The first panel discussion of the two-day '5th World Conference on International Arbitration' focused on the theme ‘Arbitration in the State of Qatar – Successes and Challenges'.
Moderated by Ebrahim Shahbeck, QICCA secretary-general, the panel featured Yousef al-Zaman, founder of Al Zaman Law Firm – Qatar & member of QICCA’s Committee of Conciliation and Arbitration; Sheikh Dr Thani bin Ali al-Thani, QICCA board member for International Relations and the founder of Thani bin Ali Al-Thani Law Firm; Khaled Elgarhe FCIArb, QICCA chief legal counsel, lecturer, and international arbitrator; and Dr Susan L Karamanian, dean of the College of Law at Hamad Bin Khalifa University.
Sheikh Dr Thani said the Qatari legislator has been committed to creating an attractive environment for foreign investments. He also highlighted Qatar's significant achievements in this regard, noting that the country has acceded to the Singapore Convention on Mediation, enacted Law No 2 of 2017, which promulgates the Civil and Commercial Arbitration Law (Qatari Arbitration Law), and established the Investment and Trade Court.
He further emphasised QICCA’s efforts in promoting the culture of arbitration in Qatar, noting that the centre had participated in drafting the law. Sheikh Dr Thani said many articles of the law align with QICCA's rules, which are derived from the general principles of the UNCITRAL Law. This reflects the Qatari legislator's commitment to adopting the best international practices in arbitration, he added.
Al-Zaman presented a working paper on the arbitration agreement incorporated by reference according to Qatari legislation and jurisprudence. He emphasised that the development of commercial relations and the involvement of international parties in contracts has highlighted the need for an alternative form of arbitration, namely the arbitration agreement incorporated by reference.
He highlighted the need to reconsider the draft of Paragraph (5) of Article No (7) of the Qatari Arbitration Law to explicitly include an arbitration clause in the referred clauses.
Karamanian reviewed the role of modern tools in activating the Qatari Arbitration Law, stressing that recent technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), have an impact on the arbitration process.
Elgarhe explained the most important rules of QICCA, which are scheduled to be implemented early next year.
Caption:
Moderated by Ebrahim Shahbeck, QICCA secretary-general, the panel featured Yousef al-Zaman, founder of Al Zaman Law Firm – Qatar & member of QICCA’s Committee of Conciliation and Arbitration; Sheikh Dr Thani bin Ali al-Thani, QICCA board member for International Relations and the founder of Thani bin Ali Al-Thani Law Firm; Khaled Elgarhe FCIArb, QICCA chief legal counsel, lecturer, and international arbitrator; and Dr Susan L Karamanian, dean of the College of Law at Hamad Bin Khalifa University.
The first panel discussion of the two-day '5th World Conference on International Arbitration' focused on the theme ‘Arbitration in the State of Qatar – Successes and Challenges'.
