Former Chief Justice of Malaysia and Arbitrator Member of McNair Chambers, Tun Arifin bin Zakaria; Head of McNair Chambers, Professor Khawar Qureshi QC; and Chairman of Al Sulaiti Law Firm, Mubarak Al Sulaiti, during the webinar.
Arbitration in Qatar has recently experienced significant growth among both domestic and international users, discussed a panel of experts yesterday. The legislative transformation of Qatari arbitration laws in 2017 created an environment conducive to embracing arbitration disputes, particularly in the infrastructure, real estate, energy, and banking sectors.
McNair Chambers, in association with Al Sulaiti Law Firm hosted a webinar on ‘Opportunities for Arbitration in Qatar: Making Qatar the Regional Seat for International Arbitration’. Tun Arifin bin Zakaria (former Chief Justice of Malaysia and Arbitrator Member of McNair Chambers) highlighted the main reasons why Qatar should position itself as a regional arbitration hub.
Mubarak Al Sulaiti, Chairman of Al Sulaiti Law Firm, focused upon the key positive recent developments in Qatar law and procedure signaling greater support for arbitration from the courts.
Professor Khawar Qureshi QC, Head of McNair Chambers and Mubarak Al Sulaiti noted “Qatar has all the ingredients to become a world class regional international arbitration hub. We are confident that the vision of the leadership will ensure this becomes a reality”.
Professor Khawar Qureshi QC, drew upon his vast experience of International Arbitration to focus on the key elements for successful arbitration hubs, such as London, Singapore, Paris and Geneva.
He shared his thoughts on Qatar’s potential of becoming the new Singapore for Arbitration and what needs to be done to make this happen.
He mentioned about the adoption of Arbitration Law no. (2) of 2017 (March 13) and noted fundamentally what the law seeks to do is to reflect the UNCITRAL Model Law which is seen by many states as best practice for arbitration. He talked about how Qatar International Center for Conciliation and Arbitration (QICCA) has made positive efforts to develop a culture of arbitration amongst the business community in Qatar.
In 2019, QICCA registered 26 arbitration cases, issued seven judgements, and two conciliation and mediation verdicts. As per the most recent media report, in February 2021, QICCA has issued nearly 77 awards since 2019 and dealt with 11 mediation cases, which is significant momentum.
Professor Khawar Qureshi QC said, “In the past 10 to 15 years Singapore which has sought to position itself to attract arbitrations from Far-East and beyond. The contributions that the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC), the Singapore International Commercial Court (SICC) and the Singapore International Mediation Centre (SIMC) have made to Singapore’s economy are very significant.”
“With concerted and coordinated effort, there is scope for Qatar to establish itself as the pre-eminent jurisdiction within the GCC for the international arbitration/dispute resolution. By modelling itself on Singapore, Qatar has the potential to attract arbitration disputes from Africa, South Asia, Central Asia and potentially further afield,” he added.
He said, “Qatar’s first-class infrastructure, logistics and transport links to potential international arbitration users. So, there is no reason why Qatar with full engagement from all stakeholders cannot follow the Singapore model. Qatar can achieve the objectives with a united effort from all the stakeholders.”
