Africa

African states are party to over a thousand investment agreements, the vast majority of which have been signed with non-African countries.

In 2006, Members of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) (Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland) signed the SADC Finance and Investment Protocol that also includes the ISDS mechanism. Only two claims have been registered under these terms, both against Lesotho (but the governments in the region do not typically disclose such information). In 2016 amendments to the protocol were adopted. They eliminated ISDS provisions (only state-to-state arbitration remained) and narrowed the scope of investors’ rights.

In South Africa, shortly after settling a dispute with foreign mining companies over its new post-apartheid mining rules (Piero Foresti & Others case), the government began to withdraw from bilateral investment treaties (BIT) that include ISDS, arguing they belonged to a bygone era. It claimed BITs focus on the interests of investors from developed countries and do not address concerns of developing countries.

The South African government decided to develop a new model BIT and strengthen its domestic legislation in regard to the protection offered to foreign investors, such as compatibility of BIT-type protection with South African law. South Africa also sought to incorporate legitimate exceptions to investor protection where warranted by public interest considerations.

Provisions of South Africa’s new model BIT have been incorporated into SADC’s. This model sets out provisions that mitigate the risks of earlier treaties and leaves open the option for state-to-state dispute settlement in addition to investor-state dispute settlement procedures.

In 2014, voices from the Namibian government cast doubts on the correlation between foreign direct investment and investment treaties including ISDS. They argued that ISDS represented a risk for developing countries, due to important legal fees and awards which can pose a significant budgetary threat. Further, statistics show most claimants come from developed countries.

About 11% of all arbitration disputes have involved African states.

In 2013, an arbitration court ordered Libya to pay US$935 million in a dispute over a land-leasing contract for a tourism project, making it one of the largest known awards to date.

Egypt has been the fifth most targeted state worldwide with 34 registered ISDS cases against it. Tanzania has been the most targeted country in sub-Sahara Africa with six disputes, all of which were initiated by European investors.

Photo: Hansueli Krapf / CC BY-SA 3.0

(April 2020)

Sunupetrole | 13-Jun-2025
En désaccord avec la Direction générale des impôts et domaines sénégalaise, le pétrolier australien a déposé un recours auprès du Cirdi (Centre International de Règlement des Différends relatifs aux Investissements) pour résoudre des questions fiscales en suspens.
Ecoactu | 13-Jun-2025
L’entreprise minière britannique Emmerson Plc a engagé une procédure d’arbitrage international contre le Royaume du Maroc devant le Centre international pour le règlement des différends relatifs aux investissements (CIRDI).
Reuters | 5-Jun-2025
Australia’s Woodside Energy (WDS.AX), opens new tab, which operates Senegal’s Sangomar oil and gas field, has filed a complaint with the World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes against the West African country over taxes, a spokesperson for the company said on Monday.
Agence Ecofin | 5-Jun-2025
Woodside Energy, opérateur du champ pétrolier offshore de Sangomar, a saisi le Centre international pour le règlement des différends relatifs aux investissements (CIRDI). Cette initiative, confirmée par la société le lundi 2 juin, fait suite à un différend fiscal non résolu qui porterait sur environ 68 millions de dollars, selon plusieurs médias sénégalais.
Grafa | 4-Jun-2025
Indiana Resources (ASX:IDA) has taken formal steps in response to Tanzania’s breach of its July 2024 settlement deed.
Le 360 Afrique | 27-May-2025
Les traités bilatéraux d’investissement africains incarnent un paradoxe: conçus pour sécuriser les investissements, ils menacent aujourd’hui la souveraineté réglementaire et financière des États. Entre contentieux coûteux et clauses déséquilibrées, la modernisation de ces accords s’impose comme une urgence stratégique. L’Égypte, le Maroc, l’Algérie et le Nigéria figurent parmi les plus exposés aux litiges.
Médias24 | 26-May-2025
Le CIRDI a officiellement enregistré la demande d’arbitrage déposée par deux filiales d’Emmerson Plc contre le Maroc, dans le cadre du différend lié au projet de mine de potasse de Khémisset.
Actu Cameroun | 20-May-2025
Le Cameroun aurait été condamné par le CIRDI à payer environ 196 milliards FCFA au groupe PICCINI pour rupture abusive de contrat de construction du Stade d’Olembe à Yaoundé.
London stock exchange | 2-May-2025
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Regulation 11 of the Market Abuse (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019/310. With the publication of this announcement via a Regulatory Information Service, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.
Yabiladi | 2-May-2025
Emmerson Plc, a Moroccan-focused potash development company, has filed a Request for Arbitration (RFA) seeking $2.2 billion in compensation from the Kingdom of Morocco, claiming «expropriation» of its Khemisset Potash Project.