Emilia ONYEMA

Emilia Onyema is an independent arbitrator and a Professor of International Commercial Law at SOAS University of London where she teaches international commercial arbitration, international investment law and commercial law in a global context. She is qualified to practice law in Nigeria, as a Solicitor in England & Wales, and Fellow of Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. She is a Board member of the Africa Arbitration Association, member of the Lagos Court of Arbitration, BVI Centre Arbitration Committee, LACIAC Court member, Casablanca International Mediation and Arbitration centre, among others. She convenes the SOAS Arbitration in Africa conference series and leads the SOAS Arbitration in Africa biennial survey research project; she co-authored the African Promise and founded the Arbitration Fund for African Students (AFAS) a registered charitable organisation in England to support students with interest in arbitration. Her research interests focus on the development of international arbitration in Africa and the engagement of Africans in international arbitration. She has experience as presiding, co and sole arbitrator, and acts as legal expert witness in international arbitration. She actively publishes and speaks on topics relevant to her research interests. Some of her publications include, International Commercial Arbitration and the Arbitrator’s Contract (Routledge, 2010); Rethinking the Role of African National Courts in Arbitration (Kluwer, 2018), “African Participation in the ICSID System: Appointment and Disqualification of Arbitrators”, ICSID Review – Foreign Investment Law Journal (2020), and “Reimagining the Framework for resolving Intra-African Commercial Disputes in the Context of the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement”, World Trade Review (2019).

Emails: eo3@soas.ac.uk; emilia@onyema-arbitration.co.uk