Obeid & Partners

Obeid & Partners

Paris Arbitration Week 2024 – Common Law Islands in the MENA Region: Are we heading towards a distortion of the applicable Law?

Date 22 March 2024

To register please follow the link here. 

In the MENA region, civil law and Islamic Sharia have long been the cornerstones of legal systems. Yet, in a notable shift over the past few years, common law principles are now weaving into the region’s legal landscape. States like the United Arab Emirates and Qatar have pioneered this move by founding special economic free zones (such as the DIFC, the ADGM, the QFC, and the QICDRC), which are governed by common law principles, each with its own common law court system. Saudi Arabia joins this trend with Neom and four economic zones embracing common law legislation. At the same time, in an unprecedented development, Saudi Arabia has recently promulgated a civil code, which reaffirms its legal system’s anchoring in a civil law tradition. This mixture of legal traditions creates a dynamic landscape, particularly noticeable in arbitrations across the region, with cases revealing varying (and sometimes contradictory) approaches that tribunals take with respect to the applicable law, making the choice of arbitrators and counsel ever more important. In this context, a number of questions arise: Can the emergence of these common law ‘islands’ in the MENA region and the predominance of common law-trained counsel and arbitrators lead to the distortion of the applicable law? How should states manage such interactions? What are the expectations? Insofar as international commercial disputes are concerned, are these shifts signaling the end of civil law in the GCC region?

Our panelists will delve into these issues and more in an engaging roundtable discussion followed by networking drinks from 11:30am.

Date : 22 March 2024
Time : 9.30 am to 10 am : registration
10-11h15: session
11h15-11h30: Q & À
11h30 to 1 pm : cocktail reception

Location : Le Cercle de l’Union Interalliée , 33 rue du faubourg saint-honoré, 75008, paris, France

Recent Work Highlights

Our lawyers at Obeid & Partners have extensive experience in complex cross-border matters. Since the establishment of the firm in 1987, we have represented various clients ranging from government and government entities to nationally and internationally renowned investors, corporations and individuals. Our clients are distinguished in their respective fields of expertise.

Our team holds a track record in handling complex local and international cases, of which relevant work highlights include:

Hospitality

Successfully representing multiple owners of shares in an unprecedented class action before the Lebanese courts, involving a landmark resort in Beirut. The matter involved complex proceedings in addition to requiring significant logistical and coordination skills for the various plaintiffs in the context of the class action. This prompted the firm to develop an in-house protocol […]

Educational Services

Successfully representing a dually licensed private university in relation to a criminal lawsuit as well as an administrative claim.

Aviation

Successfully representing a world leading provider of solutions for the travel industry, in relation to a series of complex disputes pending before the Lebanese courts, involving seizure matters, URL geo-blocking, payment claims, action on the merits, and other proceedings. 

States

Successfully representing foreign states before the Lebanese courts in a series of complex court actions involving both private and public international law issues, relating to advance payment claims, real estate and lease agreements. 

Banking and Finance

Successfully representing a major oil trader, in what is still known as the largest litigation in Lebanon involving a claim in excess of one billion dollars against one of the largest local banks.  This was a first-of-kind matter in the banking sector which challenged the amnesty in the current financial crisis in Lebanon and the […]

Oil and Gas

Successfully representing  a group in relation to a complex cross-border action involving worldwide freezing injunctions and document preservation orders with claim amounts exceeding USD 300 million. Our firm secured a first-of-a-kind decision from the Lebanese courts and advised on complex cross-border matters involving mareva injunctions.