On 24 August 2020 Ethiopia acceded to the 1958 Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (the “Convention“). Ethiopia will become the 165th state party to the Convention, following the recent accession of Tonga in June this year. Under Article XII (2), the Convention will come into force for Ethiopia on 22 November 2020.
Under Article I.3 of the New York Convention, contracting states are able to ratify or accede subject to certain reservations. The UNCITRAL website indicates that Ethiopia has acceded to the Convention subject to three reservations: 1) that it will apply the Convention only to the recognition and enforcement of awards made in the territory of another contracting State; 2) that it will apply the Convention only to differences arising out of legal relationships, whether contractual or not, which are considered commercial under the laws of Ethiopia; and 3) that it has formulated a reservation with regards to the retroactive application of the Convention.
For more information please contact Chris Parker, Partner, Vanessa Naish, Professional Support Consultant, or your usual Herbert Smith Freehills contact.
