Africa’s Leading Arbitrator and Kenya’s Top Dispute Resolution Guru Dr. Kariuki Muigua was recently nominated by the Government of the Republic of Kenya as one of its four representative members to the prestigious Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) based at The Hague. This latest accolade has been hailed by peers and legal industry analysts as yet another confirmation that Dr. Muigua has entered and entrenched himself in the exclusive league of international ADR practitioners. Dr. Muigua was not only Africa’s Trustee (2019 to 2022) to the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIARB) but was also the first person to win the two highest Arbitration Awards in Africa in the same year. To be sure, in March 2022, Dr. Kariuki Muigua won the African Arbitrator of the Year 2022 and followed it with the African Arbitration Association (AfAA) ADR Practitioner of the Year 2022 in November 2022.
The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) is the world’s premier Arbitration Institution which enjoys the status of an Intergovernmental Organization. The PCA provides administrative support in international arbitrations involving various combinations of states, state entities, international organizations and private parties. However, its functions are not limited to arbitration and include providing support in other forms of peaceful resolution of international disputes, including mediation, conciliation, and other forms of alternative dispute resolution (ADR). In turn, the members of the Court are potential arbitrators appointed by Contracting Parties. The other Kenyan members of PCA are Prof. Githu Muigai SC (Senior Counsel and Former Attorney General of Kenya now serving his Second Term at PCA), Dr. Kenneth Wyne Mutuma and Dr. Wilfred Mutubwa. Past Kenyan Members of PCA include Former Attorney General of Kenya and Busia Senator Hon Amos Wako SC, Former Chief Justice of Kenya Hon Dr. Willy Mutunga and First African Woman Member of International Law Commission since inception in 1947 Prof. Phoebe Okowa.
In view of this, there is no doubt the nomination of Dr. Kariuki by the Republic of Kenya as a Contracting Party state is proof that he meets the criteria for nominees which includes “known competency in questions of international law, of the highest moral reputation and disposed to accept the duties of arbitrators” as “Members of the Court.” Membership of PCA is so highly that in addition to forming a panel of potential arbitrators, the Members of the Court from each Contracting Party constitute a “national group,” which is entitled to nominate candidates for the election to the International Court of Justice in accordance with article 4(1) of the Statute of the International Court of Justice. In addition, the Members of the Court (along with the judges of the ICJ) are among a handful of groups entitled to nominate candidates for the Nobel Peace Prize.
The PCA itself offers a detailed profile of Dr. Kariuki Muigua as a justification of why he is one of the only four Kenyans who have been entrusted with this high office for a renewable term of six years. According to the PCA Website, “Dr. KARIUKI MUIGUA, PhD, C.Arb. Dr. Kariuki Muigua is a distinguished law scholar, Environmental Consultant, an accomplished mediator and a Chartered Arbitrator. He is a holder of a Ph. D in law from the University of Nairobi and with widespread training and experience in both international and national commercial arbitration and mediation. He served as the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) Regional Trustee for Africa from 2019 to 2022.” The Permanent Court of Arbitration adds that Dr. Kariuki Muigua “is an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya of over 33 years standing and practicing at Kariuki Muigua & Co. Advocates. He has on various occasions been appointed by leading arbitral institutions including the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb-Kenya), the Nairobi Centre for International Arbitration (NCIA), the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) among other institutions, as both as a sole arbitrator and a member of arbitral tribunals in arbitrations involving commercial disputes.
The Court goes on to list the prestigious awards Dr. Kariuki Muigua has garnered over the years. It notes that: “He became the first winner of the Inaugural CIArb (Kenya Branch) ADR Lifetime Achievement Award 2021. He was also the winner of the ADR Practitioner of the Year Award 2021 given by the Nairobi LSK and the ADR Publisher of the Year 2021 awarded by CIArb Kenya. He was the winner of the African Arbitrator of the Year 2022 award at the 3rd African Arbitration Awards held at Kigali Rwanda beating other competitors from Egypt, Mauritius, Ethiopia, Nigeria and Kenya. The African Arbitrator of the Year award is the highest and most prestigious ADR and Arbitration Award in Africa.” As already noted, Dr. Kariuki Muigua was also the winner of the African Arbitration Association (AfAA) ADR Practitioner of the Year 2022 in November 2022.
The Hague court also acknowledges that its Member Dr. Kariuki Muigua is prolific and published author and that “his book, Settling Disputes through Arbitration in Kenya, 4th Edition; Glenwood publishers 2022, was awarded the Publication of the Year Award 2022…. He is the author of Alternative Dispute Resolution and Access to Justice in Kenya, (Glenwood Publishers, Nairobi, 2015) and Resolving Conflicts through Mediation in Kenya, (Glenwood Publishers, Nairobi, 2013) among other books.” Indeed, more than any other African Intellectual and Practitioner, Dr. Kariuki Muigua stands out as the leading author, editor and publisher in Environmental Law and Alternative Dispute Resolution with more than a dozen books and over 200 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters to his name in those areas. For his status as a leading expert and practitioner in Environmental Law in Kenya he was nominated by his peers and colleagues in Law Society of Kenya to represent them as a member of the National Environment Tribunal (NET) of Kenya, recently awarded the best performing Tribunal in Kenya for handling the most cases.
In 2023, Chambers and Partners Global Guide, for the third year in a row, ranked Dr. Kariuki Muigua Ph.D in Band 1 of Dispute Resolution (Arbitrators), among 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.” In 2022, 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.”
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