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.
The 1958 New York Convention has been called the most effective instance of international legislation in the entire history of commercial law. However, the succinct text of the Convention leaves open a host of significant and complex questions, which may be, and have been, answered in a variety of ways; as difficult cases arise and demand solutions, they generate inconsistent outcomes. For all its remarkable success, the Convention has on occasion proved itself to be unreliable and unpredictable. This book simultaneously exposes the difficulties of the Convention and explores potential solutions. It examines each substantive article of the New York Convention in accordance with the following outline: • the text and its issues; • original intent; • the prism of the rules of interpretation of the Vienna Convention; • judicial outcomes; and • appraisal. By drawing on the Convention's drafting history in great detail, the book presents a coherent account of how the most frequently recurring interrogations about the text are reflected (or not) in judicial practice. The author studied more than 1,700 decisions rendered under the Convention since its inception in 1958 in order to provide a succinct selection of landmark cases per article. With its intense investigation of the complex reality underlying contracting States' commitment in principle and judicial application in fact, the author's judicial understanding of the Convention provides a clear conceptual framework that will help avoid outcomes at odds with the purposes of this important instrument. Lawyers and judges will rely on this book not only to situate the Convention in the national legal orders where it is intended to produce its effects, but also discover practical ways to respond to distinct questions of application.
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.
The second edition of Gary Born's International Commercial Arbitration is an authoritative 4,408 page treatise, in three volumes, providing the most comprehensive commentary and analysis, on all aspects of the international commercial arbitration process, that is available. The first edition of International Commercial Arbitration is widely acknowledged as the preeminent commentary in the field. It was awarded the 2011 Certificate of Merit by the American Society of International Law and was voted the International Dispute Resolution Book of the Year by the Oil, Gas, Mining and Infrastructure Dispute Management list serve in 2010. The first edition has been extensively cited in national court decisions and arbitral awards around the world. The treatise comprehensively examines the law and practice of contemporary international commercial arbitration, thoroughly explicating all relevant international conventions, national arbitration statutes and institutional arbitration rules. It focuses on both international instruments (particularly the New York Convention) and national law provisions in all leading jurisdictions (including the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration). Practitioners, academics, clients, institutions and other users of international commercial arbitration will find clear and authoritative guidance in this work. The second edition of International Commercial Arbitration has been extensively revised, expanded and updated, to include all material legislative, judicial and arbitral authorities in the field of international arbitration prior to January 2014. It also includes expanded treatment of annulment, recognition of awards, counsel ethics, arbitrator independence and impartiality and applicable law. Overview of volumes: Volume I, covering International Arbitration Agreements,provides a comprehensive discussion of international commercial arbitration agreements. It includes chapters dealing with the legal framework for enforcing international arbitration agreements; the separability presumption; choice of law; formation and validity; nonarbitrability; competence-competence and the allocation of jurisdictional competence; the effects of arbitration agreements; interpretation and non-signatory issues. Volume II, covering International Arbitration Procedures, provides a detailed discussion of international arbitral procedures. It includes chapters dealing with the legal framework for international arbitral proceedings; the selection, challenge and replacement of arbitrators; the rights and duties of international arbitrators; selection of the arbitral seat; arbitration procedures; disclosure and discovery; provisional measures; consolidation, joinder and intervention; choice of substantive law; confidentiality; and legal representation and standards of professional conduct. Volume III, dealing with International Arbitral Awards, provides a detailed discussion of the issues arising from international arbitration awards. It includes chapters covering the form and contents of awards; the correction, interpretation and supplementation of awards; the annulment and confirmation of awards; the recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards; and issues of preclusion, lis pendens and staredecisis.
