Third Parties Involvement and Protection under the International and Ethiopian Arbitration Laws: a Comparative Analysis

Abstract

Arbitration as part of ADR has been a preferred dispute resolution method in the international commercial disputes as a result of its prevailing advantages of time, cost, flexibility, confidentiality...etc. Recently, many nations have been setting exceptions to the consensual nature and privity of arbitration for the sake of third parties interest protection by allowing exceptional circumstances and by using third party theories. Ethiopia in the hope of modernizing the arbitration system had become a party to the New York convention and enacted a new arbitration and conciliation proclamation. The proclamation has ostensibly accepted third parties to involve in the form of intervention, joinder and opposition. But, it also set a barricade of unanimous consent from the main parties and the third party, which would be acceptable if the business community was cooperative for justice and fairness. Furthermore, it failed to set procedural rules for joinder of third parties as the civil procedure code provisions are not fit to the uniqueness of the nature of arbitral proceeding. Even though, the proclamation aimed at minimizing unsolicited court interference it gave the power to entertain opposition to it. The thesis used doctrinal and comparative analysis methodology and employed qualitative approaches to data collection, analysis and interpretation. The finding of the thesis entails that the law and especially the practice are unfriendly to multi-party arbitration despite the advantages it has towards the effectiveness of arbitration system. Thus, the law should be better equipped towards protecting third parties interests and making a competent and effective arbitration hub