Q1 2022
Catch up below on the following Egypt Branch activities during Q1 2022.
Nagla Nassar, Branch Fellow, interviewed for CIArb Women in ADR campaign
The CIArb Women in ADR campaign featured Prof. Dr. Nagla Nassar (FCIArb), Principal, Nassar Law, as part of its celebration of International Women’s Day 2022.
The campaign featured interviews with leading female ADR practitioners from around the world.
The interview with Prof. Dr. Nassar focused on the challenges she faced when she started her career in a “men’s club”. She highlighted the importance of perseverance and persistence to #Break the Bias.
First cycle of the Branch Mentoring Programme closes
The first cycle of the Branch Mentoring Programme, which was launched in March 2021, ended in March 2022. The cycle included four mentoring groups, each composed of four mentees guided by an expert mentor and active mentor supporter. This cycle offered a number of interesting activities for the groups, including the conduct of meetings and mock cases at CRCICA premises.
The feedback forms received by the Branch showed the mentees’ satisfaction with the programme, stating that “the mentoring activities have been effective in their understanding of the arbitration and ADR” and “contributed to their professional development in conducting research and facilitating professional connections and networking”. According to one of the mentees, “I have learned and seen some valuable and practical insights of the arbitration process that would have been very hard (nearly impossible) to encounter on my own (through my academic studies).”
It is worth noting that the Branch Mentoring Programme is the first such initiated by a CIArb Branch in the region and exclusively for CIArb young members under 40. The second cycle begins in May 2022.
New Arabic language content available
Egypt Branch constantly updates its webpage on the CIArb website to be more informative for its members and to reflect its activities and services. In response to enquiries about the CIArb, the Branch webpage was recently updated to include a section in the Arabic language for the first time. The Arabic section introduces the CIArb and the Egypt Branch, outlines the benefits of CIArb Membership, details additional benefits provided by the Egypt Branch, and provides information about the training courses provided by the Branch jointly with the CRCICA (the seat of the Branch).
The Branch webpage is also updated to provide quarterly round-up videos on Branch activities.
CIArb Egypt Branch Annual General Meeting
The Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the CIArb Egypt Branch was held in person at CRCICA (the seat of the Branch) and virtually on 22 March 2022. The AGM was attended in person by 15 members and virtually by 18 members. Prof. Dr. Mohamed Abdel Raouf, the Branch Chair, presided and delivered a PowerPoint presentation covering the activities of the Branch in 2021 and early 2022.
The presentation included an overview of Branch membership, an evaluation of the first mentoring cycle 2020-2021, the Branch networking platform and webpage update, and the Branch’s webinars and training delivered by renowned speakers. Dr. Ismail Selim, the Branch Honorary Treasurer, presented the financial statement of the Branch. Members discussed the nomination of Prof. Dr. Mohamed S. Abdel Wahab (FCIArb), Former President of the Branch, for the post of the CIArb President, and the Branch’s future events planned for 2022.
First Branch Committee Meeting of 2022
The first Committee Meeting of the CIArb Egypt Branch was held in person at CRCICA (the seat of the Branch) and virtually on 22 March 2022.
Members approved the agenda of the meeting and the minutes of the latest Committee Meeting as recorded on 30 November 2021. The Branch Chair, Prof. Dr. Abdel Raouf, presented a brief on the CIArb Branch Chair Meetings held on 1 December 2021 and 21 February 2022. Branch Treasurer, Dr. Ismail Selim, presented a brief on the Branch Treasurer virtual meeting held on 9 February 2022. In addition, members discussed Branch membership, evaluation of the first cycle of the Branch mentoring programme, and two CIArb internal projects being led by HQ. Discussions also covered the Branch’s future events; inter alia, workshop on CRCICA Dispute Board Rules, networking event for Mentoring Groups of the first cycle, and other legal and engineering topics suggested by Branch Members for the Branch Development Plan 2022. The next Branch Committee meeting is scheduled for 8 June 2022.
Joint webinar on ‘Insights into the Qatari and Egyptian Arbitration Laws’
On 13 February 2022, the CIArb Egypt Branch organized jointly with the Qatar Branch and the CRCICA a webinar on ‘Insights into the Qatari and Egyptian Arbitration Laws’. The speakers, representing the two Branches, were Dr. Khaled Attia, Partner and Head of Dispute Resolution, Al-Tamimi & Co Egypt Office and Dr. Zain Al Abdin Sharar, Senior Legal Counsel - CEO’s Office, Qatar International Court and Dispute Resolution Centre. The event was moderated by Mr. Taher Hozayen, Lawyer and Arbitrator, Patron of the CIArb Egypt Branch.
Dr. Waleed El Nemr, Vice-Chair of the CIArb Egypt Branch, and Eng. Saad Hegazy, CIArb Qatar Branch Board Member delivered the opening speeches. The speakers focused on the main aspects of Egyptian and Qatari arbitration laws, and the issues and questions arising out of their implementation. The closing remarks were delivered by Prof. Dr. Mohamed Abdel Raouf, Chair of the CIArb Egypt Branch, and Eng. Ahmed Al Ansari, Chair of the CIArb Qatar Branch. The webinar was conducted in the Arabic language with simultaneous translation into the English language. It was attended by 120 participants from 28 countries including Algeria, Canada, Egypt, India, Kenya, Qatar, Spain, Sweden, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, and the USA.
Branch Seminar on Impartiality of Arbitrators
On 22 March 2022, the Egypt Branch organized jointly with CRCICA a hybrid seminar on ‘The Impartiality of Arbitrators’, held at CRCICA (the seat of the Branch). The speaker was Dr. Karim El Chazli, MJur (Oxford), PhD (Sorbonne), Legal advisor at the Swiss Institute of Comparative Law, and the moderator was Prof. Dr. Mohamed Abdel Raouf, Chair of the Egypt Branch, Attorney at law, Partner and Head of the international Arbitration Group at ABDEL RAOUF LAW FIRM.
Dr. El Chazli presented an overview of the main issues he discussed in his PhD dissertation ‘L'impartialité de l'arbitre’published in 2020. He focused on the importance of the impartiality of arbitrators; the distinction between the concepts of impartiality, independence and neutrality; the sanction for the breach of the duty to disclose in light of recent decisions of the Egyptian Court of Cassation; the circumstances that give rise to risks of partiality; and the impartiality of party-appointed arbitrators.
Attendees participated actively in the webinar through interesting questions and comments which focused on the impartiality of party-appointed arbitrators and the prevailing view according to which party-appointed arbitrators and presiding arbitrators should be subjected to the same impartiality standards. 40 participants attended the seminar in person, while 165 participants attended virtually. Participants attended from 22 countries including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, France, Bahrain, USA, Malaysia, India, Australia, and the UK.
Egypt Branch Supports the IFCAI- CRCICA Webinar.
Egypt Branch was a supporting organization for the webinar ‘The Wind of Reforms of Major Institutional Rules’, held on 7 February 2022. The webinar was organized by the International Federation of Commercial Arbitration Institutions (IFCAI) jointly with the Cairo Regional Centre for International Commercial Arbitration (CRCICA), in the framework of IFCAI's biennial conferences. It included, for the first time in an online international format, interventions by prominent speakers from key worldwide arbitration institutions, including the ICC, the LCIA, the SCC, the SIAC, the ICDR-AAA, the BCDR, the Swiss Centre, the CAM and the MIAC.
