Q3-2023 Ciarb Egypt Branch News
Third Branch Committee Meeting 2023
The third Committee Meeting of the Ciarb Egypt Branch was held virtually on 17 September 2023. Members approved the agenda of the meeting and the minutes of the latest Committee meeting as recorded on 14 June 2023. The Branch Chair, Dr. Ismail Selim, presented a brief on the Branch Development Plan and Budget 2024, Branch Chair Induction meeting held on 6 September 2023, and Senior Management Team Meeting held on 4 July 2023. The Branch Honorary Treasurer, Dr. Mohamed Hafez, presented a brief on the Branch Treasurers' Meeting held on 27 June 2023.
The Branch next Committee meeting was scheduled for 19 December 2023.
Egypt Branch Development Plan and Budget 2024
On 17 September 2023, Egypt Branch submitted its Development Plan and Budget 2024. The Branch invited members to propose topics for the Branch events in 2024.
Ciarb Branch Chair Induction Meeting
On 6 September 2023, Dr. Ismail Selim, Branch Chair, represented the Branch at the virtual Ciarb Branch Chair Induction Meeting. The meeting aimed at providing information and guidance on the new role of Branch chair and other governance related issues. Discussions focused on Ciarb strategy and annual plan, Ciarb Governance review and data protection, Branch Model Rules, IT road map, finance and reporting, and education and Training.
CIArb Senior Management Team Meeting
On 4 July 2023, Dr. Ismail Selim, Branch Chair, Dr. Ismail Selim, Branch Chair, represented the Branch at the CIArb Senior Management Team Meeting. The agenda of the meeting included updates regarding Ciarb Board of Trustees meeting, Third Party Intervention Policy, renewals, IT digital transformation, and branch websites.
CIArb Branch Treasurers' Meeting
On 27 June 2023, Dr. Mohamed Hafez, Branch Treasurer, represented the Branch at the CIArb Branch Treasurers' Meeting. Discussions focused on Branch financial reporting and policies including Finance Handbook. Jim O'Donnell, Executive Director of IT &Digital and Transformation, delivered a presentation on Technology Update
Branch Events
Joint CIArb Egypt Branch - AACE International Greater Cairo Section Seminar on: Construction Claims under the International AACE Conference 2023
On 19 July 2023, the Ciarb Egypt Branch organized jointly with the Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineering (AACE, and the CRCICA (the seat of the Branch) a seminar on “Construction Claims under the International AACE Conference 2023”. The speakers were Dr. Waleed El Nemr, Branch Vice-Chairman , Regional Director (MENA), AACE International, Dr. Rania Fayed, FCiarb, Vice President of the AACE, Egypt Section, And Eng. Ahmed Yahia, Forensic Planner and Delay Analyst. The moderator was Eng. Wael Aziz, President, AACE Greater Cairo Section and CIOB Cairo Hub Committee Member.
The event approached the legal challenges of the use of the "Windows" analysis methods of delay analysis in the construction industry in an attempt to bridge the gap between the forensic planner and legal professional. The speakers also focused on the practical challenges regarding the neutrality of the Engineer in determining disputes under the FIDIC 2017 contracts
It is worth noting that the seminar was the first and exclusive (modified) Arabic version of the AACE International 2023 Conference and Expo held in Chicago on 13 June 2023.
To watch the video of the seminar, please click here:
Networking Event for the Second and Third Networking Cycles
On the occasion of the closing of the second cycle of the CIArb Egypt Branch Mentoring Programme and the launch of the third cycle (May 2023- May 2024), the Branch organized a networking event gathering the mentors, supporters, and mentees of the two cycles on 15 August 2023 at CRCICA’s conference room.
