Name of arbitrator:

Dr Mohamed Abdel Raouf

Education, awards and selected publications:

Education:

Holder of a Ph.D. in private law (with the distinction très honorable avec les félicitations du jury) from the University of Montpellier I, France. Topic of thesis: «The International Arbitrator and State Contracts» (Published). Prior to this, he obtained a Diploma, DEA en Droit des Contrats d’Affaires, Montpellier Business Law School, University of Montpellier I, France, a Master’s degree in International Business Law (LL.M), Institute of International Business Law (IDAI), Cairo University and a Bachelor of Law (LL.B.), Faculty of Law, Cairo University.

Awards:

Ranked by Chambers and Partners in its Global Rankings among the most in demand arbitrators in Egypt being “widely acknowledged as one of Egypt’s leading arbitrators”.

Selected Publications:

He is the author and co-author of several legal publications on arbitration (in Arabic, English and French). Salient publications include:

• Evolution and Adaptation: The Future of International Arbitration. Edited by Jean Kalicki and Mohamed Abdel Raouf, published in 2019 by Wolters Kluwer.
• L’Arbitre International et les Contrats d’Etat, thèse de 1999, Editions Universitaires Européennes, 2017.
• Co-author, the special chapter on CRCICA, published under Part II of the Book titled: The Transformation of Arbitration in Africa: The Role of Arbitral Institutions, published on 23 August 2016 by Kluwer Law International and edited by Dr Emilia Onyema, Senior Lecturer in International Commercial Law, School of Law, SOAS, University of London.
• “Emergence of New Arbitral Centres in Asia and Africa: Competition, Cooperation and Contribution to the Rule of Law”, published in chapter 19 of the Book titled: The Evolution and Future of International Arbitration, Kluwer Law International in 2016 and edited by Stavros L. Brekoulakis, Julian D.M. Lew and Loukas A. Mistelis.
• “The First Inter-Arab Investment Dispute Before ICSID: A Commentary on the Desert Line Projects LLC v. Republic of Yemen”, Festschrift Ahmed Sadek El-Kosheri. From the Arab World to the Globalization of International Law and Arbitration, edited by Mohamed Abdel Raouf, Philippe Leboulanger, Nassib G. Ziadé, Kluwer Law International, 2015
• Author of the special chapter on Egypt published in the Book titled: Interim Measures in International Arbitration, JurisNet, LLC (June 15, 2014), edited by Lawrence W. Newman and Colin Ong.
• Author of the special chapter on Egypt of the World Arbitration Reporter (WAR), Juris Publishing, 2010, 2014, 2018 and 2019.

• Author of the special chapter on Egypt published in the Book titled: Arbitration in Africa: a practitioner’s Guide, Kluwer Law International 2013, edited by Lise Bosman.
• Introduction to the GAR European and Middle Eastern Arbitration Review 2012

http://globalarbitrationreview.com/benchmarking/the-european-middle-eastern-arbitration-review-2012/1036688/introduction

• “The Salient Features of the new CRCICA Arbitration Rules in force as from 1 March 2011”, International Bar Association (IBA) Arbitration Newsletter (Vol. 16, September 2011).
• Published the following articles and commentaries in Arabic in the World Journal of Arbitration:
  • “The contractual amendment of the scope of judicial review of arbitral awards”, Annex of Volume 8, October 2010, pp.805-816.
  • “Commentary on the ICC Award No. 10515 rendered in June 2002 regarding the capacity and standing of companies under liquidation”, Volume 8, October 2010, pp. 559-565.
  • “Egypt turns the page on the Shepheard Hotel arbitration while concerns arise over the future of the internal review system of ICSID awards”, commentary on the decision rendered on 15 June 2010 by the Ad hoc Committee rejecting the annulment application filed against the ICSID award rendered in favour of Egypt in the Helnan v. Egypt ICSID Case, Volume 9, January 2011, pp.677-682.
  • “Dallah v. Pakistan and the determination of the scope of the Kompetenz-Kompetenz principle: The arbitral tribunal has the first sight, while the judiciary has the last word”, Volume 10, April 2011, pp.97-105.
  • “Highlights of the new CRCICA Arbitration Rules”, Volume 10, April 2011, pp.106-114.

