Arbitration in Africa is evolving rapidly, with new institutions, legal reforms, and a growing push to challenge the longstanding dominance of traditional seats like London, Paris, and Geneva. In this episode, Yağmur speaks with Professor Emilia Onyema about the state of arbitration in Africa, the rise of new arbitral institutions, and what it truly means to “Africanise” international arbitration.

Professor Onyema is a leading figure in African arbitration, a professor at SOAS University of London, and the founder of initiatives such as “The African Promise” and the Arbitration Fund for African Students.

We explore how the landscape of African arbitration is shifting, from the persistence of ad hoc arbitration and the emergence of dozens of new institutions, to sectoral trends in energy, construction, and technology.

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Email: lexunboundpodcast@gmail.com

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You can follow Professor Emilia Onyema on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilia-onyema-9b2422156/

Artificial intelligence is no longer a distant prospect for arbitration. It is gradually entering everyday practice and prompting a more fundamental question: what happens when tools that rely on past patterns begin to shape how disputes are argued, evaluated, and resolved?

In this episode of Lex Unbound, Yağmur speaks with Mihaela Apostol, independent counsel and arbitrator in London and co founder of ArbTech, about the increasingly nuanced role of AI in international arbitration.

The conversation moves beyond efficiency and automation to examine how AI may influence persuasion, structure legal reasoning, and affect what ultimately appears convincing to decision makers. It also considers the risk of temporal bias in systems trained on historical awards, and whether reliance on such tools could make arbitration less responsive to doctrinal development and procedural innovation.

Together, they reflect on questions of responsibility, evidentiary judgment, and equality of arms, and explore where practitioners may feel comfortable relying on AI and where a more deliberate, human approach remains essential.

Rather than asking whether AI belongs in arbitration, this episode asks how the field can engage with these technologies thoughtfully while preserving the depth of judgment that complex disputes require.

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For feedback, follow or other concerns write to us viaEmail: lexunboundpodcast@gmail.com

LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/lex-unbound-podcast/

You can follow Mihaela Apostol on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mihaela-apostol/

As the world accelerates its transition to net zero, investment arbitration stands at a crossroads. In this episode, Vincent and Yağmur speak with Dr. Thomas Lehmann about how treaties originally drafted to protect foreign investors are now being tested against states’ environmental and climate obligations. From the Vattenfall v. Germany dispute over nuclear energy to the ICJ’s 2025 advisory opinion and the wave of Energy Charter Treaty withdrawals, we explore whether investment arbitration is genuinely transforming or simply adapting at the edges of global climate governance.

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For feedback, follow or other concerns write to us via:

Email: lexunboundpodcast@gmail.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lex-unbound-podcast/

You can follow Dr. Thomas Lehmann on Linkedin here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lehmann-thomas-/