A CRITICAL APPRAISAL OF THE DISPUTE RESOLUTION MECHANISM STIPULATED IN THE LAGOS STATE ARBITRATION LAW AND THOSE ENSHRINED IN THE ARBITRATION AND CONCILATION ACT IN RESPECT OF COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION IN NIGERIA

Abstract

Traditionally, the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) comprises diverse mechanisms for the 
settlement of various kinds of disputes. Generally, ADR methods typically adopt any of the variants 
viz; negotiation, mediation, conciliation or arbitration in reaching a compromise between 
disputants. It however seems that among the states in Nigeria, it is only the Lagos State government 
that has taken bold step to enact an arbitration law that specifically provides for commercial 
arbitration in the resolution of disputes. This is evident in the Lagos State Arbitration Law and the 
Lagos Court of Arbitration Law. One begins to wonder whether this is occasioned by the high 
volume of commercial activities, trades or industrial activities in Lagos State. Although at the 
Federal level, the Arbitration and Conciliation Act holds sway with many similarities and 
differences yet both statutes are pivotal to resolving commercial disputes in Nigeria.
This article examines the salient dispute resolution mechanisms enshrined in the laws for 
resolution of commercial law disputes. This paper also considers the relevance and applicability 
of regional arbitration body in the resolution of commercial disputes in Nigeria. This work adopts 
a doctrinal and comparative approach in its research methodology. It found that commercial 
arbitration methods are speedy, result oriented and effective in settling commercial conflicts 
among parties when compared to the traditional court system in Nigeria. But the writer observes
that commercial arbitration could be very expensive for parties especially when it borders on 
technical issues. There are some recommendations after reaching a conclusion.