SCCA Board of Directors and Advisory Committee are reshaped

Published Date: 27/02/2025

In a step aimed at consolidating the governance of the Saudi Center for Commercial Arbitration (SCCA) and enhancing the principle of independence and neutrality in its various bodies, SCCA announced the issuance of the high order reconstituting its Board of Directors for its fourth term. The new Board includes international and Saudi figures in the field of alternative dispute resolution (ADR). The members bring diverse expertise in arbitration, law, and business, as well as diversity in gender, nationality, and cultural background, thereby enriching SCCA’s work and elevating the services it provides to business sectors.

According to the SCCA Statute, the Board of Directors is the SCCA's highest authority. It performs several roles, including approving SCCA’s strategy, policies, and plans, adopting internal regulations, and approving procedural rules, but it has nothing to do with the administration of arbitration cases and does not intervene in them. The SCCA Board of Directors conducts its work independently, as none of its members holds a governmental post or position. 

The Board, whose term lasts until February 2028, includes Dr. Walid Abanumay as Chairman (Saudi Arabia), Mr. Toby Landau as Vice Chairman (UK). The members are Dr. Mohamed Abdel Raouf (Egypt), Prof. Georges Affaki (France), Dr. Abdullah Al Ajlan (Saudi), Dr. Saud Al Ammari (Saudi), Ms. Abby Cohen Smutny (US), Mr. Musaab Al Muhaidib (Saudi), Mr. Abdulaziz Mohammed Al Subeaei (Saudi), and Mr. Jingzhou Tao (France - China).

Under the leadership of its new Board, SCCA will continue to develop its operations and upgrade its services in line with international best practices, meeting the needs of businesses across all segments and sectors.

In a related context, SCCA reconstituted its Rules Advisory Committee to perform its functions on a broader scale and under a new name, Global Advisory Committee (GAC), a distinguished elite of international arbitration experts from within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and around the world. The committee consists of 16 members, including independent international arbitrators, legal consultants who have worked in prominent international arbitration centers, lawyers from local and foreign firms, and law professors from several international universities.

GAC will be responsible, within the scope of its new work, for providing technical advice to SCCA to enable it to continue developing its operations and upgrading its services. This will be done by offering guidance and direction for the continuous improvement of SCCA’s rules, procedures, and services, monitoring international trends in the arbitration industry, and consulting with SCCA regarding the introduction of new services or the review of existing services.

On this occasion, SCCA Chairman Dr. Walid bin Sulaiman Abanumay, confirmed that the new Board will commence its work concurrently with the approval of the SCCA's updated operational strategy. The Board will support and empower SCCA to achieve its ambitious new vision of being the preferred ADR choice in the MENA by 2030, and one of the leading institutional centers worldwide. 

Dr. Abanumay added that SCCA works through its various bodies according to a sound operational framework that ensures that its various bodies are independent from each other and that each performs the tasks assigned to it to the fullest extent. The Board of Directors plays a supervisory role over the work of SCCA without interfering in the administration of its cases, while the arbitratral tribunals perform their roles in resolving the disputes referred to them and do not receive instructions from the Board of Directors regarding case administration. The SCCA Court plays a supportive role in addressing technical aspects related to SCCA-administered arbitration cases and operates independently from theSCCA Board of Directors, committees, and staff. 

SCCA CEO Dr. Hamed bin Hassah Merah emphasized that the new board will play a crucial role in advancing the SCCA's ambitious vision and supporting its efforts both locally and internationally.

Dr. Merah added: "GAC will enrich SCCA with international best practices. It will observe the industry and developments at the international level, then propose and contribute to the development of the SCCA procedural rules and detail services that align with the nature of its work."