profession as the Law Society of Kenya ADR Practitioner of the Year Award. He also won the ADR Publisher of the Year Award by the CIArb (Kenya) for his numerous publications and research in ADR and arbitration.
Importantly, Dr. Kariuki Muigua has been consistently ranked among the top 10 arbitrators in Kenya for the last five (5) years in a row by the prestigious Chambers & Partners Lawyers Directory. In 2022, Dr. Kariuki Muigua was ranked among the Top 5 Arbitrators (Band 1) by the Chambers Global Guide which described him as having “an astute understanding of arbitration and mediation” and being at the forefront of ADR in Kenya.
Chambers and Partners describes Dr. Muigua as “a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and well known in this space” who is ‘a highly respected arbitrator and mediator, “publishes a lot of articles on alternative dispute resolution and arbitration” and “has been involved in several ground-breaking arbitrations.” It adds that Dr. Muigua is “respected for litigation that touches on commercial, constitutional and environmental law” and as a leading author who “has written a number of books on arbitration referred to by courts and judges.”
Clearly, Dr. Kariuki Muigua is a leading ADR Practitioner in Kenya and across Africa and deserves to be the African Arbitrator of the Year 2022 for his contribution in consistently and excellently practicing ADR as Arbitrator, Mediator, Scholar, Publisher, Leader and Consultant. Dr. Kariuki Muigua continues to volunteer and serve as the Tutor and Assessor at the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators-Kenya. He is also a prolific writer and has published over hundred articles and papers on Arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution.
Dr. Muigua also serves in the Branch Committee of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (Kenya). Previously, he served as a Member and Past Chairperson of the Sub-Committee on Information Technology (IT) and Member of the Legal Committee of the Institute. He is a Member of Kigali International Arbitration Centre (KIAC) International Panel of arbitrators and Nairobi Centre for International Arbitration (NCIA) Panel of International Arbitrators, Panel of Domestic Arbitrators and Panel of Domestic Mediators.
Highlight of Dr. Kariuki Muigua Arbitration Experience
Dr. Kariuki Muigua has handled arbitrations whose subject matter value is over Ksh. 250 Billion (estimated USD. 200 Million) in the last decade alone. He has handled major international and domestic arbitrations in the areas of renewable energy, employment law, agriculture, natural resources and extractives, construction, shareholder agreements, ICT contracts and equipment, franchising and distributorship and property management. He has been appointed sole arbitrator, member of arbitral tribunal and chairperson of arbitral tribunal under the rules of the London Court of International Arbitration, ICC Arbitration Rules, Nairobi Centre for International Arbitration (NCIA) Rules and Arbitration Act 1995 (as amended in 2009).
At the international level, Dr. Muigua has handled several high stakes International Arbitrations including acting as a Member of an Arbitral Tribunal a dispute on between an International Energy Company based in Europe and State Corporation of an African country for breach of contract for a regional power transmission tender whose subject matter was over USD 40 Million. He also acted as the sole arbitrator in a case in case involving two international companies which had entered a Joint Operating Agreement for extraction of natural resource where one party was a financier and the subject matter value was over USD. 100,000,000. The reference was conducted under the auspices of the International Chamber of Commerce and International Court of Arbitration and the ICC Arbitration Rules were applicable here as well as the laws of one of the West African countries. In addition, Dr. Muigua acted as a sole Arbitrator appointed by the London Court of International Arbitration in a claim of USD. 7,000,000 for termination of a contract where the rules of the London Court of International Arbitration were applicable.
Dr. Kariuki Muigua was also the sole arbitrator in a matter between an Export Company and a State Ministry involving a dispute on a tender for the supply and delivery of farm inputs. The claim was over USD 15,000,0000 and the arbitration was conducted in accordance with the Nairobi Centre for International Arbitration Rules, 2015. Dr. Muigua also handled a dispute for a contract of over USD 6,000,000 involving an African State National Roads Corporation and an International Construction Contractor for construction of a major road and bridge. He acted as the Chair of the Dispute Adjudication Board which applied the procedural rules annexed to the FIDIC Conditions of Contract, Planned and Designed, 1999 Edition. He also acted as a Member of Tribunal appointed by the London Court of International Arbitration in a Claim affecting a multi-million sale and purchase of shares between two major energy companies in Africa.
In domestic arbitrations in Kenya, Dr. Kariuki Muigua acted as the Sole Arbitrator in a breach of Memorandum of Understanding claim involving subject matter value of Kshs. 1,700,000,000. Dr. Muigua also acted as Chair of a Tribunal in a Claim for the breach of contract in respect of the installation of equipment whose subject matter was over Kshs. 100,000,000. He also acted as Sole Arbitrator in a dispute over sale and distribution of the Respondent’s products within a designated territory where the subject matter was over Kshs. 50,000,000. Dr. Muigua was also the Sole Arbitrator in a claim by a contractor against a Constitutional Commission over a tender to erect and an office and a multipurpose block for Kshs. 45,000,000. He also arbitrated as in a dispute between a property management company and public company over contract to manage the apartments and market them whose subject matter value was approximately Kshs. 150,000,000 as a Sole Arbitrator.
Dr. Muigua also arbitrated in an estate management dispute where the subject matter was over Kshs. 26,000,000,000 as the sole arbitrator under Kenyan law. Dr. Muigua was also the sole arbitrator in an Islamic Banking finance dispute between a transporter and an Islamic bank involving Mudharaba and Murabaha Agreements where claim for special damages was around Kshs.140, 000,000. Other arbitrations handled by Dr. Kariuki Muigua as a sole arbitrator in recent days include a dispute between insurance broker and car dealers for general insurance services over subject matter value of Kshs. 120,000,000, a claim of Ksh. 20,000,000 for a transport contract between a truck company and a State Corporation for the transportation of sensitive products and a claim against a major transport company for the rental of ICT equipment whose subject matter was USD. 100,000.
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Lawyers
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.
Published
1 month agoon
February 19, 2023By
Admin
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.
Lawyers
John Ohaga SC Scoops Kenya and Africa Top Arbitrator Accolades
Published
3 months agoon
December 23, 2022By
Admin
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.
Lawyers
Dr. Kariuki Muigua, PhD: The Top Arbitrator in Africa
Published
4 months agoon
November 21, 2022By
Admin
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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