Today BRR speaks with Doug Jones, who is a Partner and the Head of International Arbitration at Clayton Utz.  Joining him is Essam Al Tamimi, who’s a Senior Partner and Head of Arbitration at Al Tamimi & Co.  Gentlemen thank you so much for joining me today.

Thank you.

Doug in an increasingly globalised economy more and more companies are turning to international arbitration to resolve their commercial disputes, how important is recognition of various cultures and laws to both the acceptance and enforceability of commercial arbitration decisions?

Decisions need to be decided according to the appropriate law, whether that’s local or not, depends on the agreement.  So far as culture is concerned, it’s legally irrelevant but very important from a practical point of view.  Parties need to have their culture respected in order to accept the outcome of decisions, as do local courts enforcing outcomes, they need to appreciate their culture has also been respected.

Essam in your experience with international arbitration and Sharia law is there a place for Sharia law in international arbitration decisions?

Indeed Islamic law recognise arbitration from day one of Islam, and maybe even before then, but has been progressed through Islam.  It’s been – they recognise and develop some of the Islamic juries prudence, there is no conflict between Islam and arbitration and actually they complement each other, and Islamic laws support arbitration recognise.  There has been however some misconceptions from some of the Islamic scholar and maybe some of the international user that Islamic law my conflict international arbitration and put some restrictions which is not true; both of them actually could cohere and work together very well.

And Essam how might we see Sharia law applied to international arbitration in the future?

Islamic law is a principle of law that’s been invited into quantified law in most of Arabian Islamic countries.  You may find the source of the law that comes from the Sharia and Islamic principle, but most of the Islamic countries and other countries with maybe exception of one state, has enacted laws within their quantified law and the principle of it made in Sharia.  Those laws and regulations that involve these local laws does not conflict with arbitration actually support arbitration and they could be used in any local or international arbitration whether in sense of procedure law or law of substance.

Gentlemen it’s been a pleasure, thank you for joining me today.

A pleasure.

Thank you.