Dr. Ismail Selim, the Branch Chairman, delivered an opening speech briefed the establishment and activities of the Programme since its launch in 2020 as the first programme initiated by a CIArb Branch in the region. Then, Dr. Selim introduced a presentation introduced the mentors, mentor supporters, and mentees of the first, second, and third cycles. The presentation referred to the results of the survey answered by the mentees of the second cycle which reflected their benefit of the mentoring activities and its positive impact on their career development. Ms. Natasha Shirazi, Legal Director at Orascom Construction and Member of the Branch Committee, presented her experience as a Mentor Supporter in the first mentoring cycle.
Afterwards, a brief video was presented to introduce testimonials of mentor supporters and mentees of the second cycle expressing their mentoring experience and activities; namely: Eng. Mahmoud El Saddany (Supporter), Dr. Amira Shalaby (Mentee), Eng. Tarek Mansour (Mentee), and Mr. Ahmed Khaled ( Mentee).
At the end of the event, members of the second cycle received certificates in recognition and appreciation of their efforts. Eng. Ahmed Afifi (Mentor Supporter), Senior Commercial Manager at Diriyah, commented; “The program is attractive to all involved professionals, Mentors, supporters and mentees. Again, it was a great pleasure that Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (Egypt Branch) was the first branch to issue and practice this type of mentorship and I'm sure that we are always able to be in the front line”.
For more information about the Mentoring Programme and opportunities for young Ciarb members, under 40, to apply for the role of Mentor Supporters or Mentees, please click here :
https://www.ciarb.org/our-network/middle-east-subcontinent/egypt/mentoring-programme/
Seminar on “Aversion to the Jurisdiction of the arbitral tribunal”
On 6 Sep 2023, the Egypt Branch organized jointly with the CRCICA a seminar on “The Jurisdiction of the Arbitral Tribunal in light of modern judicial applications in Egypt and the Gulf states”, held at CRCICA (the seat of the Branch). The speaker was Prof. Dr. Yassin EL Shazly, Vice Dean and Professor of Commercial law at Ain Shams University, and the moderator was Ambassador Mostafa Kamal, former Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs and member of the Egypt Branch Committee.
The speaker presented an overview on the principle of competence – competence granting the arbitral tribunal the authority to decide on any disputes pertaining to its own jurisdiction. Prof. El Shazly outlined that conceptually, in civil law jurisdictions, there has been some aversion to the concept of allowing the jurisdiction of courts to be shared with privately constituted adjudicatory forums. In this environment of uncertainty and rigid legislative framework, arbitration was growing in popularity as a mechanism for dispute resolution in commercial contracts, in particular where the legal relationship involves an international element. He focused on the principle of competence – competence that grants the arbitral tribunal the authority to decide on any disputes pertaining to its own jurisdiction. Notably, Prof. El SHazly highlighted the this positive development as it reinforces the principle of autonomy of arbitration and minimizes the intervention of state courts. In this regard, there is a legislative trend in certain Arab countries which allows the arbitral tribunal may decide on any of the challenges put forward prior to reviewing the merits of the dispute or as part of the arbitral award to be handed down in the dispute in question. Moreover, in case there is an agreement between the parties on a precondition before the commencement of the arbitration, it may have an impact upon the Tribunal’s jurisdiction over the proceedings and the validity of the reference to arbitration if the requirements have not been achieved.
To watch the video of the seminar, please click here:
Seminar: Legal Challenges arising from Dispute Boards
On 26 September 2023, the Ciarb Egypt Branch organized jointly with the CRCICA a seminar on “Legal Challenges arising from Dispute Boards”. The speakers were Dr. Tarek Hamed, Founder and Managing Director of DAR for Engineering Contracts and Mr. Ahmed Ibrahim, Independent Arbitrator and Founder of Ibrahim ADR (Dubai). The moderator was Dr. Ahmed Waly, Managing Partner, WALY Arbitration & Contract Administration Firm.
The topic was approached through an interactive presentation focusing on the aspects of DBs including; advantages, formation, procedures, and outputs. Discussions either between the speakers or between the speakers and the audience reflected different engineering and legal points of views regarding the legal challenges DBs are facing including jurisdiction of DBs and finality of DBs decisions/ recommendations.
watch the video of the webinar, please click here:
