This article was featured in Jus Mundi‘s 2025 Arbitration Year in Review, an annual publication analyzing arbitration developments across 40+ jurisdictions on 6 continents. This edition brings together young practitioners and senior experts to capture the year’s most significant legislative reforms, enforcement trends, and institutional innovations.
THE AUTHOR:
Raiana Vieira Batista, Deputy Head of the Arbitration Department, Martial Akakpo & Associes
2025 was a year of consolidation for refereeing in Togo. Significant innovations, improvements, and advances were introduced in Arbitration and Mediation.
Digital Transformation of Institutional Arbitration: The Launch of CATO’s Online Platform
- As part of efforts to enhance the influence of national arbitration centres, the Court of Arbitration of Togo (“CATO”) has taken an important step toward modernizing of its services with the official launch of its new digital platform. It is now possible for any natural or legal person to submit their commercial disputes online.
This platform reduces the time it takes to process files and increases the transparency of the process, by offering fully digitized management, from the submission of requests to the final decision.
The Minister of Trade said that “this is a step towards the complete digitalization of arbitration procedures”. The President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Togo (“CCI-T”), for his part, stressed that this initiative strengthens the business climate by ensuring a secure legal environment for economic operators and investors.
This approach is part of the national strategy for the digitalization of public services, aiming to achieve 75% of dematerialized procedures in Togo by 2025.
Created in 1989, the Court of Arbitration plays a major role in providing a reliable framework for economic operators to resolve their disputes, thus contributing to the security of the business sector in Togo.
Mandatory ADR in Land Disputes: Legislative Recognition of Arbitration and Mediation
- In the same spirit, the previous year Interministerial Order No. 728/MUHRF/MJL of 23/08/2024 of the Ministers of Urban Planning, Housing and Land Reform, and Justice was signed.
Through this regulatory instrument, OHADA mediation and arbitration are now formally recognised as lawful mechanisms for the resolution of land disputes in Togo. In accordance with the Uniform Act on the Law of Arbitration and the Act on Mediation, both adopted on 23 November 2017, arbitration and mediation are accepted as alternative methods of dispute resolution in land matters alongside conciliation. The decree is not limited to offering the parties to a land dispute the option to resort to these alternative methods, because Article 4 specifies that “Any referral to the courts must be preceded by one of the alternative methods of dispute resolution”. Article 5 adds that “Before any case in land matters is enrolled, the court seized shall ensure that the parties have previously had recourse to one of the alternative dispute resolution methods”. In view of the large number of disputes in land matters in our States, this prior recourse to ADRs must be seen as a solution to relieve court congestion (See Yvette Rachel Kalieu Elongo, ‘La consécration de la médiation et de l’arbitrage OHADA comme modes de règlement des litiges au Togo’ (2024/6) 78 ERSUMA Bulletin of Professional Practice). But, beyond that, an amicable settlement of land disputes should contribute to promoting peace in families and communities, in view of the fact that many land disputes oppose family members or people belonging to the same communities. Ideally, whatever the outcome of the disputes, the parties should continue to coexist peacefully.
Promoting Arbitration Through Dialogue: “The Power of L.A.W.” and Lomé’s Growing Regional Role
- Togo was highlighted by organizing the 1st edition of the event “The Power of L.A.W.” on February 05 to 08, 2025, in Lomé. This international meeting brought together experts, practitioners, and operators from the maritime and financial sectors to discuss the challenges and prospects of arbitration in Africa.
“The Power of L.A.W.” was organized by the International Arbitration and Mediation Center (“CIAM”) in collaboration with the International Association for the Development of Arbitration in Africa (“AIDAA”), with partners such as Jus Mundi.
The organizers aim to make “The Power of L.A.W.” an essential annual event to influence arbitration among economic operators in Togo and beyond. It brings together professionals from the maritime and financial sectors, as well as national and international legal actors, to discuss the challenges and opportunities of alternative dispute resolution methods in Africa, under the chairmanship of seasoned panelists.
This meeting highlighted Lomé’s privileged and attractive position as a leading economic hub in Africa. Home to renowned regional financial institutions such as BOAD, EBID, ETI, and CICA-RE, Lomé, through this event, reinforces its reputation as a major sub-regional financial center. In addition, with the Autonomous Port of Lomé, the Togolese capital offers a conducive environment for business and attracts more and more international investors.
Created in 2019 by AIDAA, the CIAM is an institution specialising in the settlement of maritime and financial disputes. Since its creation, CIAM has established itself as an international reference, offering arbitration and mediation solutions adapted to the needs of economic operators in the sector.
Institutional Reform at the OHADA Level: Centralising Arbitration Administration at the CCJA
- At the community level, reform of the Common Court of Justice and Arbitration (“CCJA”) in OHADA arbitration has been implemented through the establishment of the Arbitration Proceedings Monitoring Committee.
Indeed, Resolution 121/2025 of June 27, 2025, establishes a single Procedure Monitoring Committee, centralizing the OHADA arbitral administration for more efficiency, transparency, modernization, sustainability, and optimization.
This resolution is based on the following legal bases:
- The Treaty of Port-Louis of 17 October 1993 was amended in 2008.
- The CCJA Rules of Procedure and Arbitration Rules.
- The CCJA’s Rules of Procedure for Arbitration were approved by the Council of Ministers on 17 October 2023.
These texts empower the general assembly to organise internal governance and to designate the competent administrative bodies. As of 1 July 2025, the Proceedings Monitoring Committee is established as the sole body of arbitral administration. The resolution revokes the previous resolution dated 22 November 2023 regarding the administration of proceedings.
Centralization within a single body has several advantages, including the clarification of the chain of administrative responsibility; the guarantee of continuity thanks to the substitute mechanism; the strengthening of transparency through the traceability of acts; and the reduction of conflicts of competence between services.
The reform is part of the international dynamic of the professionalization of arbitration administrations and is perceived as a breath of fresh air, announcing the modernization and strengthening of the Arbitration Center through the unification of administrative management. The Procedures Monitoring Committee becomes the central body for all administrative matters related to CCJA arbitrations. Centralization promises to simplify processes and speed up file processing. This decision consolidates the position of the Arbitration Center within the OHADA system and underlines its strategic role.
These elements bear witness to a resolutely modern orientation, aimed at improving the responsiveness and quality of the refereeing service.
Resolution No. 121 of June 27, 2025 marks a decisive step forward for CCJA-OHADA arbitration. By establishing a single Monitoring Committee and a back-up mechanism, the CCJA is enhancing the coherence, transparency, and efficiency of its procedures. The new breath of fresh air brought by this reform must now be measured by its practical application and its impact on arbitral governance.
Conclusion
These initiatives, institutional and digital reforms, are updates of practices to promote and make Togolese arbitration competitive in the regional space and at the international level, and thus attract investors.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Raiana Vieira Batista is an associate (Juriste-Collaborateur) at Martial Akakpo & Associes Law Firm and is the Deputy Head of the Arbitration Department. She holds a Master’s degree in litigation law from the University of Paris 13, Sorbonne Paris cité. Within the Firm, she advises and litigates various cases relating to OHADA business law. She is fluent in French, Portuguese, Creole, Wolof, and at an intermediate level in English and Spanish. She has received training in Tunisian private law and in Moroccan law on security. She has extensive experience in diplomacy and consular services. She was a member of the electoral bureau for the presidential and legislative elections of Guinea-Bissau (“GW”) in 2014 district of Paris.
*The views and opinions expressed by authors are theirs and do not necessarily reflect those of their organizations, employers, or Daily Jus, Jus Mundi, or Jus Connect.
