Angola accedes to New York Convention

Angola has ratified the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, becoming the 157th nation to do so. This means that international arbitral awards will now be enforceable in Angola with only those matters identified within the Convention being considered valid grounds for resisting enforcement.

Arbitrations in Angola are governed by the 2003 Voluntary Arbitration Law, which applies to both domestic and international proceedings and is based on the 1985 UNCITRAL Model Law, though it does not follow it as closely as many nations’ arbitration laws. International disputes may not be appealed under the Angolan law, but it remains to be seen how the local courts will apply the Convention at the enforcement stage. In particular, given that many investment agreements in Angola are with state-owned companies, international investors will be watching how Article V (2) of the Convention will be interpreted. This allows the court to refuse to enforce an award where it would be “contrary to the public policy” of the state in which enforcement is sought.

Angola follows the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi and Comoros, an archipelago off the east coast of Africa, among other African nations to recently accede to the Convention, as arbitration continues to establish itself as the form of dispute resolution preferred by overseas investors.

It is likely to be some years before an impression is created as to how the Angolan courts approach the Convention and therefore how significant the accession is. Nonetheless, it is a step forward for a country reliant on foreign investment and expertise in its globally significant oil industry.