Richard Frimpong Oppong, The Government of Ghana and International Arbitration
| Pages | 649-651 |
| Published date | 01 November 2018 |
| DOI | 10.3366/ajicl.2018.0253 |
| Author | |
| Date | 01 November 2018 |
Professor Richard Frimpong Oppong of the Faculty of Law of Thompson Rivers University deserves commendation for adding to the Ghanaian literature on arbitration. In his work
In justifying the essence of his work, he asserts that ‘to date, there has been little or no academic study on these international arbitration claims, the arbitral awards that have resulted from them, and their implications for Ghana.’
The distinctive thing about Professor Frimpong's work is the surgical approach he adopts in dissecting the various arbitrations that Ghana has been involved in. He relies on 16 of such cases and his conclusions are revealing.
He touches on the question of transparency – or the lack of it when it comes to arbitral claims involving the government. In his view, the secrecy in which some of these arbitral awards are shrouded is problematic, especially when most of the claims involve publicly funded projects. He suggests that many details of these arbitral proceedings and awards should be made available to the public.
Professor Oppong goes on to touch on the composition of the legal teams for arbitrations involving Ghana and Ghanaian law. His conclusion on this point is hardly surprising. He notes: ‘In all of the claims, foreign law firms were hired to prosecute the government's case.’ He underscores as well the high costs associated with the reliance on foreign law firms, even though he is quick to point out that these firms bring on board significant levels of experience in arbitration.
The government's cavalier attitude in some of these arbitration proceedings is placed under the spotlight. He cites instances of situations where huge claims were made against the state and yet there was no robust attempt by the government to fight off those claims. He spells out some instances:
… in which Ghana failed to appoint an arbitrator; in which Ghanaian law was the applicable law under the contract but was neither pleaded nor argued; in which Ghana failed to comment on orders made by the tribunal when invited to; in which Ghana failed to participate in the arbitration hearings; in which Ghana failed to make a submission in respect of an application for an interim award; in which Ghana failed to sign the terms...
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