• “How should international arbitrators tackle corruption issues?”, the ICSID REVIEW—FOREIGN INVESTMENT LAW JOURNAL, Volume 24, Number 1, Spring 2009, pp. 116-136, based on a paper submitted to the 26^th AAA/ICC/ICSID Joint Colloquium on International Arbitration: Adapting Arbitration to a changing world, Washington DC, 20 November 2009. This paper was also published in Liber Amicorum Bernardo Cremades, La Ley, 2010, pp.1-16.

Countries qualified to practice:

Egypt

Language(s):

Fluent in Arabic, English and French

Name of law firm or institution:

ABDEL RAOUF LAW FIRM

Partner and Head of the International Arbitration Group

Area(s) of specialisation:

International arbitration and ADR as well as commercial contracts, international investment agreements, construction, real estate and sports-related disputes.

Institutional affiliation(s):

Member of the Governing Board and former Vice President of the International Council for Commercial Arbitration  (ICCA), member of both the Board of Trustees and the Advisory Committee of the CRCICA, an Arbitrator listed in the Panel of Arbitrators of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), a Conciliator designated by the President of the World Bank Group to serve on the Panel of Conciliators maintained by the ICSID, a CEDR Accredited Mediator, Chairman of the Egypt Branch of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb), an Approved Faculty List Tutor and Assessor at the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb), a Resource Person in International Investment Agreements and Investment Disputes, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), an Expert in ISDS, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), former member of the Board of the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce (SCC), former Vice President, the International Federation of Commercial Arbitration Institutions (IFCAI), member of the special Committee for administrative decisions of the Saudi Center for Commercial Arbitration (SCCA), member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Arab Arbitration issued by the Arab Union of International Arbitration as well as the Advisory Board of the International Arbitration Review issued by the Bahrain Chamber for Dispute Resolution (BCDR).

Please provide a brief background of yourself and your experience working on disputes in Africa.

Egyptian Attorney at law, Partner and Head of the International Arbitration Group at Abdel Raouf Law Firm, Cairo-Egypt. Former Director of the Cairo Regional Centre for International Commercial Arbitration (CRCICA [2012-2016]) and an Associate Professor at Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne.

Acted as sole arbitrator, co-arbitrator and chairman of arbitral tribunals in more than 100 domestic and international commercial arbitrations (institutional and ad hoc). Acted as counsel, for private and public entities, in many international commercial and investment arbitrations. His arbitration experience covers a wide range of arbitration Rules including those of CRCICA, UNCITRAL, ICC, LCIA, ICSID, PCA, AAA-ICDR, DIAC, CAS, GCC, ADCCAC, the SCCA and the BCDR.

Can you provide a summary of the legal regime for arbitration in Egypt?

Arbitration is well-developed in Egypt due to the existence inter alia of the following necessary arbitration infrastructure:

1. Egypt enacted a special law on arbitration inspired by the UNCITRAL Model Law (Law No. 27 of 1994, the “Law”), which is deemed to be both modern and liberal. Below are the salient features of the Law:
2. The principle of competenz competenz enshrined in Article 22 of the Law according to which the arbitral tribunal is empowered to rule on motions related to its jurisdiction, including motions based on the absence of an arbitration agreement, its expiry or nullity;
3. The Law recognizes the separability of the arbitration clause (Article 23 of the Law). The arbitration clause is, therefore, deemed to be an agreement that is independent of the other conditions of the contract. The nullity, rescission, invalidity, non-existence of the contract or its termination shall not affect the arbitration clause, provided that such clause is written and valid per se;
4. National courts are bound to declare inadmissible cases filed in relation to contracts comprising arbitration clauses, provided that the plea for inadmissibility is invoked before submitting any claim or statement of defence;
5. Regarding the qualifications of arbitrators under the Law, the arbitrator is not required to be of a given gender, religion or nationality, unless otherwise agreed upon between the parties or provided for by law;
6. Article 26 of the Law guarantees the rights of defence and due process. It requires arbitrators to treat the parties on an equal footing and to accord each of them an equal and full opportunity to present its case;
7. Article 24 of the Law also authorizes the parties to the arbitration agreement to agree to confer upon the arbitral tribunal the power to issue interim measures of protection;
8. Arbitral awards issued according to the Law are final and binding enjoying the authority of res judicata. They could be forcibly enforced subject to applying and obtaining an enforcement order (exequatur) from the competent national judge according to Articles 55 to 58 of the Law;
9. No appeal of any kind is allowed against arbitral awards under the Law. The only possible means of recourse against arbitral awards is filing a setting aside (annulment) motion invoking one or more of the exhaustive grounds enumerated in Article 53 of the Law. Such grounds include the absence or invalidity of the arbitration agreement, the lack of legal capacity, the violation of the rights of defense and due process as well as the failure to apply the law agreed upon by the parties to govern the merits of the dispute. The court adjudicating the setting aside motion shall also ipso jure annul the arbitral award if it is in conflict with public policy in Egypt (Article 53/2 of the Law); and
10. An award may not be set aside for an error in law or fact. The action for setting aside may not be excluded by agreement between the parties before issuing the award but may be effective if concluded after issuing the award.
11. Egypt has ratified major international conventions pertaining to international arbitration including, but not limited to, the New York Convention

