Organisation: Gulf Cooperation Council

There is only an 8% annulment rate for arbitral awards in Saudi Arabia and there was no example of a foreign arbitral award being annulled because of violation of public policy or shariah law in the first nine months of this year, the Saudi Center for Commercial Arbitration has revealed at an event held as part of Dubai Arbitration Week. 

02 December 2022

Minor amendments to Singaporean law last confirm the Singapore International Commercial Court can be used as a supervisory court in international arbitration. Mahdev Mohan, Abraham Vergis and Wong Joon Wee of Providence Law Asia welcome the development and recommend the city state follows the Dubai International Financial Centre's approach of converting judgments into arbitral awards to avoid problems over enforcement.

12 January 2018

Three arbitrators have been selected to hear the first known investor-state claim against Bahrain, brought by two Iranian banks which say the state seized their assets while under the sway of foreign powers.

11 October 2017

GAR continues its publication of shortlists for awards that will be open to the public vote, ahead of this year's awards ceremony in Milan.

09 March 2017

UPDATED.Qatar has a new arbitration law based on the UNCITRAL Model Law that is intended to pave the way for greater foreign investment and ease of doing business and will apply to arbitrations already under way.

24 February 2017

Two Iranian commercial banks have brought a claim against Bahrain, accusing the kingdom of expropriation and other treaty breaches at a time when it was going against the political grain in its attitude to Iran.

10 February 2017

Abu Dhabi Global Market, the recently created commercial freezone in the capital city of the United Arab Emirates, has issued regulations governing arbitrations seated in the ADGM as well as the enforcement of arbitral awards in the courts. John Gaffney and Malak Nasreddine of Al Tamimi & Company report.

06 February 2017

A panel chaired by Lucy Reed has upheld the Gulf Cooperation Council's challenge to the name of a planned internet domain aimed at the international Persian community – after Alain Pellet and Stephen Schwebel suggested that it should be permitted despite opposition from Arab states.

16 January 2017

While the amendment to the penal code allowing arbitrators to be imprisoned for bias dominated attention at GAR Live Dubai, the event also saw discussion of other recent developments in the emirate – including changes at arbitral institutions, a dodgy enforcement decision, shifting attitudes to third-party funding and a move towards arbitrating oil disputes.

24 November 2016

The first institution of its kind in Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Center for Commercial Arbitration – SCCA – was established by cabinet decree two years ago and had its soft launch on 2 Muharram 1438, corresponding in the Islamic calendar to 3 October 2016. GAR speaks with its CEO Majed Al Rasheed.

03 November 2016