Doha, Qatar: The 5th World Conference on International Arbitration, held under the patronage of H E Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, concluded its activities on Wednesday November 20 at the Waldorf Astoria Lusail Hotel with a slew of significant recommendations.
Organised by the Qatar International Centre for Conciliation & Arbitration (QICCA), the two-day event held under the theme ‘Arbitration in the MENA Region – Present and Future.’
In the closing session, QICCA’s Secretary-General Ibrahim Shahbik announced the conference’s recommendations which included allowing the review of Court of Appeal rulings on arbitration awards by the Court of Cassation and seeking UNCITRAL’s recommendations when drafting arbitration and mediation legislation.
Recommendations also included issuing lists of qualified arbitrators along with clear guidelines and conditions to govern the appointment of arbitrators by competent courts in cases of ad hoc arbitration and developing advisory guidelines to regulate the conduct of arbitrators in ad hoc arbitration to enhance the arbitration process.
They paid tribute to the judicial approach that supports arbitration by facilitating the recognition of arbitration agreement by reference, while emphasizing that this should only apply in clear reference cases, as per the established practice in comparative jurisprudence among model law jurisdictions.
The conference also affirmed the importance of subjecting international arbitration agreement to the law of the arbitration’s seat, unless otherwise agreed by parties, which is in line with the established approach in the jurisprudence of the supreme courts in Arab countries and other comparative jurisdictions.
It also called for developing rules on arbitrators’ disclosure process prior to issuing appointment awards in ad hoc arbitration, as well as activating the role of mediation in resolving disputes before the Investment Court in accordance with the Qatari Mediation Law.
The conference featured seven panel discussions on several topic relating to the international arbitration, with 35 speakers from prominent figures in international arbitration from GCC, Arab and foreign countries.
The first session of the second day was moderated by Umar Azmeh, Registrar of QICDRC, and titled ‘International Commercial Arbitration: Latest Developments and Practical Obstacles.’
Sheikh Thani bin Ali Al Thani at a panel discussion.
Moderated by Dr. Sheikh Thani bin Ali Al Thani, QICCA Board Member for International Relations and Founder of Thani bin Ali Al-Thani Law Firm, the second session was held under the theme “Qualifications and Ethics of Arbitrators and Expert Witnesses.
This session featured several speakers, including Dr. Muna Al-Marzouqi, the former Dean of the College of Law at Qatar University, Judge of the Qatar International Court, and Professor of Law at Qatar University; Dr. Ibrahim Al-Zadjali, the former President of the Oman Lawyers Association and international lawyer and arbitrator; Dr. Omar M.H. Aljazy, the former President of the Jordanian Arbitrators Association and Officer of the IBA Regional Arab Forum; and Dr. Mosleh A. Altarawneh, Professor of Commercial Law and Arbitration at the Faculty of Law, Al-Ahliyya Amman University, and former Vice President of the University.
