Hassan Arab

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Biography

Hassan Arab is a leading expert in all aspects of civil and commercial litigation, arbitration, ADR, recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments and arbitral awards. He has spent his career building one of the strongest dispute resolution team in the Middle East which Legal 500 has recognised as “having a great reputation for local court work with a number of really good practitioners”. He continues to be known as a key name in Legal 500 (2024).

Chambers Global has commended Hassan Arab as a “real winner who gives excellent advice and solutions”. He has been recognised as an Eminent Practitioner in the UAE Dispute Resolution category for Chambers Global and has been ranked for the last 17 years. He is also ranked in Who’sWho Legal for a number of years, which include his latest rankings in 2024 as a recommended lawyer in three different practices: Arbitration, Commercial Litigation and Asset Recovery.

Hassan Arab has been recently appointed as a Court of Arbitration member in the Abu Dhabi International Arbitration Centre (arbitrateAD). He is frequently appointed as an arbitrator under the major arbitral institutions and is regularly invited to speak and publish on the many aspects of litigation, arbitration, and dispute resolution in the Middle East.

Recent Experience

Professional memberships and speaking engagements

Playing a leadership role in many professional organisations, Dr Hassan Arab has professional memberships which includes:

Member of the ICC International Court of Arbitration;
Court member in the Dubai International Arbitration Centre (DIAC);
Court member in the Abu Dhabi International Arbitration Centre (arbitrateAD)
Member of the Advisory Council of Asian International Arbitration Centre (AIAC)
Member of the future Arbitration Court of the Casablanca International Mediation & Arbitration Centre (CIMAC);
Board Advisor of Delos Dispute Resolution;
Board Advisor of Dubai University;
Lecturer at the Saint Joseph University;
Former Chairman of the Steering Committee of the ICC UAE Commission on Arbitration & ADR;
Former Member of the DIFC Court Users Committee;
Former Chairman of the IBA Arab Regional Forum (2007-2009);
Former member of the IBA’s Legal Practice Division Council Liaison Officer to the Arab Regional Forum (2010-2014)
Former vice chairman of the IBA Arbitration Committee (2014-2016)

Arbitration

Hassan Arab serves as an arbitrator in complex and commercial cases under the major arbitral rules such as ICC, DIAC, SIAC, Bahrain Chamber for Dispute Resolution (BCDR) and Sharjah International Commercial Arbitration Centre (TAHKEEM). He has been appointed as sole-arbitrator, party-nominated arbitrator and the president of the arbitral tribunal in large and complex cases across a wide variety of sectors including construction, real-estate, intellectual property and corporate disputes.

Hassan Arab is listed in the panel of arbitrators in:

International Chamber of Commerce (ICC)ADGM Arbitration Centre
International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID)
Dubai International Arbitration Centre (DIAC)
Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC)
Sharjah International Commercial Arbitration Centre (TAHKEEM)
Asian International Arbitration Centre (AIAC)
Cairo Regional Centre for International Commercial Arbitration (CRCICA)
Shanghai Arbitration Commission (SHAC)

He also has extensive dispute resolution experience in providing expert opinions on the UAE laws before several arbitral tribunals and foreign courts.

Hassan Arab has published his doctoral thesis titled “Critical Study of the Concept of International Arbitration in the UAE: Identifying Problems Affecting the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign and International Arbitral Awards” (6 October 2016).

Selected Speaking Engagements

Riyadh International Disputes Week 2024, The Art of Cross-Examination, Singapore International Arbitration Centre and YSIAC, Riyadh, 3 March 2024
Riyadh International Disputes Week 2024, The Impact of Culture in Construction Disputes, Inter-Pacific Bar Association, Riyadh, 3 March 2024
Explore Recent Developments on Arbitration in Abu Dhabi, Al Tamimi & Company Breakfast Seminar, 15 February 2024
A Comprehensive Overview of UAE’s Changing Arbitration Landscape, Lexis Nexis Middle East and DIFC Academy, 29 February 2024
Dubai Arbitration Week 2023, GAR Live Dubai, A roundup of key court decisions in the region, 15 November 2023
Dubai Arbitration Week 2023, Navigating Legal Waters: Empowering Oman though Arbitration Excellence, Oman Commercial Arbitration Centre, 13 November 2023
Developments in International Arbitration, Lexis Nexis Middle East, 20 November 2018

Publications

Hassan Arab has written and lectured extensively on various topics which include arbitration, dispute resolution, enforcement of judgments, specialised court and committees in UAE. He has also authored
several books and articles including:

The Aftermath of Decree 34: The Saga Continues in Singapore, Kluwer Arbitration Blog, 18 April 2024
Fresh Off The Press: The Latest arbitrateAD Rules, Kluwer Arbitration Blog, 16 February 2024
Recent Dubai Court of Cassation Judgments: Is Arbitration an Exceptional Means of Resolving Disputes?, Kluwer Arbitration Blog, 13 February 2024
MENA Leading Arbitrators’ Guide to International Arbitration, Juris Arbitration Law (Contributor)
2021 In Review: Middle East Overview, Kluwer Arbitration Blog, 8 March 2022
The Global Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Commercial Dispute Resolution in the 1st Seven Months, Dispute Resolution Issue, UAE Chapter Contribution, 2020
Recent Developments in Arbitration Law and Practice, UAE Arbitration Yearbook 2020
An Overview of Emerging Arbitration Jurisdictions: Part II, Asian International Arbitration Centre Newsletter (Special Edition) December 2020, Vol 14 No. 2 (Contributor)
A Guide to Arbitration in the UAE, ICC publication, 1st Edition, December 2020 (Contributor)
Requirements, Role and Liability of Arbitrators: Onshore UAE, ADGM and DIFC Arbitration, The UAE Arbitration Yearbook, February 2020
United Arab Emirates chapter, The Insurance Disputes Law Review – Edition 2, July 2019
Dubai Issues Judgment in Support of International Arbitration, Kluwer, April 2015
The Position of UAE Courts on the Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, BCDR International, Arbitration Review, Volume 1 – Issue 1, September 2014
A Setback for the Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards in Dubai, IBA Arbitration Newsletter, February 2014
Legal Studies & Articles (published between1998-2008)
Civil Procedures Law in the UAE Vol 1 and Vol 2
Criminal Procedures Law in the UAE (2013)
Summaries of UAE Courts’ Decisions on Arbitration (First Edition, co-editor, ICC Publication);
Summaries of UAE Courts’ Decisions on Arbitration 2012 – 2016, Including DIFC Court Decisions (Second Edition, co-editor, ICC Publication)