COVID-19 AND ITS IMPLICATIONS ON ARBITRATION PROCEEDINGS IN NIGERIA AND SELECTED JURISDICTIONS

Abstract

The recent COVID-19 pandemic disrupted social, economic, and political activities across the globe. This paper examines how arbitration proceedings adapted to the challenges posed by the pandemic, focusing on Nigeria’s legal and institutional response in comparison with other jurisdictions. It adopts a doctrinal and comparative research methodology, drawing on statutes, arbitral institutional protocols, and relevant scholarly literature from selected jurisdictions. The study finds that leading international arbitral institutions responded swiftly by permitting virtual hearings and subsequently amended their rules to expressly recognise remote proceedings. Comparatively, it also finds that the selected jurisdictions exercised procedural flexibility by accommodating the transition to virtual hearings without the need for legislative amendments. The paper recommends the express legal recognition of emergency remote hearing protocols, the introduction of mandatory procedural fairness safeguards for virtual proceedings, and other reforms aimed at strengthening the resilience and effectiveness of arbitration in times of crisis.