Kalaluka, who served as Zambia’s chief legal adviser from 2015 to 2021, was also an ex officio member of the Cabinet appointed by former president Edgar Lungu. A Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and a member of the African Arbitration Association, Kalaluka has represented Zambia in civil, commercial and constitutional proceedings in Zambia’s superior courts, as well as domestic and international arbitration proceedings.
In April 2015, he was conferred with the rank and dignity of State Counsel (equivalent to Queen’s Counsel in the United Kingdom), on becoming one of the youngest Attorney Generals. Whilst he served as Attorney General, his work as leader of the Zambian Bar saw him approve and advise on domestic and international commercial and investment agreements, treaties or conventions which the government of the Republic of Zambia entered into.
Since leaving office after Zambia’s elections in 2021, he has been appointed as a member of the Beijing Arbitration Commission/Beijing International Arbitration Centre’s panel of arbitrators.
The move to Arbitra makes Kalaluka the second African arbitrator to join the firm, with Dentons’ Juvenalis Ngowi, who practices in Tanzania, having joined in October 2021.
Arbitra’s Chief Executive, Owen Lawrence, said, “I am delighted to welcome Likando to Arbitra. His move further deepens our foundations in Africa. It will enhance our offering to corporates looking to resolve their commercial disputes within Africa, benefiting from his local knowledge and deep government experience.
“I see this move helping businesses and states to independently resolve their disputes neutrally, legally, effectively, and efficiently,” added Lawrence. “As a senior African lawyer with sound arbitration experience, I see Likando, alongside Juvenalis, as one of a new wave of African arbitrators who will gain prominence in the international market as we grow this side of the business.”
Kalaluka said he was delighted to join Arbitra, which offers clients a perfect platform to choose the arbitrators best able to resolve their disputes. “As Attorney General, I routinely advised the Zambian Government on dispute resolution and dispute avoidance; Arbitra allows me to further my interest in resolving such disputes on the international stage, building on its location in London and Washington, DC, two of the leading global centres for dispute resolution,” he commented.
Kalaluka, who will combine his practice as an arbitrator alongside practising at his firm, Likando Kalaluka & Co, has first-hand experience in high-value, complex arbitrations under the ICSID, ICC, UNCITRAL and PCA rules relating to energy, mining, infrastructure development, health, human rights, public procurement and intellectual property, the latter a long-term interest of his.
During his tenure as Attorney General, he represented Zambia in investor-state arbitration under ICSID rules arising out of mining rights over a disputed development agreement, which tested Zambian mineral royalty and VAT laws, as well as its Mines and Mineral Development Act. He also appeared in PCA proceedings, including a dispute worth over $50 million, which raised complex issues of public procurement, sale of goods, breach and termination of a contract, as well as in high-value ICC energy proceedings worth $400 million.
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