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06 July 2010 - Summary of ICC UAE Banking Commission Meeting

ICC UAE held its Banking Commission Meeting on 6th July 2010 at Commercial Bank of Dubai. The Agenda of the meeting was: “comments from the members to sought about the future course of action for the Banking Commission”.

Mr. Humaid Mohammed Ali Salem Director General of UAQ Chamber of Commerce and Industry and BOD Member of ICC UAE welcomed the participants. He briefly gave introduction of ICC UAE and its recent activities in the country. He said that ICC UAE has always been keeping the Banking Industry updated as for the International laws and practices are concerned through workshops and seminars. He gave the examples of UCP 600 and URDG -758, He said that we launched UCP 600 in 2007 and we did many workshops, the same way we have planned couple of workshops on URDG 758 after Ramazan. He said that we are working to promote ICC in the regions and we are trying to establish as many commission as we can. He said we recently established ICC UAE Commission on Arbitration which was highly successful. We have got more than 60 members in the span of four months and the number is increasing day by day. He said that ICC UAE is looking to work for the banking industry in more efficient and effective way. He asked the members of Banking Commission that we would like to have your suggestions and opinions to plan the future activities of ICC UAE Banking Commission.

Mr. Iqbal Karmally Head of Trade Finance Sharjah Islamic Bank and ICC UAE Banking Commission Coordinator in his speech informed the participants of the meeting of the achievements of ICC UAE Banking Commission in the past and the future planning and activities. He said that we held a workshop with Mr. Gary Collyer, Mr Mukundan and Mr. Vincent Obrien in March 2009 “Advanced Trade Finance Workshop for Practitioners” which was attended by more than 90 participants. We held two workshops with Mr. Vincent Obrien on UCP 600 in 2007 and 2008. He said that we were ranked 10th in giving our suggestions on UCP 600. We worked successfully with ICC Paris on launching UCP 600 in UAE.

He said that we sponsored ICC Banking Commission Meeting on 10-12th March 2009 with Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry for the first time in Middle East. This was our big achievement.

Mr. Iqbal Karmally has been appointed as member of the ISBP drafting committee, which is an honour for ICC UAE.

He said that ICC UAE is planning to hold couple of workshops on URDG in the second half of 2010. Mr. Mr. Jack Saboungy from Lebanon, as he bilingual (Arabic & English) and Mr. Vincent O’ Brien is being considered to facilitate the workshop. However, trying to get someone from the URDG Drafting Group.

There are also plans to hold workshop with Gary in line with his Master Class workshop, in October 2010. The targeted audience will be Corporate Organizations and the other for Banks.

He also asked for the suggestion from the participant for Mr. Gary Collyer Workshop.

He said we will try to hold workshop on Incoterms 2010 as the new version of incoterms is going to be implemented from 1st January 2011.

Mr. Laksmanan and Iqbal Karmally announced creation of Working Group of ICC UAE Banking Commission having the members of the group:

Mr. Iqbal Karmally (Sharjah Islamic Bank)
Mr. Lakshmanan Sankaran (Commercial Bank of Dubai)
Mr. Rangan (National Bank of Fujairah)
Mr. Aleem Jaffri (Dubai Islamic Bank)

Mr. Zahoor Dattu suggested concentrating on new topics like Basle II or how to get the payment past etc, which will be more useful for the banking industry.

Mr. Habibullah asked the members of the Banking Commission to create task forces on different topics from the Banking Industry. This can be one of the methods to keep the banking industry updated along with workshops and seminars. He gave the example of the Arbitration Commission which has created three task forces recently and working successfully.

Mr. Rangan suggested holding workshops on Incoterms 2010, URDG, bill of Exchange etc.

Mrs. Thressie Syam asked to hold workshop on URC.

It was decided that Banking Commission General body will meet atleast once in every quarter in order to inform you about the progress being made by ICC UAE. It was also decided that Working Group will also meet atleast once in every quarter prior to Banking Commission General body meeting.

