Professor Lise Bosman takes baton from former Chief Justice as President of the AFSA International Court

The announcement that renowned international arbitration expert Professor Lise Bosman has taken the baton as President of the Arbitration Foundation of Southern Africa (AFSA) International Court, from retired South African Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo, has been welcomed by the legal community.

Bosman is a law graduate of the University of Cape Town (UCT), with an LLM from the University of Notre Dame. She is an Adjunct Professor and Co-Director of the Arbitration and Dispute Resolution Unit at UCT, alongside her roles based in The Hague as Executive Director of the International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA) and Senior Legal Counsel at the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA).

“With someone of [Lise’s] caliber at the helm, AFSA sends a clear message to the arbitration world that will resonate well beyond the African continent: AFSA is committed to offering world-class case management services for complex Africa-related business disputes,” said Remy Gerbay, a Vice-President at the AFSA Court, and former Deputy Registrar at the London Court of International Arbitration.

The UCT Arbitration and Dispute Resolution Unit warmly congratulated Bosman for a “well-earned recognition of her leadership” in the field of international arbitration.

AFSA noted Professor Bosman has served as a member of the AFSA International Court for the past four years. Over the coming months she will work closely with Dr Gerbay and other Vice Presidents – Edwin Glasgow CBE KC, Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke, and Jonathan Ripley-Evans – who have collectively carried out the President’s functions on an interim basis, in order to ensure a smooth transition.

AFSA was founded in 1996 by representatives of the legal, business, and accounting communities in South Africa, as a non-profit organisation aimed at resolving private disputes speedily and cost effectively. Over the years, AFSA’s work on arbitration and mediation has helped transform the way the business sector handles its disputes.

Its International Court was established in 2021, with retired Chief Justice of South Africa Sandile Ngcobo serving as its inaugural President. AFSA praised Justice Ngcobo for his distinguished service, noting that during his term AFSA had delivered trusted international arbitration services for parties from around the world, and strengthened its standing “as a leading arbitral institution on the African continent”.

The AFSA International Court now consists of Professor Lise Bosman as President; Vice Presidents Edwin Glasgow CBE KC, Dikgang Moseneke, Dr Remy Gerbay, and Jonathan Ripley-Evans; along with Michael Kuper SC, Des Williams, Tengo Rubadiri, Professor Maxi Scherer, Judge Bernard Makgabo Ngoepe, Judge Edward Torgbor, Neil Kaplan CBE KC SBS, John Bishop, Harry Matovu KC, Professor David Butler, Bruce Collins KC, Dr Fuyong Chen, Jonathan Lim, and Justice Nageswara Rao.

Alongside her work in The Hague and UCT, Professor Bosman is the General Editor and a contributing author of Arbitration in Africa: A Practitioner’s Guide, General Editor of the ICCA International Handbook on Commercial Arbitration, and a founding Board member of the African Arbitration Association. A significant part of her work has focused on developing arbitration practice in Africa and designing capacity-building initiatives for diverse stakeholders in international arbitration.

“AFSA looks forward to the next phase of the Court’s development under Professor Bosman’s leadership,” said the organisation as it made the official announcement.