Derrick K. Kizito, MCIARB

BACKGROUND

Derrick is a U.S. and Uganda trained disputes resolutions lawyer and an Associate in the Disputes Resolution Team at MMAKS Advocates. He holds a Master of Laws Degree in International Business Regulation, Litigation and Arbitration from New York University (NYU), New York, USA, where was a Deans Merit Scholar; a Second Upper Class Bachelor of Laws Degree from Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda; and a First-Class Post Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice from the Law Development Centre, Kampala Uganda where he was a recipient of the Chief Justice Award as the best  graduating student on the Bar Course.

He has advised and represented various clients such as, the Central Bank of Uganda, leading commercial banks, technology firms, Government Parastatals, and Governments in high stakes disputes across varying industries areas such as construction, intellectual properties, technology, finance, mining, and energy, before international arbitral tribunals and the Courts in Uganda. 

He has experience acting for clients in arbitration proceedings conducted under ICC, UNCITRAL, ICSID, and LCIA Rules and has expertise in project finance, tax, data protection, business and human rights, and litigation finance and routinely advises on these at the firm. 

Derrick is an Advocate of the High Court of Uganda, a Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and various other international arbitration associations.

MEMBERSHIP IN PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES

• Advocate, High Court of Uganda
• Member, Uganda Law Society
• Member, East Africa Law Society
• Member, Young ICCA
• Member, Africa Arbitration Academy
• Member, LCIA YIAG

Professional qualifications 

• Master of Laws (LL.M) in International Business Regulation, Litigation, and Arbitration, New York University, USA. 
• Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice, Law Development Centre, Uganda

• Bachelor of Laws (Hons.), Makerere University, Uganda.

career summary

AUG 2021 – date         Associate, MMAKS Advocates, Uganda

JAN 2025 – JUL 2025    International Arbitration Intern, Three Crown LLP, London

MAY 2021 - JUL 2021    Legal Assistant, Signum Advocates, Uganda

JUN 2021 - APR 2021    Legal Intern, Signum Advocates, Uganda

Languages

• English 
• Luganda

Areas of expertise

• International Arbitration
• Commercial Litigation
• Construction law
• Project Finance
• Litigation Finance
• Tax

TOP MATTERS

Arbitration

• Representing a consortium of oil majors in a UNICTRAL arbitration seated in Geneva in a multibillion-dollar cost recovery claim by the state arising under a production sharing agreement. 
• Advising a leading oil company on its prospective USD190M treaty claim against an African state arising from a capital gains dispute. The treaty claims related to an alleged violation of the fair and equitable standard and denial of justice. 
• Acting for a Scandinavian state in an ICSID arbitration. The arbitration dealt with an alleged expropriation of contractual rights and raises threshold issues to do with attribution of the acts of a local government and politicians.
• Acting for an investor in an ICSID arbitration against an Eastern European state. The arbitration among other issues raised threshold issues about piercing the corporate veil in investor state arbitration and whether a local company can bring an investor state claim against the state in which it is incorporated. 
• Represented a South African subsidiary of a leading American chain Store in a USD 22M claim brought by a Nigerian company that was acquiring its stores across Africa in a UNCITRAL arbitration. 
• Successfully represented a Government of Uganda parastatal as lead counsel in a UNCITRAL arbitration by a contractor relating to claims for additional works under the construction contract. 
• Successfully represented a Saudi Arabia-based construction company in a London-seated ICC arbitration by its Kenyan subcontractor relating to the construction of one of the biggest hydropower electricity dams in Uganda.
• Represented a leading technology company in Uganda in a dispute arising from a teaming agreement with its Greek technology company in a Kampala-seated UNCITRAL arbitration.
• Represented a Canadian Hilton franchisee in a CADER (Centre for Arbitration and Disputes Resolutions, Kampala) arbitration by its Ugandan HVAC contractor relating to the construction of a Hilton Hotel in Uganda.
• Represented a Canadian mining company in a USD13M claim against a government of Uganda agency for breach of the mining concession agreement in a Kampala-seated UNCITRAL arbitration. 

Arbitration-related litigation 

• Successfully defended a South African company in an application for a temporary injunction pending the constitution of the arbitral tribunal. 
• Successfully represented a Kenyan pharmaceutical company and its Uganda subsidiary in an application to have the suit by the Respondent stayed and referred to arbitration. 
• Successfully acted for a Canadian listed mining company against a Uganda government-owned mining company in an application to set aside an arbitral award on the ground that the award dealt with issues outside the scope of the reference. 
• Represented a government of Uganda parastatal in an application to set aside an arbitral award on the ground that the award violated Uganda’s public policy because the arbitral award upheld a variation to the contract in breach of mandatory public procurement laws. 

Commercial Litigation

• Successfully represented a Danish energy consortium against a leading insurance company in a USD11M suit arising from the insurance company's performance bonds and advance payment guarantees regarding three hydropower dam projects in Uganda. 

• Acting for the Central Bank of Uganda in a suit in which the Plaintiffs who were Shareholders in a defunct Bank seek to recover USD 11M and UGX 250B in relation to the liquidation of a commercial bank. 

• Acting for a financial institution in an Appeal before the Supreme Court seeking to overturn the decision of the High Court and Court of Appeal which awarded the appellant over 1.8B UGX in general damages for unlawful registration of mortgages on its title. 

• Acting for the Central Bank of Uganda is a suit in which the Plaintiff seeks to recover UGX 5B which was allegedly overdrawn on its accounts held in one of the commercial banks in Uganda. The Plaintiff alleges breach of statutory duty against the central bank for the alleged failure to act on its missive about the transaction.

• Acting for a leading financial institution in the recovery of USD 565,000 being an advance payment made to a contractor contracted to build a risk management system. 

Advisories

• Advising a leading multinational Internet Service Provider on the regulatory framework on data protection and privacy in Uganda and drafting its data protection and privacy policy. 

• Acting as part of the team that conducted a due diligence on technology company start up in Uganda on behalf of leading US based technology company that intended to invest about USD 2,000,000 in the startup and also advised on the data protection regime in Uganda.

• Advising a US based not-for-profit organization on its registration and licensing in Uganda.