Enforcement and Challenge of Arbitral Awards in the Mainland UAE

As a part of Dubai Arbitration Week, BUiD is organising a Panel Discussion on :

Enforcement and Challenge of Arbitral Awards in the Mainland UAE: Seven Years and One Round of Amendments Later do provisions of the Federal Arbitration Law 2018 support or hinder Enforcement?

Several provisions of the Federal Arbitration Law 2018 (FAL) be it those governing the legal capacity of the signatories of the arbitration agreement, public order and morality or the omission to allow tribunals to grant legal costs have in recent times led to challenges to arbitral awards in the mainland UAE. The latest 2023 amendments to the FAL have also not attempted to address the issues that provisions of the 2018 legislation posit. Considering the same, what are the key changes that could benefit the FAL? Additionally, despite the shortcomings in the legislation is the judiciary driving a pro or anti enforcement stance for arbitral awards in the mainland UAE? How is this influencing or hindering the mainland UAE’s perception as an ‘arbitration-friendly’ jurisdiction?

Date, Time and Venue:

Date: 13 November 2025

Time: 1.00pm to 3.00pm

Venue: British University of Dubai (BUiD)

Mode of attendance: In person

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Speakers & Moderator:

Dr. Emad Hussein (Independent Arbitrator, Accredited Mediator and Academic)

Dr. Emad Hussein is a Senior Advisor (MENA) at the Singapore International Dispute Resolution Academy (SIDRA), an independent international arbitrator, accredited mediator, academic, and published author. He is empanelled with leading arbitral institutions including SIAC, ICC, LCIA, DIAC, arbitrateAD, HKIAC, QICCA, CRCICA, SCCA, AAA-ICDR, and LCICA, and serves as a mediator with the World Bank’s CAO. A faculty member of CIArb, he has trained arbitrators, mediators, and judges across the MENA region in collaboration with UNCITRAL and CLDP. He holds two PhDs and two LLMs from SOAS, Queen Mary University of London, Newcastle University, and ISM, USA, respectively.

Prof. Aymen Masadeh (Dean of the Faculty of Business & Law at the BUiD)

Professor Masadeh is an experienced arbitrator in business law. He is Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) and a board member of the International Construction Law Association (ICLA). He is on the panel of arbitrators at various arbitration centres, such as the Dubai International Arbitration Center DIAC, the London Court of International Arbitration LCIA, Abu Dhabi Global Market Arbitration Centre ADGMAC, Saudi Centre for Commercial Arbitration SCCA, the Hong-Kong International Arbitration Centre HKIAC and the Asian International Arbitration Centre AIAC. Professor Masadeh conducted training courses on arbitration, construction, civil law, foreign direct investment, damages & legal ethics.

Maria Mazzawi (Registrar, arbitrateAD)

Maria Mazzawi is the Registrar of the Abu Dhabi International Arbitration Centre (arbitrateAD) and Co-Vice Chair of the CIArb UAE National Committee. A trilingual, civil law-qualified dispute resolution specialist, she has over 14 years of experience in the Middle East, serving as both arbitrator and counsel in international arbitrations across multiple jurisdictions. Recognised in the Legal500 Middle East Arbitration Power Lists (2022–2023), she holds an LLM from Queen Mary University of London and is a CIArb Fellow and Jordanian lawyer. Maria has published extensively in leading platforms such as Kluwer, GAR, and the International Journal of Arab Arbitration.

Moderator: Dr. Mohamed Hafez (Special Counsel, DIAC)

Dr. Mohamed Hafez is Special Counsel at the Dubai International Arbitration Centre (DIAC) and a distinguished arbitration practitioner with over 20 years of experience across the Middle East and Africa. He has served as counsel in international disputes spanning various industries and under all major arbitral rules, as well as sitting as an arbitrator. A Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb), Dr. Hafez is a frequent speaker and published author in the field of arbitration. He holds an LL.B. from Cairo University, an LL.M. from Queen Mary University of London, and a Ph.D. in Law from the University of Basel, Switzerland.