CRCICA and CIArb Cairo launched the training course: “Comparative Commercial Arbitration: Theory and Practice” (CCATP) in 2011, as the first comparative arbitration program in the Arab World with a simultaneous bilateral tutorial methodology that combines Civil Law and Common Law systems. The program covers the main arbitration stages being the arbitration agreement, the arbitral tribunal, the arbitral proceedings and finally the arbitral award. It provides the ideal platform to underpin and support the development of professional experience in arbitration.
In 2016, in response to potential participants’ needs, the program was condensed over 6 successive days, after being delivered in the past in four separate modules, each lasted for 3/4 days.
Reference texts comprised an unprecedented collection of documents including comparative state court decisions of the European (British, French and Swiss), American and Arab (Egyptian, Saudi, Sudanese, Tunisian, Emirati, Iraqi and Syrian) jurisdictions; a unique collection of arbitration arbitral principles extracted from awards of many international arbitration institutions including CRCICA; national laws, model and institutional arbitration rules, international agreements and court judgments, the IBA Guidelines on Conflict of Interest in International Arbitration, the IBA Rules on the Taking of Evidence in International Arbitration, the IBA Guidelines for Drafting International Arbitration Clauses, analytical articles as well as expert commentaries.
The last day of the program was fully devoted to participants’ assessment through a number of mock cases carefully prepared as based on CRCICA accumulative experience over 35 years in the administration of arbitration cases. The assessment day is divided into three exams, each composing of a number of questions and mock cases out of which participants have to define the legal problems and provide their legal opinion based on the course. Participants were also required to draft some procedural decisions and a complete arbitral award.
The course, in its new form, was a real success and was very well received as a unique comparative arbitration course qualifying practitioners to partake in international arbitrations under any jurisdictions.