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Dubai Arbitration Week 9 - 13 November 2026

Event Themes: Arbitration related domestic litigation

Hadef & Partners – UAE Arbitration: The Good, The Bad and the In Between

As arbitration in the UAE continues to evolve, this seminar will feature a panel discussion and provide candid insights into the progress achieved, the persistent challenges, and the grey areas that practitioners and clients need to navigate.

Programme Highlights:
• Positive developments strengthening the UAE’s position as a credible arbitration hub
• Ongoing hurdles and practical concerns faced by arbitration users
• Key trends shaping the future of arbitration in the region

Join us for what promises to be a dynamic and thought-provoking discussion, bringing together leading practitioners and experts to share their perspectives on the evolving UAE arbitration landscape.

Speakers –

• Zarghona Fazal, Partner, Arbitration and Head of DIFC/ADGM Litigation, Hadef & Partners
• Omar Al Heloo, Partner, Dispute Resolution, Hadef & Partners
• Tom Montagu-Smith KC, 3 Verulam Buildings and co-author of The DIFC Courts Practice
• Anis Antoine Naim, Senior Counsel, Dubai International Arbitration Centre

Solid Ground: How Dubai’s Construction Sector and Dispute Resolution Framework Is Engineering Resilience Against Regional Disruption

Regional disruption is testing the Gulf’s construction industry like never before. So why is Dubai proving more resilient than many of its neighbours?

Join leading voices from the worlds of economics, development and dispute resolution for a timely discussion on what’s keeping projects moving, supply chains flowing and investor confidence alive amid ongoing regional uncertainty.

ADG Legal – Interim and Emergency Relief: Practical Considerations and Strategic Challenges

The panel will explore the strategic use of interim and emergency relief in arbitration and related court proceedings, including when parties should turn to an emergency arbitrator, an arbitral tribunal or the courts to protect assets, preserve the status quo or secure effective relief.

Drawing on recent practical experience, the discussion will consider how arbitral proceedings and court-ordered measures can work alongside one another, examining the role of UAE onshore and offshore courts in supporting arbitration, and the practical challenges of obtaining, coordinating and enforcing urgent relief in complex domestic and cross-border disputes.

The panel will also examine the strategic decisions practitioners face when time is critical, including jurisdiction, timing, enforcement and the interaction between parallel court and arbitral proceedings.

𝗠𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿:
Mohammed Al Dahbashi, Managing Partner, ADG Legal, Dubai

𝗣𝗮𝗻𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀:
David McCoy, Head of International Disputes, ADG Legal, Abu Dhabi
Rahma Elkhashab, Associate, ADG Legal, Dubai
Simon Davenport, King’s Counsel, 4 Pump Court, London
Leonora Riesenburg, Chartered Arbitrator & Mediator, 4-5 Gray’s Inn Square, London
Dr. Nasser Mehsin Al-Adba, Founder & Head of Arbitration, Omani & Partners, Lusail

𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗺𝗲:
4:00 – 4:30 pm | Registration & Networking
Welcome refreshments and an opportunity to connect with fellow attendees.
4:30 – 5:30 pm | Panel Discussion
An engaging discussion exploring key issues and practical perspectives.
5:30 – 6:00 pm | Q & A
Audience questions and further discussion with the panelists.
6:00 – 6:30 pm | Closing & Networking
Closing remarks followed by informal networking over a glass of fizz.

Pick Your Fight – Civil Law or Common Law – Arbitration or Courts?

With civil law courts, common law courts and arbitration all forming part of the UAE disputes landscape, choosing the right forum and the governing law are increasingly a strategic decision.

This interactive session will explore the issues that arise when those forums intersect, including challenges to arbitration agreements, jurisdiction, court intervention, interim relief, parallel proceedings and enforcement. It will also consider when arbitration genuinely offers an advantage over litigation, and how parties should approach forum and governing law selection when drafting dispute resolution clauses.

Following a short fireside conversation with a leading disputes figure, the session will move into a fast-paced, audience-led debate, with senior moderators testing practical scenarios and inviting perspectives from practitioners, arbitrators and in-house counsels.

Ten Times Apart: Discount Rates and Country Risk in MENA Quantum Disputes

A 90-minute panel on the single assumption that most often explains the gap between claimant and respondent quantum experts: the discount rate. Working through one DCF example, the panel will show how choices on country-risk premium, currency, valuation date and project-specific risk move a damages figure, where risk gets double-counted between cash flows and the rate, and how tribunals have treated these choices in commercial and investment awards.

The session is aimed at counsel and arbitrators who have to test a valuation rather than build one: what to ask the expert, which inputs are evidence and which are judgment, and how to narrow the difference between two experts before the hearing.

Format: 60-minute moderated panel (testifying economist), followed by 30 minutes of Q&A.
Hosted by Forensic Economic Services LLC (Los Angeles).
Email Info@Rule703.com and book your seat before we are all booked.

Building the Energy Transition, Resolving the Disputes: Risk, Claims, and Arbitration in Middle East Energy Projects

As investment in energy infrastructure expands across the Middle East, increasingly complex projects are creating new technical, contractual, and commercial challenges for owners, contractors, and their counsel. This panel will explore how disputes arise during the design, construction, commissioning, and operation of conventional and renewable energy facilities, and how those disputes ultimately reach international arbitration. Particular attention will be given to features of projects and dispute resolution in the Middle East, including the evolving regional arbitration landscape. Drawing on practical experience, the panel will conclude with lessons for counsel and project participants on managing technical evidence and positioning complex energy disputes for effective resolution.