On 27-28 November 2012, Sharm El Sheikh IV- The Role of State Courts in Arbitration was held as the fourth in the only international series of conferences organized biennially since 2005 on the renovating relation between State courts and arbitration in a cross-cultural context. CRCICA Partners in the Sharm El Sheikh Conferences initiative are the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), the International Federation of Commercial Arbitration Institutions (IFCAI), and the Arab Union for International Arbitration (AUIA).
The agenda featured comparative analysis of the different aspects of the role of State courts in arbitration in eastern and western countries. Most recent judicial applications as well as latest legislative and institutional developments were discussed in a splendid cross-cultural context. Conferees were interested for being updated on the role of State courts under the new French Arbitration Law after a year of application. The new court-related features of the Swiss Arbitration Rules 2012 were discussed including the possibility of referring the arbitration file to a sole emergency arbitrator even prior to the constitution of the tribunal.
Throughout the conference, a wealth of court as well as arbitral decisions were highlighted to provide an all-scoping analysis of the different features of the role of courts in arbitration such as the appointment, liability, challenge and removal of arbitrators, the enforcement of the arbitration agreement, interim measures, the time limit for rendering the award as well as the enforcement and annulment of arbitral awards. Notably, new topics of increasing importance were handled, such as the third party funding in international arbitration and the potential role of State courts in reviewing and controlling such arrangements.
Twenty seven countries were represented in the conference :Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia, Sudan, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, U.A.E., Kuwait, Yemen, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Turkey, France, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Venezuela, U.S.A., Austria and Canada. Beside the geographical variation, an outstanding variety of professional sectors were represented in the conference including, for instance, 19 international arbitration centres and arbitration federations from all around the world , 12 courts representing different jurisdictions, 34 law firms, 8 chambers of commerce, 6 faculties of Law, 5 ministries of justice. Added to this, there were representatives of many business sectors especially the gas and petroleum sector and the financial sector. World Bank and UN organizations were also present.
