Call For Papers: AfBA Extends Deadline Ahead Of 2025 Annual Conference In Accra

The African Bar Association (AfBA) has issued an extended call for papers ahead of its 2025 Annual Conference. The conference will hold from Sunday, October 19 to Thursday, October 23, 2025. Venue is the Labadi Beach Hotel in Accra, Ghana.

The conference is themed “Foreign Interests in Africa – Exploitation or Investment.” It is set to gather legal practitioners, scholars, policymakers, and stakeholders across Africa.

According to Rudolf Ezeani, Vice President and Executive Director of AfBA, Africa is at the epicenter of global engagement due to its resources and strategic importance.

He noted that the Western powers and countries like China and Russia are deepening their ties with Africa through investments, strategic alliances, and infrastructure development.

The call for papers invites critical analyses of how foreign interests affect Africa’s economic growth, sovereignty, and legal frameworks. Interested contributors may submit abstracts of not more than 300 words and full papers of up to 8,000 words. These papers must follow OSCOLA referencing. Submissions may be made in English, French, or Arabic.

Ezeani emphasised that while foreign partnerships present development opportunities, they also pose challenges including debt dependency and exploitation. He stressed the importance of aligning these partnerships with Africa’s goals of self-reliance and economic integration through AfCFTA.

The conference will address over 18 sub-themes ranging from access to justice, banking, mining, environment, AI and digital transformation, to regional integration and good governance. Legal experts will examine how Africa can benefit from foreign collaborations while protecting its legal systems and national interests.

New key dates include July 10, 2025, as the extended deadline for abstract submission, and September 22, 2025, for full papers. Accepted contributors will receive notifications by July 31, 2025.

All submissions and inquiries should be directed to afba.conference@afribar.org

See the statement attached below for full details.

EXTENDED CALL FOR PAPERS