Dr. Chukwuma Okoli (T.M.C. Asser Institute): An Analysis of Nigerian Court of Appeal’s Decisions on Foreign Choice of Court Agreements in the Year 2020

About the speaker:

Chukwuma Okoli is a postdoctoral researcher in private international law at the T.M.C. Asser Institute. His principal research interest is in all aspects of private international law/conflict of laws, with a special focus on the European Union, Nigeria, and English-speaking or Commonwealth Africa. He has significant publications on these subjects. He is the author of a substantial monograph on a civil and commercial aspect of European Union Private International Law and the co-author of the leading text on Nigerian Private International Law.

About the topic:

In Nigeria, valid commercial contracts between parties are treated as sacrosanct and binding by Nigerian courts. It is however uncertain (unlike in the European Union) whether a valid foreign choice of court agreement, which is a term of the parties’ contract, will be enforced by Nigerian courts. In this connection, the decisions of Nigerian courts are not consistent. Nigerian courts have applied three approaches to the enforcement of foreign choice of court agreements – ouster clause, Brandon tests, and the contractual approach. The presentation will analyse the approach the Nigerian appellate courts applied to the enforcement of foreign choice of court agreements in light of three Court of Appeal decisions delivered in the year 2020.

About the new virtual workshop series:

There is a growing interest in the study of private international law in Africa. In an environment of growing international transactions in both civil and commercial matters, private international law can play a significant role in Africa in addressing issues such as globalization, regional economic integration, immigration, etc. The series intends to discuss new scholarly work on private international law in Africa and advance solutions on how the current framework of that field can be improved on the continent.