Mr. Iqbal Karmally thanked the participants for their suggestions and informed that wherever possible their viable suggestions will be considered while planning future strategy for Banking Commission.

Mr. Laksmanan thanked participants for attending the meeting and invited them for the Dinner.

ICC UAE and Banking Commission is highly grateful to Mr. Laksmanan and Commercial Bank of Dubai for sponsoring the Banking Commission meeting and special dinner for the participants.

06 July 2010 - ICC UAE Commission on Arbitration discusses key Issues and proposed changes To The draft UAE Arbitration Law

ICC UAE hosted a round table meeting on 6th July 2010, to discuss concerns, proposed changes and issues with regard to the draft Arbitration law.

Lawyers from various law firms in the UAE (including Al Tamimi & Company, The law firm of Ali Al Aidarous, Clifford Chance LLP, Freshfeilds Bruckhaus Deringer LLP and Fulbright & Jaworski LLP) participated and voiced their thoughts on the draft law. Essam Al Tamimi, senior partner at Al Tamimi & Company and Member of the ICC International Court of Arbitration said that “there was a consensus on the improvements that need to be made to the draft law and the meeting was a positive step towards finalizing the Law.” The comments covered all stages of the arbitration process and other issues such as dealing with interim measures in support of arbitration in the UAE, the power to enter into arbitration, arbitrator’s immunity, multi-party disputes and joinder.

The new Arbitration law has the potential to be one of the leading arbitration laws in the region. The reform has taken into account the particular features and needs of arbitration in the UAE.

In light of the increasing number of arbitrations being conducted in the UAE, the new arbitration law is critical to supporting arbitration and businesses in the UAE.

ICC UAE plan to host a follow up meeting to continue the discussion and propose further amendments to the Law.

08 June 2010 - ICC UAE Commission on Arbitration General Assembly Meeting:

The ICC UAE held the first General Assembly Meeting of its Commission on Arbitration on 8th June 2010 at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Dubai. The meeting was attended by more than 70 leading lawyers practicing in the UAE.

The Meeting was chaired by Mr. Essam Al Tamimi the Chairman of the ICC UAE Commission on Arbitration, Mr. Humaid Mohameed Ali Salem, Board Member of ICC UAE and the Director General of Umm Al Quwain Chamber of Commerce and Industry gave the welcome speech. He gave a brief introduction of ICC UAE and its activities. He also informed the participants of the ICC UAE’s future activities. He explained that the Chamber of Commerce was involved in keeping industries based in the UAE updated and informed of the latest international developments of rules and regulations and practice by holding workshops and seminars.

Mr. Essam Al Tamimi said that 35% of the Arbitration Commission’s members are from the country and 65% hold different nationalities. He said the 40% of DIAC’s arbitration cases revolve around the construction and real estate industries.

He stated that the number of Arbitration cases filed at DIAC 2009 was up to 300. Mr. Al Tamimi said that 2009 witnessed a significant increase in the number of cases in the country as compared to the number of cases in 2008 when DIAC’s caseload stood at 100. Preliminary indications suggest that this year DIAC will break last year’s numbers On the other hand, Mr. Al Tamimi explained that the Commission's objectives are to create awareness of arbitration among lawyers and judges and to contribute to the practice of arbitration in the UAE, for example, by commenting on the draft of the Federal Arbitration Law currently under review by the Ministry of Finance. The commission will also try to develop ways to develop the culture of arbitration in the region with the joint cooperation of the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris. The Commission will work to develop various Task forces which will be working on different topics related to the practice of arbitration.

He said the commission will work to enhance the activities of the International Chamber of Commerce not only in the country but also in the region more broadly. In addition, the commission will assist in the selection of qualified arbitrators when the ICC UAE is asked to assist by the ICC in Paris.

ICC UAE is planning to hold more seminars, workshops, training programs and conferences in the future in the UAE.

