LEGALITY OF ARBITRATION AND CONCILIATION ACT ACA , UNDER THE 1999 CONSTITUTION
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Date
2020-09-16
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FACULTY OF LAW, KWARA STATE UNIVERSITY
Abstract
An efficient system of dispute resolution is highly necessary for economic viability and sustainability of economies. However, despite the rising profile of arbitration as an alternative means of commercial disputes resolution, Nigeria continues to contend with the issue of proper construction of the provisions of the 1999 Constitution in respect of legislative competence to make laws on the subject matter of arbitration. The constitutionality of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act (ACA) is in doubt due to the fact that arbitration is not mentioned under the legislative competence of either the National Assembly or the State House of Assembly under the 1999 Constitution. The ACA had been promulgated as a military decree under the military regime in 1988. The Federal Military Government (FMG) promulgated the Constitution (Suspension and Modification) Decree No 1 of 1984, FMG(Supremacy and Enforcement of Powers) Act No 13 of 1984 and the Constitution (Suspension and Modification) Act No 107 of 1993 which gave the FMG unlimited power to legislate procedurally and territorially. The constitutional debate centres around whether the current Nigerian Constitution of 1999 clearly determines which legislatures, as between the Federal and State, has the legislative competence to enact a framework on arbitration legislation. Therefore, this article investigates the constitutionality of the continued application of the ACA as federal legislation.
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KWASU LJ VOL 1(1)