Arbitration and International Trade in the Arab Countries by Nathalie Najjar is masterful compendium of arbitration law in the Arab countries. A true study of comparative law in the purest sense of the term, the work puts into perspective the solutions retained in the various laws concerned and highlights both their convergences and divergences. Focusing on the laws of sixteen States, the author examines international trade arbitration in the MENA region and assesses the value of these solutions in a way that seeks to guide a practice which remains extraordinarily heterogeneous. The book provides an analysis of a large number of legal sources, court decisions as well as a presentation of the attitude of the courts towards arbitration in the States studied. Traditional and modern sources of international arbitration are examined through the prism of the two requirements of international trade, freedom and safety, the same prism through which the whole law of arbitration is studied. The book thus constitutes an indispensable guide to any arbitration specialist called to work with the Arab countries, both as a practitioner and as a theoretician.
The Practitioner's Guide to Arbitration in the Middle East and North Africa is the culmination of the real experience and expertise from those experts and authorities directly involved with arbitration in their respective countries. The book is the first of its kind to target the Mena region specifically and is essential for anyone working in the area of arbitration both in the Middle East and world-wide. The practice of arbitration of private disputes is not new to MENA countries. Arbitration has long been recognized as a legitimate and culturally accepted practice of dispute resolution, dating back to dispute resolution practices of the early Islamic period, and even the pre-Islamic era. International commercial arbitration, and its cultural and juridical acceptance, is a more recent and complex phenomenon nonetheless on the rise in MENA countries. It is now standard for arbitration clauses to be included in contracts governing international transactions and there is a growing consensus among MENA merchants engaged in international trade, along with their commercial counterparts in the rest of the world, that international arbitration is preferable to litigation in domestic courts for purposes of resolving private commercial disputes. While subject to some qualifications and restrictions in some instances, in many, if not most, MENA countries, arbitration clauses can be included in contracts with government entities engaging in commercial transactions. Additionally, conferences, seminars, and training programs in international arbitration are on the rise, and various international arbitration centres have been established. The advantages from the perspective of private parties are tremendous: Parties can elect which law will apply to disputes arising from their transactions, and they can remove themselves from the constraints and biases of parochial attitudes in national courts. There is also an increasing acceptance by national courts of international arbitration standards, such as the principle of Kompetenz-Kompetenz, recognising the right of arbitrators to decide their own jurisdiction and the separability of the arbitration clause. More frequently, courts are granting assistance and support to international arbitrations and are more receptive to enforcing foreign awards. This book is a comprehensive guide to arbitration in Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, UAE, and Yemen. Written in question/answer format by leading practicioners and firms from the region, it elicits the most salient features of the legal framework for arbitration and international arbitration in each of the respective countries.
In the second half of the twentieth century, alongside the evolution of the global economy, modern technology, rapid transportation and multinational enterprises, there was an increased demand for a dispute resolution mechanism that met the needs of traders, international trade and economic policy-makers. Arbitration as an alternative dispute resolution has significantly gained in popularity in the Arab Gulf States over the past two decades or so. This is no doubt reason enough to take a closer look at the main theme that defines arbitration in this region. National courts of the Arab Gulf states are invariably seen as not very arbitration friendly, some possibly even hostile to arbitration. Public order, alongside the Islamic legal traditions, is seen as unruly horse that could possibly undermine the development of international commercial arbitration in this region. The contribution in this book will go some way toward dissipating the concerns that are routinely raised about the procedural and practical soundness of arbitration in the Arab Gulf states. In addition, the book serves to place arbitration in the Arab Gulf states in its present legal systems, national laws and courts practices.
