Tribune News Network
Doha
The 5th World Conference on International Arbitration, which has kicked off in Doha, was packed with action on Day 1. The first day featured three panels.
Moderated by Ebrahim Shahbeck, QICCA’s Secretary-General, thefirst panel was themed ‘Arbitration in the State of Qatar – Successes and Challenges.’
The panel featured several speakers, includingYousef Al-Zaman, Founder of Al Zaman Law Firm – Qatar & Member of QICCA’s Committee of Conciliation and Arbitration;Dr. Sheikh Thani bin Ali Al-Thani, QICCA Board Member for International Relations and 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.
For his part,Dr. Sheikh Thani bin Ali Al-Thani, QICCA Board Member for International Relations and Founder of Thani bin Ali Al-Thani Law Firm, stated that 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 emphasized QICCA’s efforts in promoting the arbitration culture, noting that the Center had participated in drafting the law.
He affirmed that many articles of the law align with the Center’s rules, which are derived from the general principles of UNCITRAL law.
This reflects the Qatari legislator’s commitment to adopting the best international practices in arbitration, he added.
During the panel, Yousef Al-Zaman, Founder of Al Zaman Law Firm – Qatar and Member of QICCA’s Committee of Conciliation and Arbitration, presented a working paper on the arbitration agreement incorporated by reference according to Qatari legislation and jurisprudence.
Al-Zaman emphasized 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 also 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.
For her part, Dr. Susan L. Karamanian, Dean of the College of Law at Hamad Bin Khalifa University, reviewed the role of modern tools in activating the Qatari Arbitration Law, stressing that recent technologies, such as AI, have an impact on the arbitration process.
Khaled Elgarhe FCIArb, QICCA Chief Legal Counsel, Lecturer, and International Arbitrator, explained the most important rules of QICCA, which are scheduled to be implemented early next year.
