Past Events

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.  

In a successful institutional cooperation, the Cairo Regional for International Commercial Arbitration (CRCICA) and the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce (SCC) held a conference on: "the Euro-Arab Investor State Dispute Settlement: Recent Developments and Future Perspectives", on 10-11 October, 2012, Cairo - Egypt. Hosted by the League of Arab States, the conference provided a thorough analysis of the ISDS in a culturally balanced context from Arab and European perspectives. The agenda shed light on the regulatory framework governing European-Arab investment flows, the latest investment policy developments and the various ISDS mechanisms available to settle Euro-Arab investor-State disputes. The conference also highlighted the importance of regional Arab investment agreements, as well as Arab national laws on investment and how they affected directly or indirectly Euro-Arab investor-State disputes. The role of mediation and conciliation was also discussed and this proved to be a crucial topic at a time of political and social transition in the Arab world.The conference was the first occasion to discuss the IBA Rules for Investor-State Mediation, which was just adopted by a resolution of the IBA Council on 4 October 2012. Considerable part of the agenda was devoted to the analysis of the key issues (substantive and procedural) involved in Euro-Arab ISDS, which was seen by both scholars and practitioners to be a didactic enlightenment for better ISDS practices. Re-occurring issues in Euro-Arab ISDS such as compensation, FET and state liability were discussed in outstanding details. "From UNCTAD perspective, such conferences are a great asset as they provide for a platform for UNCTAD to present its latest research findings and to convey its readiness to provide technical assistance and capacity building to Arab and developing countries on issues related to IIAs and ISDS with a view to foster sustainable development objectives. It also strengthens UNCTAD's cooperation with international and regional organizations with a view to build consensus on key issues in investment policy-making", Hamed El Kady, Expert, International Investment Policies, International Agreements Section, Division on Investment and Enterprise, (UNCTAD) . Download reports and presentations: Download Annette Magnusson’s presentation “The SCC Experience of Investment Arbitration under the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules” Download Dr. Mohamed Abdel Raouf’s presentation “UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules and the Settlement of Investment Disputes: the Experience of CRCICA” Download Dr. Mohamed S. Abdel Wahab’s presentation “Choice in the absence of direct choice: the law applicable to the merits in investments disputes” Download Hamed El-Kady’s presentation “Euro-Arab International Investment Agreements: towards a new generation of policies” Download Rabab Yasseen’s presentation “State liability in Euro-Arab ISDS- the Arab perspective” Download Hans Danelius’s presentation “Enforcement of Awards in Investment Arbitrations” Download Christer Söderlund’s presentation “Compensation in Investment Arbitration”

The Arab Parliament, the Arab Union of International Arbitration (AUIA), CRCICA and the Arab Investors Union organized a pan regional conference on Inter-Arab Investments and related Disputes on 10-11 October 2011 in Cairo, Egypt. Held under the auspices of H.E. Dr. Nabil Elaraby, the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States and the Chairman of CRCICA's Board of Trustees, the Conference provided a regional forum for Arab investors, jurists and parliamentarians to explore common challenges and share views on inter-Arab investments in a politically and economically changing environment and the challenges they unfold. Through six successive working sessions, 40 Arab speakers tackled the legal and economic environment of inter-Arab investments. It is noteworthy that the remarkable participation of eminent Arab businessmen helped in defining common obstacles likely to hinder the flow of investments among the Arab States. The Conference was attended by 200 participants from 17 Arab countries being, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Tunisia, Algeria, Syria, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Sultanate of Oman, Iraq, Qatar, Libya, Palestine, Morocco, Kuwait, Lebanon, Yemen and Egypt. The Conferees concluded a number of constructive recommendations defining some practical institutional steps meant to improve the legal and economic background in the Arab States in encouragement of inter-regional investments. This includes, for instance, a recommendation to draft an Arab Investment Model Law and to see through the possibility of merging joint Arab investment agreements. The recommendations were closely monitored by the League of Arab States which attended all sessions as an observer.