This book provides an interdisciplinary analysis of trade relations with the Middle East and Arab countries from the perspectives of law, business, policy and culture in the Middle East and the Arab world and their interaction with the wider world, particularly Western countries. The rapidly evolving economy of the Middle East and the Arab region is undergoing significant change, and establishing modern foreign ownership law, robust company, business and investment regulations, modern legal professions while keeping its basic traditional and Islamic principles. This book covers a number of important theoretical and practical aspects of commercial and trade relationships and law. It examines case studies of trade and investment relations between Arab and Middle Eastern countries and Western Countries, such as Australia, UK and US, touching on such topics as corporation law, arbitration and foreign judgments, future mobility and disruptive technology law, financial services law, charity law, trusts and cultural law. Exploring emerging trade and investment ties between Arab and Middle Eastern countries and Western countries, it will be of interest to students, academics and practitioners with an interest in international trade and investment law.
This book is intended to provide lawyers and businesses with an overview of the legal systems and processes in relation to arbitration in all the Arab jurisdictions in the Middle East and North Africa: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, In addition, there will be a chapter on Muslim arbitration law (Shari'a), the Amman Arab Convention on Commercial Arbitration (1987) and the Riyad Arab Convention on Judicial Cooperation (1983). The new edition will be completely revised, updated, and expanded, providing commentary, an overview of case law, and translations of the relevant statutes. Each chapter will follow the same outline to ensure that they are as consistent and comparative as possible and will cover (but not be limited to) issues such as: the legal and judicial system, the agreement to arbitrate, the arbitrators, the proceedings, arbitral awards, the enforcement of the award, and the means of recourse.
Arbitration is the most common mechanism for disputes' settlement in developing countries. Following the move to free market economies, arbitration will play an increasingly fundamental role in order to protect foreign investors in the Middle East and North African Region (MENA). This book examines the pulse and dynamics of international investment arbitration and the new era of mediation in state contracts in the region. The author explores the harmonization of international arbitration and the sensitive issue of le Contrat Administratif in Middle East civil law countries. The volume also discusses the pivotal role of international organizations such as UNCTAD and ICSID in codifying fair and prompt mechanisms for dispute settlement. Using Latin American countries as a prime example of how international legislative instruments serve international investment law principles and comparing Latin American experiences where appropriate, the book demonstrates how lessons can be learned in respect of alternative dispute resolution, international commercial arbitration and investor-states arbitration. It provides suggestions and recommendations for the future and includes useful appendices detailing recent worldwide trends, regional and international instruments in the arbitration world.
With this Festschrift, the Bahrain Chamber for Dispute Resolution (BCDR-AAA) is starting a tradition of honoring Arab scholars and practitioners who promote international arbitration and international law. Over the last few decades, international arbitration institutions and international law societies have generously acknowledged the work of leading scholars and practitioners from the region. The time has come, however, for these individuals to be honored by institutions within the region. It should come as no surprise that the BCDR-AAA is dedicating this first Festschrift to Professor Dr. Ahmed El-Kosheri. His immense contributions to international commercial arbitration, international investment arbitration, and international law more broadly, as well as his significant influence on a generation of lawyers and students from the Arab region and beyond, fully justify this choice. As a testament to Dr. El-Kosheri's remarkable career, broad intellectual horizons and extensive geographical reach, the Festschrift includes contributions from forty-six authors-judges, arbitrators, practitioners and scholars-representing twenty-one nationalities from the Middle East, North and Western Africa, East Asia, Europe, and North and South America, who wrote on topics as diverse as international arbitration and ADR mechanisms, international investment law, public international law (including international administrative law), and private international law in Arabic, English, and French. One can hardly think of another Arab figure who has done more than Dr. El-Kosheri to strengthen international law while bridging legal-cultural divides between the Arab region and the rest of the world. He will undoubtedly continue to inspire many generations to come.
