Cassius Vrs. Rep. of Ghana: Prof. Oppong Ordered To Step Aside Over Issues Of Conflict Of Interest
The International Court of Arbitration have upheld Cassius Mines’ challenge to remove Prof. Richard Oppong as Ghana’s Arbitrator in the case of a judgment debt filed against the Republic of Ghana.
Cassius Mining Ltd had on the 23rd October 2024 filed a challenge seeking to remove Ghana’s appointed arbitrator, Prof. Richard Oppong from the Tribunal. The grounds of the challenge were that Prof. Oppong had been nominated to the Supreme Court of Ghana and failed to disclose that nomination which gave rise to reasonable doubts over his independence or impartiality. Ghana contested the challenge, and the parties exchanged submissions on its admissibility and merits. Prof. Oppong recused himself from deciding the challenge but declined to resign from the Tribunal.
On 17 January 2025, the remaining members of the Tribunal found that the challenge was justified and admissible, and invited Prof. Oppong to voluntarily step aside to expedite the arbitral proceedings and minimize costs for the parties, failing which they would issue a formal decision.
They found that the “overall circumstances relied upon by [Cassius] in support of its Challenge do ‘give rise to reasonable cause to doubt as to the arbitrator’s independence or impartiality’”. On 17 January 2025, Prof. Oppong informed the remaining members of the Tribunal and the parties that he had decided to voluntarily step aside in response to the Tribunal’s invitation.
On 18 January 2025, the Tribunal invited the parties to confer about the procedure and timelines for appointment of a replacement arbitrator. James Arkoudis, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer comments: “The resignation of Prof. Oppong is a significant step in maintaining the integrity of the Arbitral proceedings and we welcome Prof. Oppong’s offer to resign as a Tribunal member.” Next Steps: Cassius and its counsel are considering next steps for the replacement of the arbitrator and the potential implications of the successful challenge.
Background: On 23 December 2024, Cassius filed its full Memorial outlining its Claim, including witness statements and independent expert reports, against Ghana, specifying damages in the amount of ~USD 277 million (~AUD 443 million) as a consequence of Ghana’s breaches of contract and statute.
