Held on 14 January 2015, the first Wednesday One Seminars of the year opened up very interesting discussions on “The Law and Practice of the Arbitrators’ Duty to Ascertain the Content and Apply the Law Governing the Merits of the Dispute”. Delivered by Dr. Mohamed Salah Abdel Wahab, the lecture set a thematic statement that national arbitration laws and institutional rules infrequently address the extent to which arbitrators may ascertain and apply the contents of the lex causae (the chosen governing law) and discussed the constraints arbitrators face in fulfilling their obligation to determine and apply the chosen law or rules. According to Dr. Abdel Wahab, there are three essential constraints:(a) ne ultra petita, (b) transparency and foreseeability, and (c) due process.
Dr. Abdel Wahab is Founding Partner and Head of the International Arbitration Group, Zulficar and Partners, Professor of Private International Law and Dispute Resolution, Faculty of Law – Cairo University and Vice-Chairman, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (Cairo Branch).
