CRCICA was selected as one of two arbitration Centres in the region to participate in expert consultations on the Iraqi Draft Arbitration Law which is currently being reviewed by the Iraqi Shura Council and other official councils and commissions. Within this context, CRCICA Director took part in a Review of the Iraqi Draft Law Workshop which was held on 3 and 4 April 2012 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Sponsored by the Commercial Law Development Program (CLDP) and the Dubai International Arbitration Centre (DIAC), the Workshop was preceded by Lessons Learned in International Arbitration Seminar on 1 – 2 April 2012, which discussed existing laws in the region and highlighted the experiences of established international arbitration centres. CRCICA practices were approached in a comparative perspective session bringing together the structure, rules and decisions of the ICC, the LCIA, the DIAC and the CRCICA.
It is not common that an Arab country discusses its draft arbitration law among experts from other countries. This approach is to be saluted as it would enable the Iraqi legislator to learn some lessons from the practice in other countries and, thus, to adopt a modern law reflecting the best practices in the field of commercial arbitration. It is hoped that after reviewing the comments provided by the experts, the new law will be enacted soon.
While CRCICA’s review of the Iraq’s Draft Law and legal environment has been prevailing since 2006, it strings up in a chain of similar institutional input over the years. The Centre has been called upon to provide technical assistance sustaining legal infrastructures in various African and Asian countries. This has varied between establishment and operation of national arbitration centres, drafting, revising or awareness-raising of national arbitration laws in many countries of the region including Morocco, Djibouti, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Palestine and lately Iraq.
