Dr. Emilia Onyema

Independent Arbitrator & Professor of International Commercial Law

Emilia Onyema is an independent arbitrator with experience as presiding, co and sole arbitrator, a Professor of International Commercial Law at SOAS University of London, qualified to practice law in Nigeria, as a Solicitor in England & Wales, Fellow CIArb and the Director of the SOAS Arbitration and Dispute Resolution Centre. She is a member of the CIMAC Court.

Dr. Umar A. Oseni

Secretary General, OIC Arbitration Centre

Dr. Umar A. Oseni is a leading arbitrator, mediator, and expert in dispute resolution, serving as Secretary General of the OIC Arbitration Centre in Istanbul. His work spans international law, Fintech, and Islamic finance, with expertise in investment, commercial, and emerging technology disputes. He previously led the IILM and serves on several global advisory boards, including the Financial Regulation Advisory Council of the Central Bank of Nigeria. A prolific scholar with over 100 publications, he has held academic roles as Associate Professor at IIUM and Visiting Fellow at Harvard.

Dr. Emad Hussein

International Arbitrator, Accredited Mediator & Academic

Dr. Emad Hussein is an international arbitrator, accredited mediator (CEDR, SIMI, IMI), and academic specialising in international dispute resolution. He serves as Senior Adviser (MENA) at SIDRA and Deputy President of the International Court of Arbitration at OIC-AC. He is empanelled with ICC, LCIA, DIAC, arbitrateAD, QICCA, CRCICA, HKIAC, SIAC, and AAA-ICDR, and is a mediator with the World Bank's CAO. An approved CIArb faculty member, he trains arbitrators and mediators globally and holds advisory roles with CIMAC.

Francisco Luis Abriani

Senior Legal Counsel

Francisco is Senior Legal Counsel at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), where he acts as Secretary of arbitral tribunals, conciliation commissions and mediations in investor-state proceedings. Before joining the ICSID, he worked for eight years at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in Paris and New York, acting as counsel in international investment and commercial arbitrations, as well as proceedings before the International Court of Justice.

Kawtar Jalal

CIMAC Court Member, Casablanca Bar

Kawtar Jalal is a lawyer admitted to the Casablanca Bar since 2005 and a founding partner of Agouram & Jalal. She is a member of the CIMAC Arbitration Court and previously served on the Casablanca Bar Council (2021–2023). Kawtar regularly acts as an arbitrator (chair, sole arbitrator, and co-arbitrator) in both domestic and international disputes, in ad hoc and institutional arbitration. She also assists and represents parties in arbitration proceedings across various sectors, including commercial law, construction, services, and real estate. She has solid experience in sports arbitration before Moroccan bodies, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), and the FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber.

Jalal El-Ahdab

CIMAC Court President, Paris

Jalal (Jil) El Ahdab is a partner at Fidal in the Dispute Resolution Group in Paris and co-head of its international arbitration and dispute resolution department. His practice focuses on Europe, Africa, and the MENA region, where he provides clients with extensive cross-border expertise in managing international disputes and arbitrations, particularly in international business law and foreign investment matters. With 25 years’ experience, he advises, acts as arbitrator, and serves as expert in international disputes across Europe, Africa, and the MENA region, particularly in business law and foreign investments. He has handled around 150 cases, including 30 as arbitrator, across sectors such as construction, energy, telecoms, and sports. A prolific author, he co-wrote Arbitration Law and Practice in France (2021). He has held key roles with UNCITRAL, ICC, and CIArb, and is qualified in Beirut, Paris, and New York.

Magnus Jesko Langer

Dr. Magnus Jesko Langer is Counsel at Lévy Kaufmann-Kohler (LKK) in Geneva and a member of the Geneva Bar. He specializes in international investment and commercial arbitration, as well as public international law, with particular experience in environmental disputes. His practice also covers energy, natural resources, infrastructure, and telecommunications. He has served as tribunal secretary in over 30 arbitrations under ICSID, UNCITRAL, SCC, and ICC rules, and has acted in proceedings before the International Court of Justice and Swiss courts. He holds a PhD in International Law (summa cum laude) from the Graduate Institute in Geneva.

Bryan Clark

Head of the School of Law Lancaster University

Bryan Clark is Professor and Head of the School of Law at Lancaster University. He is an established teacher, trainer and researcher with over two decades working in the field. His main research interests lie in the fields of dispute resolution, mediation and its interaction with formal civil justice processes and the workings of lawyers. He is Vice President of the Family Mediators Association, Trustee of the Arab Mediation Centre and former Trustee of Scottish Mediation. Recent training includes conflict mediation training for Nigerian judges and MoJ officials, judges and mediators from Saudi Arabia and negotiation training for Malaysian Diplomats. He won the ADR Academic of the Year award at the 2024 UK National Mediation Awards.

