Cairo – 15 October 2025
The Cairo Regional Centre for International Commercial Arbitration (CRCICA) successfully convened a pivotal conference under the umbrella of the first Egyptian Arbitration Days (EAD), marking a significant milestone in the country’s legal history. The conference, titled “The Egyptian Arbitration Law after Thirty Years: A National Journey through a Comparative Lens” (قانون التحكيم المصري بعد ثلاثة عقود: رؤى مقارنة), took place on Wednesday, October 15, 2025, at the CRCICA headquarters in Cairo. The full-day event celebrated the 30th anniversary of Egypt’s pioneering Arbitration Law No. 27 of 1994 and drew a wide-ranging, high-level audience. The inaugural session featured key figures including Judge Mostafa El Bahabety, Deputy Minister of Justice, Prof. Dr. Ismail Selim, Director of CRCICA, Prof. Dr. Mohamed Abdel Wahab, President of the CIArb, and Mr. Craig Tevendale, Head of the CRCICA Advisory Committee. This opening set the stage for an in-depth and engaging discussion that underscored the success of the conference in bringing together leading global voices on dispute resolution.
The program continued with a stirring Key Note Address delivered by Prof. Dr. Mohamed Abdel Wahab, who presented his paper titled: “Three Decades of Modern Arbitration in Egypt: An Epic Journey through the Spatial-Temporal Continuum.” Following this, Panel 1, “Egyptian Arbitration Law in Balance,” was moderated by Mr. Hazim Rizkana (Managing Partner at Rizkana and Partners) and honed in on the domestic legal framework. The panel featured critical analyses from Dr. Hani Sarie-Eldin on the Draft Amendments of the Egyptian Arbitration Law; Mr. Sherif El Saadani (Amereller) discussing The scope of Article 19; Dr. Haytham Ali (Ali & Co.) examining Barriers to Enforcement including Article 58 (1); and Mr. Yasser Mansour (Mansour Law Office) exploring Article 45.
The conference broadened its scope with Panel 2, “Arbitration Law and Arbitration Institutions,” which focused on the interplay between national laws and institutional practices, moderated by Ms. Niamh Leinwather (Secretary General of VIAC). This session offered valuable institutional insights from regional and international centres with speakers including Dr. Maria Fogdestam Agius (Westerberg & Partners, SCC Council member), Mr. Ahmed Husain (CEO of the Bahrain Chamber for Dispute Resolution – BCDR), Mr. Vishnu Menon (International Case Counsel at the Asian International Arbitration Centre – AIAC), Ms. Valeria Senatorova (CEO of the Russian Arbitration Center RAC), and Mr. Florian Cahn (Framatome GmbH, Member of the DIS board).
The day concluded with Panel 3, “Comparative Implementation and Reforms of Arbitration Laws,” expertly moderated by Mr. Jean-François Tossens (Partner at Tossens Goldman Gonne). This final panel provided a robust international comparison, featuring Mr. Ahmed Ibrahim (CRCICA Advisory Committee Member) on The Implementation and Construction of the UAE Federal Arbitration Law of 2018; Dr. Philippe le Boulanger (Leboulanger & Associés) exploring “French Arbitration Law: Towards a codification. A Napoleonic Syndrome?”; Dr Kilian Bälz (Amereller RA PmbB) providing The German Perspective on Arbitration Law Reform; and Ms. Meriam Al-Rashid discussing the development of Iraq’s New Draft Arbitration Legislation and its role in fostering investor confidence. The success of this conference, both in its intellectual depth and the calibre of its speakers, affirmed CRCICA’s central role in advancing arbitration dialogue in the MENA region and cemented its status as a vital component of the inaugural Egyptian Arbitration Days.
