International arbitrator Gary Born: SCCA is contributing to the enhancement of commercial arbitration in the Middle East

Published Date: 30/11/2022

Prospects of the region’s arbitration industry

To raise awareness of commercial arbitration and to attract the best talent to the field, the Saudi Center for Commercial Arbitration (SCCA) hosted the prominent international arbitrator Gary Born for the first time in Saudi Arabia. Born spoke at a seminar in which he discussed the prospects of the arbitration industry in the region and the most significant international trends impacting it right now. 

Held in the capital, Riyadh, in partnership with LexisNexis, Burhan Almarifa, and SOL International, the event attracted prominent government officials, legal counsels, lawyers, and arbitrators.

Renowned in the field of international arbitration, ranked for more than 20 years as one of the world’s leading practitioners and chosen as the “World’s Best International Litigator” in a survey by Legal Media Group, Mr. Born chairs the 70-member International Arbitration Group and has participated in more than 600 international arbitration cases. He authored International Commercial Arbitration, one of the most important academic reference works on international commercial arbitration.

During the seminar, Born lauded SCCA’s caseloads of the past five years, noting they were especially impressive during the period of the pandemic, standing alongside other achievements such as the establishment of the SCCA Courts and the improvement of SCCA Rules. Adding that consistency in its decisions and activities will further contribute to the realization of the SCCA vision of being the preferred regional option for alternative dispute resolution by 2030.

Born added that in the past decade the Middle East has undergone noticeable development in its ability to attract international arbitration cases - with the establishment of the SCCA, in addition to other factors, having played a role in enhancing the region’s attractiveness in the field.

Born stressed the need to continue to build a track record of business sector confidence, which is one of the pillars of success in the industry. “It is not enough to have solid arbitration rules and an arbitration law, or to be a signatory of the New York and Singapore conventions. That gives you the ability to start the journey but does not guarantee that you will arrive. What matters is how the rules are applied by the arbitration center, how the terms of the convention are applied by the courts, and how the arbitrators perform – day after day, week after week, which builds business sector confidence over time.” 

Born visited the SCCA headquarters in Riyadh shortly before the seminar; where he met with SCCA CEO Dr. Hamed Bin Hassan Merah and was briefed on all the latest developments in SCCA activities. He also  toured the ADR facilities and met with the professional staff who provide arbitration, mediation, and other services.

SCCA organized the event to further enhance the interface of the arbitration community and the business sector, both locally and internationally, with the aim of disseminating a culture of arbitration, raising awareness and upgrading practices in the industry - all while promoting Saudi Arabia and its judicial environment as a safe arbitration venue attractive to local and foreign investment.