Ezzeddine A. Baassiri

Lebanese Arbitration & Mediation Centre

Ezzeddine A. Baassiri is the Founder and Managing Partner of Baassiri Law Firm in Beirut, with over 25 years of experience in corporate law, litigation, and international commercial arbitration. He serves as Legal Counsel and Head of Institutional Development at the Lebanese Arbitration and Mediation Center (LAMC), where he plays a key role in shaping institutional strategy, developing arbitration frameworks, and promoting ADR across the region. He regularly acts as arbitrator and counsel under leading institutional rules, including ICC, LCIA, and regional centers. He is a member of the ICC and CIArb, actively contributes to the development of arbitration practice across the MENA region, and regularly lectures on arbitration.

H.E. Justice Michael Black

CIMAC Court Member, Judge in DIFC Court

Justice Michael Black has been described as “… exceptionally fair, measured and thoughtful, whilst remaining utterly charming towards the parties. He is a consummate professional who is at the top of his game as an arbitrator, with decades of experience in complex commercial disputes all around the world”. Justice Black sits on the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Court of Appeal, where he also serves as Judge in charge of the Digital Economy Court. Alongside his judicial work, Justice Black maintains a substantial arbitration practice having sat in some 200 arbitrations worldwide.

Professor Dr Nadja Alexander

Director Singapore International Dispute Resolution Academy

Dr Nadja Alexander is Professor of Law and Director of the Singapore International Dispute Resolution Academy (SIDRA) at the Singapore Management University. She is recognised as a Global Elite Thought Leader in mediation by Who’s Who Legal.

Nadja is an award-winning author, trainer and educator. In the course of her career, she has been engaged as a conflict intervener/adviser in more than 40 countries. Nadja’s work is used legal and institutional reform, mediator professionalization and training.

Nadja was a founding member of the International Advisory Board of the UN Global Mediation Panel. She is a Lead Academic for the APEC ODR Framework. Her books include International and Comparative Mediation, Singapore Convention on Mediation, and Dispute Resolution Skills and Techniques. She is lead author of the SIDRA International Dispute Resolution Survey Report.

Zmarak Khan

Zmarak Khan, Deputy Chief Counsel, United States Department of Commerce, Commercial Law Development Program (CLDP)

Zmarak Khan is the Deputy Chief Counsel at the United States Department of Commerce, Office of the General Counsel’s Commercial Law Development Program (CLDP), where he oversees CLDP’s legal and technical work around the world in over 80 countries. Mr. Khan has worked extensively with many countries to reform their legal infrastructure to create an enabling environment for improved trade and investment, and thereby economic growth. His work encompasses a broad scope of commercial law reform issues and technical assistance programs – including, inter alia, alternative dispute resolution, anti-corruption, intellectual property, procurement, judicial capacity, investment, project finance, and WTO accession. Before joining CLDP, Mr. Khan was an associate at DLA Piper where he practiced complex commercial litigation, national security and battlefield incident litigation, white collar and regulatory defense, and government contracts litigation, with a specific focus on representing and advising companies in conflict and post-conflict areas. Mr. Khan received his Juris Doctorate and LL.M. in International and Comparative Law from Cornell University Law School.

Marc Henry

Attorney, President of the French Arbitration Association (AFA), Paris

Marc Henry has been practicing arbitration and business litigation for 38 years. He is Doctor in law of the University of Paris 1 Panthéon Sorbonne. His PhD work on "The Duty of Independence of the Arbitrator" was published and awarded. After having been a partner in English and American law firms, he joined in 2018 a French law firm specialising in litigation and arbitration. Marc Henry has acted as counsel and arbitrator in both ad hoc and institutional procedures. He is also President of the French Arbitration Association (AFA), the second oldest arbitral institution in France. Finally, he has published many articles on arbitration in addition to lecturing on the same and on the Art of Advocacy notably at the Universities of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne and Paris 2 Panthéon-Assas.

Laurent Levy

Laurent Lévy has extensive experience in international commercial disputes, mainly in the areas of oil, gas, air & space and finance industries and in disputes surrounding international investments. He has handled more than 250 arbitration proceedings, mostly as a president or arbitrator, under various rules such as the ICC, ICSID and LCIA Rules, in numerous jurisdictions worldwide. He is an honorary council member of the ICC Institute of World Business Law, a member of the Association Suisse de l’Arbitrage and a former member of the Milan Club of Arbitrators. He is a former President of the Court of Arbitration of the Casablanca International Mediation and Arbitration Centre (CIMAC) and current member of the CIMAC Board, a former Vice-President of the ICC Court of International Arbitration and a former Vice-President of the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA).

Sheikh Dr. Thani bin Ali Al Thani

Sheikh Dr. Thani bin Ali Al Thani is the Founder and Director of Dr. Thani Bin Ali Al Thani Law Firm and Vice Chairman of the Qatar International Center for Conciliation & Arbitration (QICCA). He holds a PhD in Commercial Law from Cairo University. He represents Qatar as a Member of the Court of Arbitration at the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Paris. He also serves as Board Member for International Relations at the Qatar International Center for Conciliation and Arbitration and as a Board Member at the GCC Commercial Arbitration Centre. In addition, he chairs the Corporate Social Responsibility Committee at Dar Al Sharq. A certified international arbitrator, he is accredited by several regional and international centres and has published widely and participated in numerous legal conferences and training programmes.