Egypt adhered in March 1959 to the New York Convention of 1958 on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, in February 1972 to the Washington Convention of 1965 on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of other States and to the Convention of 1974 on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between the States hosting Arab investments and Nationals of other Arab States.

1. The Egyptian judiciary is cooperative and proved to be “arbitration-friendly” through the assistance of the parties to arbitration and the supervision of the arbitration proceedings
2. Egypt is the host State of the Cairo Regional Centre for International Commercial Arbitration (the “CRCICA”), the oldest arbitration institution in the region.

Drawing from your experience as a leading sports arbitrator, what steps do you think can be taken to encourage the growth of sports arbitration in Africa?

I was privileged to act as arbitrator in several sports-related disputes arising during both the Rio 2016 Summer Olympic Games and the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games under the auspices of the Ad Hoc Division of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). I also sit regularly as arbitrator in numerous sports-related disputes mainly under the auspices of the CAS.

In my view, the following factors would contribute to the growth of sports arbitration in Africa:

• The adoption of modern sports and arbitration laws and the existence of a cooperative and arbitration-friendly judiciary;
• The insertion of arbitration agreements in the statutes or regulations of African sports federations, clubs and organizations, referring potential sports-related disputes arising out of the application of such statutes or regulations to arbitration under the auspices of credible local and/or regional arbitration institutions;
• Teaching sports law in African law schools at least for postgraduates;
• Raising awareness among African players, athletes, federations, agents and clubs about the importance of arbitration in resolving sports-related disputes; and
• Encouraging the CAS to organize more training programs, conferences and seminars in Africa, in addition to offering more internships at its Lausanne Headquarters for young African practitioners.

With more African states acceding to the New York Convention, what are your thoughts on the enforcement trends in Africa?

The New York Convention is one of, if not, the most successful international convention in the world. With more African states acceding to such Convention, this would facilitate the recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards in Africa.  African judges need to better understand the provisions of the said Convention as well as the relevant judicial precedents from different jurisdictions. One way to do so is for African judges to consult the ICCA’s Guide to the Interpretation of the 1958 New Convention which exists in 23 languages including English, French, Arabic, Spanish and Portuguese. Given the existence of few regional multilateral agreements in Africa that include provisions governing the enforcement of arbitral awards, one would suspect a potential conflict between the provisions of such regional agreements and those of the New York Convention. African judges should be well-prepared for this possibility.

What advice do you have for young practitioners who see you as their role model?

I can share few lessons I have learned from my mentors. Specializing in international arbitration requires mastering at least one foreign language. It is highly recommended to be familiar with both civil law and common law systems regardless of one’s own legal background. We also tend to forget that arbitrators are private judges whose integrity is the most important element of their success. Truly international arbitrators are typically global citizens (citoyens du monde) open to different cultures and appreciative of diversity. I also strongly encourage young African practitioners to become members of Young ICCA, which offers one of the most interesting mentoring programs. Finally, bear in mind the mantra “hire for attitude and train for skill”.