Past Events

CRCICA hosted the first business conference of the International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC) held under the title “The Challenges of the Egyptian Construction Industry and the Role of FIDIC” on 16 April 2016, at Dr. Esmat Abdel Meguid Auditorium, CRCICA Conference Centre. The conference was held in cooperation with the Egyptian Society of Consultative Engineers (ESCONE), the Egyptian Engineers Syndicate (EES), the Contractual and Legal Aspects in Construction Program (CLAC) and the Society of Construction Law (SCL). In a balanced structure, expert speakers discussed the challenges of the Egyptian construction industry out of local and international perspectives and evaluate how international construction contracts of wide use as FIDIC contracts are, can help reconcile the needs of local employers and foreign companies implementing major projects in Egypt and whether and to which extent joint efforts are needed for better performance. Beside a pool of Egyptian speakers, experts from Switzerland, Sweden, United Kingdom, Romania represented the FIDIC. Also, speakers from Romania and Jordan presented their countries’ experiences in the application of the FIDIC contracts. The agenda tackled the role of FIDIC in addressing the changes and Challenges in the Egyptian Construction Industry and examined the application of FIDIC Procurement Procedures in major projects. The session entitled “Understanding FIDIC: A Middle Eastern Approach” was a civil-law driven session that discussed the application of FIDIC Contracts in Egypt and other Arab Middle Eastern Countries and the most common amendment to FIDICs’ particular conditions in the Middle East. In an interestingly interactive format, the last working session featured an expert panel discussion on FIDIC Contracts – The Right Tool for Construction Industry in Egypt? Discussions approached the application of the FIDIC contracts in Egypt out of the perspectives of the employer, the contractor and the consultant. Stakeholders’ views were balanced up by FIDIC’s own reflections and the whole panel discussion was orchestrated by an expert legal moderation. The audience was kept engaged, and the discussions were lively and very interesting. Attended by 100 specialists from 8 countries, the conference was hailed as a huge success for highlighting many key issues, and stirring up lots of constructive debate on FIDIC contracts and their application in Egypt. While the majority of attendees represented the Egyptian construction industry, other participants came from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Jordan, KSA, Russia and Sudan. The business conference was followed by a round-table discussion between FIDIC's representatives and a number of Egyptian consultant engineers. Under the title “Consulting Engineering Industry in Egypt and the Role of FIDIC: Developments, Concerns, What’s for the future?”, discussions addressed the practical issues related to the use of FIDIC contracts in Egypt and explored the ways of bettering national understanding of their core concepts through the key role of consultant engineers. (Photo Gallry)

The April Wednesday One Seminar entitled “Petroleum Concession Agreements in Egypt” was delivered by Mr. Mohamed Abdel Latif, Lawyer and Arbitrator. The lecturer analyzed the legal and organizational frameworks of concession agreements in Egypt and examined the relation between parties thereto in all stages of operation. Special attention was given to the settlement of disputes likely to arise out of concession agreements. The scholastic style of the lecture triggered significant questions and led to fruitful discussions. The seminar was attended by representatives of petroleum companies, oil and gas governmental authorities and private lawyers.

On 31 March 2016, the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce (SCC) and CRCICA organized their second joint investment arbitration conference entitled: “International Investment Arbitration Involving Arab Parties: Issues and Challenges”. The Conference focal theme provokes various interesting topics and the agenda tactfully tackled all recent texts and trends; issues and concerns, perspectives and expectations in international investment arbitration with special reference to arbitrations involving Arab parties. This includes most recent legal investment texts (laws, bilateral and multilateral investment treaties), in the Arab World and around the globe, that affect investment Arbitration or are likely to have role in its coming future. The example of the current Transatlantic Trade Investment Partnership (TTIP), was examined to explore how would it provide a model for future negotiations on the investment policies between EU and the Arab World. The last working session, a momentous practice-based session, questions the current international practices and mechanisms of the investor-state dispute settlement by Arbitration in an attempt to define shortcomings and propose possible remedies for the betterment of the ISDS. Within this context, and for the first time ever, special attention was given to the particular problems and concerns of the Arab Investor as claimants in investment arbitration as well as the role of the Arab Arbitrator in this concern. Many distinguished speakers addressed the conference topic from local, regional and international perspectives. The Egyptian and Arab speakers discussed regional investment laws, treaties and dispute settlement mechanisms, while the SCC speakers focused on international trends in investor-state arbitration. The conference engaged a large audience drawn from both the business and legal communities from Egypt, Libya, Jordan, Syria, Qatar, Sudan, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mauritania, France, Sweden, Switzerland and USA. It sparked lively debate about investment policy in the Arab world and investment arbitration involving Arab parties – a debate that will no doubt continue at future CRCICA events. The SCC’s news brief on the Conference can be accessed through this link  

In the second Wednesday One Seminar of the year, Dr. Ahmed Darwish, the Chairman of the Suez Canal Economic Zone Authority highlighted the salient features and governing regulations of the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCEZ). The most distinctive regulatory feature is that the authority has full discretion over the zone, streamlining investment decisions. The Seminar witnessed a lively exchange of ideas and concerns between the Chief of the Authority and members of the Egyptian Legal community regarding various related issues such as the establishment of companies within the Zone, possible investment opportunities and the settlement of disputes.

The first 2016 Wednesday One Seminar entitled “Shari’a as Electio Juris” was delivered by Mr. Mohamed Madkour, Partner & Head of Dispute Resolution, Ibrachy & Partners Law office. The lecture explained the history of Islamic finance and analyzed the expression “Islamic law”. The speech refuted the existence of an effective method to apply Islamic law in contracts and in dispute resolution. One of the main reasons, as perceived by the lecturer, is the existence of different schools of fiqh and the existence of conflicts between Islamic law requirements and existing international arbitration rules. Mr. Madkour argued that the existing state laws are sufficient to guarantee the applicability of Islamic law. The innovating argumentative approach, of the lecture, triggers various questions and created lively discussions.