03 March 2010 - ICC-UAE Chapter creates new Arbitration Commission

The Chapter has recently held a meeting in Dubai to appoint the steering committee members as well as the chairman and vice chairmen – an important milestone in the formation of the ICC-UAE Arbitration Commission

DUBAI – The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) UAE Chapter has organized a meeting attended by key ICC executives during which the members of the steering committee, chairman and vice chairmen of the new ICC-UAE Arbitration Committee were appointed. The event took place on 28 February in Dubai, UAE.

Mr. Abdullah Sultan Abdullah, Secretary General - FCCI and Board of Director - ICC UAE attended the meeting and chaired the session. He welcomed the attendees and thanked them for being available on behalf of H.E Dr. Ahmed Saif Belhasa the chairman of ICC UAE and gave them a brief summary of the ICC UAE Chapter’s activities and accomplishments. He also outlined the workshop and the seminar that was held in the UAE, along with plans to hold further workshops and seminars in 2010 and activities of ICC UAE in the country.

Taking the stage, Sami Houerbi the Director Eastern Mediterranean, Middle-East and Africa International Court of Arbitration and Dispute Resolution Services, made a presentation on the new ICC UAE Arbitration Commission. Houerbi emphasized the importance of the arbitrators of the country participating in international arbitration activities which take place in different countries throughout the year.

Houerbi also suggested that more efforts should be exerted in order to make the UAE a hub in international arbitration, which consequently further promote and propagate ICC in the UAE.

Another leading speaker, Lara Hamoud, enlightened the delegates on the ICC Arbitration System in Paris, France. Hamoud explained how this system works in detail.

Finally, the ICC UAE Arbitration Commission’s structure and various functions were presented by Essam Al Tamimi, the ICC UAE BOD Member.

Several major decisions were also agreed upon by the attendees. It was decided that the steering committee shall meet twice a year and the members shall initially be registered as the members of the ICC UAE.

The members of the steering committee are also requested to recommend and invite other prominent lawyers to become members of the ICC UAE as well as the Arbitration Commission.

The next steering committee meeting is scheduled to take place by the end of March 2010 and the General Assembly is to be held in May this year.

On the appointments, it was announced that Essam Al Tamimi was elected as the chairman of the steering committee. The elected four vice-chairmen are Dr. Abdul Rehman Al Shaikh, Reza Mohtashami, Philip Punwar and Lara Hamoud.

03 February 2010 - UAE National Committee holds its 13th Meeting

UAE National Committee holds its 13th Meeting

The UAE National Committee of the International Chamber of Commerce held its 13th meting at the FCCI’s offices in Dubai. The meeting was chaired by his Excellency Dr. Ahmed Saif Belhasa. Attending the meeting were their Excellencies Saeed Al Jarwan, General Secretary of the Committee, Abdullah Sultan Abdullah, FCCI’s General Secretary, Hamad Rashid Al Nuaime, Mohammad Rashid Al Hamely, Hameed Mohammad Ali Salem , Lawyer Essam Al Temimi who are all members of the committee

Belhasa stated that the meeting discussed items on the agenda that focused mostly on improving the performance of the committee and consolidating communication between its members as well as improving consultation and cooperation with other Arabic and foreign national committees members of the Paris based International Chamber of Commerce. He hailed the role of the UAE FCCI and the member chambers in supporting the activities of the National Committee.

The meeting also discussed the committee’s local and international future activities planned for 2010 which will enhance economic ties between the local private sector ad its counterpart in the rest of the world. The meeting also discussed the 2010 estimated budget, the role of the International Chamber in improving economic ties between various countries of the world and particularly countries of the Middle East. The meeting also discussed some of the initiatives that were proposed by some national committees in addition to plans to face global financial crisis and its ramifications on the local and global levels.

The attendees recommended the importance of activating the programs and activities of the Committee and consider this matter of extreme importance so tat the committee will be able to serve the UAE chambers of commerce and the private sector in the country.

It is worth noting that the Dubai based National Committee was established in October 2002 and includes in its membership the UAE FCCI and the Chambers members as well as numerous economic functions and corporations. It aims to improve global commerce and investments.