Dr. Khalid bin Salem Al Saidi

His Excellency Sheikh Dr. Khalid bin Salem Al Saidi is Chairman of the Oman Commercial Arbitration Centre. He holds a PhD in Constitutional Law, awarded with distinction. He began his judicial career as a judge and later served as Deputy Head of the Criminal Judiciary in Oman, before becoming Secretary-General of the State Council. He has participated in numerous Arab and international committees and contributed to the development of Arab model laws and GCC legislative frameworks. An expert in alternative dispute resolution, he has acted as sole, co-, and presiding arbitrator in major cases. He also chairs the Tax Grievances Committee, the Oman-China Friendship Association, and Dr. Khalid Al Saidi Office for Advocacy, Legal Consultancy and Arbitration.

Dr. Mohamed Amr

Prof. Mohamed Sameh Amr (Ph.D., FCIArb) is Dean of the Faculty of Law at Cairo University, Professor of Public International Law, and Attorney-at-Law in Cairo. He is a former Ambassador of Egypt to UNESCO. Since 2018, he has been a member of ICSID’s Panel of Arbitrators and Conciliators, and since 2023, a member of the Appellate Body of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). He has been a member of the ICC Commission (Egypt) since 2021 and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (London) since 2026.

El Houssaine En-Naciri

El Houssaine En-Naciri is Deputy Director at the Judicial Agency of the Kingdom of Morocco, with over twenty years of experience in state litigation, international arbitration, and risk governance. He previously served as Head of the Legal Studies and Amicable Procedures Division and Head of the Litigation Committee Department. He holds an arbitration diploma from the Faculty of Law of Montpellier, a postgraduate diploma in Public Law from Mohamed V University in Rabat, and a Master of Science in Organizational Management from the University of Quebec at Chicoutimi. He also holds an engineering degree in Data Analysis and Management Information Systems from INSEA, Rabat.

Dr. Assia Ben Saad

Dr. Assia Ben Saad is Director of Cooperation and Partnerships at the Moroccan Agency for Investment and Export Development (AMDIE), with over 25 years of experience in public administration focused on investment and business climate improvement. Her expertise covers investment treaties and agreements, investment mediation, and the design of innovative investment policies. She holds a PhD in Law, a postgraduate degree in Administrative Sciences, and a BA in Political Science, combining legal expertise with strong public policy knowledge. Since 2013, she has led the Secretariat of the Moroccan National Contact Point for Responsible Business Conduct under the OECD, engaging with public and private stakeholders to promote sustainable business practices. She is also a member of the OECD Working Group on Responsible Business Conduct.

Dr. Zakaria Laghzaoui

Dr. Zakaria Laghzaoui is a senior legal expert in international investment law, dispute settlement, and international trade with over 20 years of experience in leading national and international institutions. He currently serves as Senior Advisor to the Secretary General of the AfCFTA Secretariat, responsible for legal affairs, dispute settlement, and investments. He holds a PhD in Business Law with distinction and has extensive expertise in international arbitration, particularly investor–State dispute settlement mechanisms, as well as in treaty negotiation and the development of legal frameworks for trade and investment in Africa. He has represented the AfCFTA Secretariat and Morocco in high-level forums including the African Union, OECD, UNCITRAL, ICSID, and Afreximbank. He is also a published author and academic contributor.

Khalid Mazzala

Khalid Mazzala is Head of the Litigation Department at the Ministry of Equipment and Water. He holds a Master’s degree in Private Law and is a legal and litigation researcher specializing in public procurement disputes and administrative contracts. He has experience in managing administrative litigation and has a strong interest in arbitration and alternative dispute resolution methods.

Khalil NAJM

Mr. Najm is responsible for reforming the international investment treaty regime at the Directorate of the Treasury and External Finance. He leads Moroccan negotiations on investment treaties at both the bilateral and multilateral levels. He also coordinates the work of the inter-ministerial commission responsible for Morocco's international investment commitments. He is tasked with leading the Kingdom's position within several international bodies, including the Arab League, the OIC, the AfCFTA, and UNCITRAL Working Group III on Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) reform. His expertise covers the entire legal framework of international investment: negotiating protection agreements, developing treaty policies, and designing dispute settlement mechanisms.

Hicham Zegrary

Hicham Zegrary is the Secretary General of the Casablanca International Mediation and Arbitration Centre (CIMAC), a position he has held since 2016. He is an attorney registered with the Casablanca Bar since 2021 and acts as counsel before the courts as well as an arbitrator. Previously, he served as Secretary General of Casablanca Finance City Authority (2017–2021), after holding senior positions in legal affairs, operations, and institutional affairs. He began his career at Microsoft as Legal Counsel in Intellectual Property, before joining the French Ministry of Economy and Finance’s General Inspectorate. He holds a degree from the École Nationale d’Administration (Paris) and a Master’s degree from Paris-Dauphine University, and is currently preparing a PhD in arbitration.