DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION DEPARTMENT

DOMESTIC & INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION

In light of approving arbitration mechanism as a method to resolve many disputes, we sought to attract a number of accredited arbitrators in all disciplines as registered with the Ministry of Justice in Saudi Arabia, to join the members of this Department, either as full-time or part-time members, to deal with the arbitration proceedings inside and outside the Kingdom, either in Arabic or foreign languages. This team has managed to deal with many cases filed locally and internationally in connection with real estate, civil and commercial disputes. In light of the amendments to the new Saudi Arbitration Law, issued in 1433H, inclusions of new package of advantages have been put into action in arbitration disputes, , such as, Ad-hoc arbitration, institutional arbitration, domestic, foreign and international arbitration. In addition, the new Saudi Arbitration Law has taken into consideration the choice of the contending parties to resort to arbitration to resolve their disputes, provided not to violate the provisions of Islamic Law and the international conventions to which Saudi Arabia is a party. This stipulation applies to arbitration through organization or permanent arbitration commissions, or arbitration centers outside the Kingdom, such as the GCC Arbitration Centre in Bahrain, the International Islamic Center for Reconciliation and Arbitration in Dubai, the Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris or the London Court of International Arbitration.

The new Arbitration Law of the Saudi Arabia represents an advanced model of the arbitration progress and fulfills a genuine need in this area to keep pace with the latest local and international regulations, making it a preferred choice for traders to resolve their disputes in an effective and rapid manner, as it incorporated many of the principles internationally applied according to “UNCITRAL” issued by the United Nations Organization, which many countries have benefited from in formulating its national laws and arbitration regulations. Undoubtedly, the new Arbitration Law is considered an advanced leading step in supporting arbitration in Saudi Arabia. This situation shall provide one of the successful alternatives for settling disputes between the parties if they voluntarily choose arbitration to settle their disputes. This movement will support business activities and investment transactions, whether within the Kingdom or with foreign companies abroad, and a praised step in establishing the primary framework for arbitration, especially after the inclusion of the international arbitration besides domestic arbitration, which resulted in achieving a close tie between the judiciary and arbitration in particular, the accuracy of arbitration process, and ensuring judicial control over the various arbitration stages, based on the assumption that the arbitration awards are not appealable except where there is a ground to nullify it, if any.