Personal bio
Hon. Justice Nicola Ann Sharpe-Phiri is a distinguished jurist and arbitrator with a career spanning over thirty years in law and justice. She is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (London) with over twenty years of arbitration experience. Justice Sharpe-Phiri has presided over numerous domestic arbitration proceedings and conducted training programs for arbitrators under the auspices of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (London). She served as President of the Zambia Association of Arbitrators from 2001 to 2019, significantly advancing arbitration practices in Zambia.
Justice Sharpe-Phiri has served on the Zambian Judiciary for thirteen years, currently holding the position of Non-resident Justice of Appeal in the Republic of Seychelles. Notably, she was a Court of Appeal Judge in Zambia from 2021 to 2025, presiding over complex appeals. Between 2016 and 2021, she was Judge-in-Charge of the Family & Children’s Court of Zambia, establishing the division and drafting rules for matrimonial causes. From 2011 to 2016, she adjudicated a wide range of cases as a High Court Judge, including land law, commercial disputes, family law, and administrative law.
Before joining the judiciary, Justice Sharpe-Phiri practiced law for nineteen years, serving as a Senior Partner at Sharpe & Howard Legal Practitioners from 2001 to 2011. Her practice specialized in corporate law, banking, family law, insolvency, and alternative dispute resolution. Throughout her career, Justice Sharpe-Phiri has made significant contributions to legal education and the training of legal practitioners and judicial officers, shaping the legal landscape in Zambia.