Are the WTO Agreements and dispute settlement procedures consistent with Islamic (Shari'a) law principles and norms of justice? How can a foreign investor in a Muslim country comply with the financial tenets of Shari'a? Will Arab and Islamic countries continue to lag behind much of the world in e-commerce, or can e-commerce be integrated with traditional business methods as an engine of economic growth? Experts examine these and other issues from their unique perspectives in this fourth volume in The Permanent Court of Arbitration/Peace Palace Papers series, which reproduces the work of the Fourth International Law Seminar held at the Peace Palace on October 12, 2001. The Seminar, organized jointly by the Permanent Court of Arbitration and the Arab Union of International Arbitration, focused on strengthening relations with Arab and Islamic countries. In the papers presented here, the authors point out that not only is free and liberal trade deeply rooted in the culture of Islam, Shari'a urges the accommodation of all kinds of knowledge, including the technological environment necessary for e-commerce. They point the way to full participation by Arab and Islamic countries in the world economic community. This work focuses on strengthening relations with Arab and Islamic countries in three specific areas: electronic commerce, the World Trade Organization's dispute settlement mechanisms and foreign investment. Contributors come from the Middle East, Europe and North America and offer a diversity of perspectives on strengthening relations with Arab and Islamic countries. This book will be of interest to international organizations, corporate counsel, international lawyers and business people, as well as to students of international law and Islamic law.
In this second edition of Samir Saleh's major work on commercial arbitration in the Arab Middle East, the basic format has been maintained, while the author, drawing upon his intimate knowledge of the region and considerable practical experience as an arbitrator, has completely revised and updated the book so that it offers a fully modern account of domestic commercial arbitration practice, with an international dimension, under the sharia and in Syria, Lebanon and Egypt. The first part of the book, dealing with sharia, continues to draw on the four major sources of sharia, with illustrations taken from the four main Sunni schools that have influenced its development. This part underpins all the remaining chapters which deal in turn with different national systems, building on the discussion by reference to local statutes, judicial precedents and commentaries. Detailed analysis of law and practice is supported by extensive footnoting, guidance on further reading, and insights into the prevailing business practices within each country. For practising lawyers and arbitrators a feature which will be particularly welcome is the inclusion of up-to-date discussion of practice and procedure for the execution and enforcement of domestic and foreign awards, and the legal pitfalls awaiting the unwary. The new edition has also been considerably amplified to include international aspects of arbitration as reflected in judicial decisions and academic commentary in each territory.
Liber Amicorum Samir Saleh Reflections on Dispute Resolution with Particular Emphasis on the Arab World Edited by Nassib G. Ziadé This welcome volume upturns the widespread perception that the Islamic and Arab worlds fail to conform to today’s internationalized approach to dispute resolution. With contributions from nineteen eminent authors – judges, arbitrators, academics, practicing lawyers, representatives of international arbitral institutions – this collection of essays and analyses manifests the salutary worldwide influence of Arab law and its intersection with the common law and civil law traditions. Conceived to honor Mr. Samir Saleh, one of the leading scholars and international lawyers in the Arab world, the book offers work in English and French that focuses on the fields of law to which Mr. Saleh has made his most significant contributions, namely, arbitration and mediation in different types of international disputes. Among the issues and topics covered are the following: the position of Islamic and Middle Eastern law on alternative dispute resolution; dichotomy between confidentiality and enforcement; Shari’a applicable to the merits in international commercial arbitration; oil and gas agreements; State submission to arbitration in the Arab world; the role of arbitral institutions in the Middle East and North Africa; and interaction between public and private law concepts and practices. The authors highlight the ongoing challenges and outlook for dispute resolution in the region, discussing case law, evolving legislation, and changes in the practice of international arbitration and mediation in several Arab countries. Mr. Saleh’s work in strengthening international law while bridging the legal and cultural divides between the Arab region and the rest of the world will undoubtedly continue to inspire generations to come. Given recent developments in Arab and Islamic law and the resulting focus on Arab scholarship and jurisprudence, along with Mr. Saleh’s unparalleled influence on dispute resolution in the Arab world and beyond, the wide-ranging expertise revealed in this Liber Amicorum is sure to be of great practical value to international law practitioners and law firms, alternative dispute resolution scholars, and arbitral institutions worldwide.
