Arbitration is the preferred forum for substantial commercial disputes in Kuwait and across the Gulf. It is governed by the Civil and Commercial Procedure Law, Decree-Law No. 38 of 1980, and by the Judicial Arbitration Law, Law No. 11 of 1995 as amended by Law No. 12 of 2013. Foreign awards are recognised and enforced under the related international treaties. The firm acts at every stage, from the drafting of the clause to the enforcement of the award, and four of our lawyers are accredited arbitrators.
Most of the difficulty we are asked to resolve was created at the contract stage. We advise on the seat, the governing law, the language of the proceedings, the number of arbitrators and the mechanism for appointing them, the scope of what is referred, and the interaction between an arbitration clause and the jurisdiction of the Kuwaiti courts. A defective clause is the most common route to a jurisdictional challenge, and the cheapest point at which to correct it is before signature.
We also act on the applications that run alongside the arbitration: challenges to arbitrators, objections to jurisdiction, interim and precautionary measures before the Kuwaiti courts, applications to set aside an award, and the deposit, recognition and enforcement of awards in Kuwait and of Kuwaiti awards abroad.