First Joint CIArb Egypt – CIArb London Webinar on: Procedural Paranoia in International Arbitration: Is the Vaccine in Sight or Shall We Expect the Disease to Spread Further?
On 26 May 2021, CIArb Egypt Branch and CIArb London Branch organized for the first time, in cooperation with CRCICA, their first joint webinar titled “Procedural Paranoia in International Arbitration: Is the Vaccine in Sight or Shall We Expect the Disease to Spread Further?” The panel of speakers included Dr. Sally El Sawah, Founding Partner & Principal of El Sawah Law (Paris) and Dr. Rémy Gerbay, Partner, MoloLamken LLP. The moderators were Dr. Ismail Selim, Director of CRCICA and Vice-Chair of the CIArb Egypt branch, in representation of the Egypt Branch, and Mr. Jean-François Le Gal, Partner at Pinsent Masons LLP, in representation of the London Branch. Dr. Selim delivered an inaugural speech introducing the Egypt Branch, its establishment in 1999 as the first gateway to CIArb education in the region at that time, its services and activities.
The webinar was a lively debate; the speakers shared their views, forecasts, war stories, and suggestions on ways to cure the due process paranoia issue. Some of the views expressed by panel members included “the need for arbitrators to be robust and show courage”. Other views included the idea that further “soft law-type codification of acceptable practices”, similarly to what has been seen recently in relation to virtual hearings.
The webinar also included polls enabling the audience to express their views.
At the end of the webinar, Mr. Ben Giaretta, Chair of the CIArb London Branch, concluded that due process paranoia will remain in arbitration and we have to find ways to deal and respond to it as we currently do with covid 19. He also expressed his wish for more future collaboration and joint events organized by both Egypt and London branches of the CIArb.
The webinar was attended by 116 participants from Egypt, the UK, Barbados, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Greece, Guyana, India, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Morocco, Netherlands, Nigeria, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Turkey, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, and the USA.
Webinar on: Good Faith in Construction Contracts in Egypt – What Does it Mean?
On May 19, 2021, the CIArb Egypt Branch organized jointly with CRCICA an interactive webinar on "Good Faith in Construction Contracts in Egypt - What does it mean?" The speakers were Dr. Waleed El Nemr, Contracts Director, Hill International (Africa) Ltd and Adjunct Assistant Professor at the American University in Cairo, and Dr. Engy Serag, Executive Director, Contracts and Claims at Orascom Construction and Adjunct Faculty at the American University in Cairo.
The Speakers started with an introduction on the concept of good faith, then proceeded to address scenarios involving issues of good faith, from both contractors and employers perspectives. After each scenario, attendees shared their views on these scenarios through chat and through voice/video. A total of 230 persons attended the event from Belgium, Burkina Faso, Canada, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, France, Germany, Ghana, India, Ireland, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Nigeria, Oman, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, Tanzania, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, and USA. The webinar was a great success as demonstrated by the encouraging feedbacks and comments of the participants: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/waleed-el-nemr-749b0516_ciarb-egypt-branch-webinar-good-faith-in-activity-6801158784644341760-k3vL
Watch the webinar on our Branch YouTube Channel:
Time-Barring Provision in Construction Contracts
On 30 March 2021, the CIArb Egypt Branch jointly with CRCICA organized the webinar on Time-barring Provisions in Construction Contracts. The speaker was Prof. Dr. Sherif Elhaggan; Partner, Director, Dr. Sherif Elhaggan & Partners, FCIArb, CEDR / IFC Accredited Mediator, London, Dispute Review Board Foundation Country Representative, and Professor (Construction Law) AASTMT, the moderator was Dr. Ismail Selim; Director of CRCICA and Vice-Chairman of the CIArb Egypt Branch.
The webinar delved into the debate that aroused from the application of time bar clauses in light of the recent introduction of time-barring provisions into construction contracts, causing tremendous controversies and subject to different interpretations even within the same legal system and arbitration.
520 participants attended the webinar from: Algeria, Antarctica, Austria, Botswana Burkina Faso, Canada, Cyprus, Dominican Republic, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Nepal, Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Philippines, Qatar, Romania, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Sudan, Tanzania, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Yemen and Zambia.
Watch the webinar:
BEBA Virtual Conference on Egypt/UK Partnership for the Promotion of Sustainable Manufacturing in Africa
CRCICA Sponsored the Virtual Conference on “Egypt/UK Partnership for the Promotion of Sustainable Manufacturing in Africa,” that aimed to explore how UK companies can best take advantage of Egypt’s favorable location as a gateway to Africa to support regional integration of Africa’s manufacturing and agricultural industries. The event was organized by BEBA - British Egyptian Business Association and the Egyptian British Chamber of Commerce on the 23rd of March. The webinar that brought together a very high-profile speakers from the government and the industry was moderated by Dr. Ismail Selim, the Director of CRCICA.
Webinar on the New World of Arbitration: Lessons for Counsel and Arbitrators
On 8 March 2021, the CIArb Egypt Branch jointly with CRCICA organized a webinar titled “The New World of Arbitration: Lessons for Counsel and Arbitrators from the Past Year”. The speaker was Ms. Anne Hoffmann, Independent Arbitrator, and the moderator was Dr. Ismail Selim, Director of CRCICA and Vice-Chairman of the CIArb Egypt Branch.
The webinar dealt with the developments in the field of arbitration that have taken place over the past year, from virtual hearings to paperless submissions. Ms. Hoffmann addressed the way in which counsel and arbitrators have changed their way of working, the advantages this may bring, from efficiency to being more environmentally friendly, but also potential pitfalls that practitioners should be aware of. An interesting Q&A permitted to address questions from the increase in the cost-effectiveness of arbitrations to matters of cybersecurity. A poll amongst the participants showed that a large majority believed that the changes we have witnessed are beneficial to its users and that they will stay beyond the pandemic. 145 participants from 31 countries attended the webinar from: Bahrain, Botswana, Canada, Côte d'Ivoire, Egypt, France, Hong Kong SAR, India, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Nigeria, Palestine, State of Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sudan, Switzerland, Tanzania, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States of America, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
