Casablanca International Mediation and Arbitration Center Marks Ten Years, Pursues Role as African ADR Hub
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TL;DR
- Casablanca International Mediation and Arbitration Center (CIMAC) marks its tenth anniversary.
- CIMAC positions itself as a regional arbitration hub for Africa, in the shadow of Paris and London.
- Recent legislative reforms in Morocco aim to support wider adoption of arbitration and mediation.
- No annulment proceedings reported for CIMAC awards to date, and the Center pursues ongoing rules updates.
Overview
The Casablanca International Mediation and Arbitration Center (CIMAC) recently celebrated its tenth anniversary during the Casablanca Arbitration Days event on April 24 and 25, 2026. The Center's leaders discussed CIMAC's past accomplishments and future plans to serve as a leading arbitration institution for Africa, competing with established hubs such as Paris and London. The Center highlighted its diverse panel, institutional credibility, and ambition to handle regional and cross-border disputes.
What Happened
CIMAC was legally created in March 2016, following preparatory work starting in 2010 under the broader banner of Casablanca Finance City. The center's aim was to provide Morocco and its financial ecosystem with an international arbitration and mediation option beyond the local courts.
Institutional groundwork included the development of arbitration rules aligned with global best practices and the recruitment of internationally recognized arbitrators. CIMAC's rules took force in January 2017, and initial caseloads grew from 2021, after a period of outreach especially to foreign participants in Casablanca's finance cluster.
The center reports several international contracts governed by its rules and states that, since its inception, no CIMAC award has been subject to annulment proceedings.
CIMAC's leadership emphasizes the center's gender parity and international diversity, including arbitrators from Africa, Europe, and the Americas. The institution has supported legislative consultations, most recently contributing to Morocco's 2022 arbitration law reform.
Context
CIMAC was established in response to a perceived need for a credible, regionally significant arbitration center in North and West Africa. The institution modeled its setup and rules partly on leading international centers such as the ICC and LCIA, targeting parties operating in Casablanca Finance City and beyond.
Recent Moroccan legal reforms were shaped in part by contributions from CIMAC and have sought to modernize and liberalize arbitration and mediation, including recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards, though some practical barriers remain.
Why It Matters
- The creation and development of CIMAC aim to position Casablanca as a credible venue for arbitration in Africa, potentially reducing the need to resolve African disputes in distant jurisdictions such as Paris or London.
- Institutional growth, legal reforms, and an experienced, diverse panel may increase user confidence and the adoption of arbitration and mediation in the region.
- No annulments of CIMAC awards to date help reinforce perceptions of procedural soundness and reliability of its processes.