The Director of Legal Services at the Commercial and Investment Bank (Banco Comercial e de Investimentos) (BCI), Duarte Dhlalane, called on Thursday (June 4) for greater integration of arbitration within Mozambique’s financial sector, arguing that the mechanism offers significant advantages in terms of speed, confidentiality, and predictability in the resolution of commercial disputes.
Speaking during a panel on arbitration in the banking sector at the 4th International Arbitration Conference, Dhlalane stated that the dynamics of modern business require dispute-resolution mechanisms capable of keeping pace with financial and commercial operations.
According to the executive, the time required to resolve a dispute is a decisive factor for the competitiveness of financial institutions, as lengthy proceedings can hinder debt recovery and affect business efficiency.
“The time it takes to resolve a conflict also costs money. In a competitive financial market, it is inconceivable to wait years for a dispute to be settled,” he said.
Duarte Dhlalane also highlighted confidentiality as one of arbitration’s key advantages for the banking sector. He explained that the private nature of arbitration proceedings helps protect strategic information belonging to clients and financial institutions, preventing the public disclosure of sensitive commercial and financial data.
For BCI’s legal director, this feature is particularly important in a sector where trust remains one of the fundamental pillars of banking activity.
The specialist further noted that international investors increasingly favor arbitration as a dispute-resolution mechanism, particularly in cross-border transactions and large-scale investment projects. In such cases, he explained, discussions rarely focus on the possibility of resorting to judicial courts and instead concentrate on selecting the most appropriate arbitral jurisdiction to resolve potential disputes.
Mozambique Must Strengthen Arbitration Expertise
In his view, Mozambique must prepare itself for this reality by strengthening the technical capabilities of professionals involved in arbitration and creating conditions that allow the system to meet the demands of both the financial sector and international investors.
Dhlalane also stressed the importance of developing a specialized arbitration community capable of understanding not only the legal dimensions of disputes but also financial instruments and the specificities of banking operations.
He further advocated for greater predictability regarding arbitration costs and procedures, which he considers essential for decision-making by financial institutions and investors.
Concluding his remarks, he reflected on the future challenges facing arbitration in Mozambique.
“I do not ask whether the banking sector is ready for arbitration. What I ask is whether arbitration is ready for the banking sector,” he said.
The 4th International Arbitration Conference brought together national and international experts in Maputo to discuss the challenges and opportunities for the development of arbitration in Mozambique, with particular emphasis on the business, financial, labor, and large-scale investment sectors.
Duarte Dhlalane was speaking during the panel “Arbitration in the Banking Sector: Why Not?”, part of Module I of the conference, which focused on key arbitration issues in Mozambique. The session also featured contributions from Carlos Martins, President of the Mozambican Bar Association, Ivan Maússe, professor at the University of São Tomás of Mozambique and researcher at the Public Integrity Center, and Nelson Jeque, Judge-Counsellor at the Administrative Court.
The panel brought together specialists from various fields to debate the role of arbitration in improving the business environment and modernizing dispute-resolution mechanisms in Mozambique.
About Arbitration
Arbitration is an alternative method of resolving disputes outside the traditional court system. Instead of referring a case to a state judge, the parties choose or agree to have it decided by one or more independent arbitrators with expertise in the relevant subject matter.
In labor matters, arbitration enables disputes between employers and employees to be resolved in a manner that is generally faster, more flexible, and less bureaucratic than ordinary court proceedings.
Arbitral awards have legal force and must be complied with by the parties, just like a court judgment. For this reason, arbitration has increasingly established itself as an important tool for ensuring the faster and more efficient resolution of labor disputes.
Text: Felisberto Ruco
