Dr. Solomon Okorley (University of Johannesburg): The 2019 Hague Judgments Convention in Ghana: A Long-Awaited Solution

About the speaker:

Dr. Solomon Okorley is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Research Centre for Private International Law in Emerging Countries, University of Johannesburg. He is also a research associate of the Centre and the academic assistant and tutor for the LLM in International Commercial Law module. He specializes in Private International Law and the nexus between the fourth industrial revolution (artificial intelligence) and law.

About the topic:

There has been a significant surge in transnational transactions and global commerce. From an African perspective also, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) aims to increase trade between African countries. The ongoing and the anticipated rise in the volume of international commercial trade will lead to a corresponding growth in transnational litigation, which is very complex. In addition to the complexity of cross-border litigation, a court’s judgment is limited in its effectiveness to its territorial jurisdiction. Thus, it becomes expedient for international judicial cooperation to facilitate the process of enforcement of foreign judgment. The need for stability in the area of recognizing and enforcing foreign judgments has led to the promulgation of pragmatic conventions such as the 2019 Hague Judgments convention. Ghana is often referred to as the “gateway to Africa” due to its central location on the continent, its role as a major trade hub in West Africa, and its position as the headquarters for the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which facilitates trade across the African continent; making it a strategic entry point for businesses looking to access the wider African market. Consequently, commercial entities with assets in Ghana tend to enter into various commercial transactions with business entities outside the shores of Ghana. Imagine a situation where a judgment creditor has a judgment against a judgment debtor who has assets in Ghana. What is the current legal framework for enforcing foreign judgments in Ghana? What are the issues that plagues the effective enforcement of foreign judgments in Ghana? In what ways does the 2019 Hague Judgments Convention help to alleviate such problems?

About the 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.