Dr. Mohamed Abdel Wahab
Mohamed Abdel Wahab

Founding Partner & Head of International Arbitration, Construction and Energy, Zulficar & Partners; Professor of International Arbitration, Private International Law and English Contract Law, Cairo University; Member of the Governing Board (ICCA); Vice-Chair of the ICC Governing Body for Dispute Resolution Services; Vice President Global of the CIArb; President Elect of the CIArb (2025); Dean of the Africa Arbitration Academy; Chair of the International Expert Committee of the Permanent Forum for China Construction Law; Fellow of International Academy of Construction Lawyers; Member of the International Commercial Expert Committee, China International Commercial Court; Co- Chair, IBA Arab Regional Forum; Vice-Chair of the Advisory Committee of the CRCICA; Member of the Advisory Board of the Mauritius International Arbitration Centre (MIAC); Member of the Advisory Board, Indonesia International Arbitration Center (INIAC); Member of the LACIAC Court of Arbitration; Member of the ITA Academic Council; Member of the Court, PCA (The Hague), and Member of the Board of Trustees of the CIArb. He is a fellow of the National Centre for Technology and Dispute Resolution at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA; and associate fellow of the Centre for Private International Law and Centre for Commercial Law at Aberdeen University (UK); Former Court Member of the LCIA (2014-2019); Former President of LCIA’s Arab Users’ Council (2016-2018); and Former Vice Chair of the IBA Arbitration Committee (2015-2018). Professor Dr. Abdel Wahab is the Director for the CIArb’s Flagship International Arbitration Diploma, and is a Chartered Arbitrator and Fellow of the CIArb.

Professor Dr Abdel Wahab regularly serves as arbitrator, expert, or counsel in high value construction disputes. He is considered a leading authority on construction law and practice, and he chairs arbitral tribunals in complex and mega construction arbitration. He has acted in mega multi-hundred million dollars’ construction claims in institutional and ad hoc arbitration proceedings in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Europe. He has taught construction law and practice courses, and conducted trainings on FIDIC forms of contracts and disputes arising thereunder. He is the MENA exclusive contributor to the Global Arbitration Review Guide on Construction Arbitration (2017 – 2020). He was also named as co-author of the monograph entitled “Practicing FIDIC in Civil Law Jurisdictions – Application of Time and Additional Payment Provisions” (2018).

Prof. Dr. Abdel Wahab served as ‘Arbitrator’, ‘Counsel’ or ‘Expert’ in more than 255 cases involving parties from Africa, Asia, Canada, Europe, the Middle East and the United States. He featured in cases under the auspices of the AAA-BCDR, ADCCAC, CRCICA, DIAC, DIFC-LCIA, ICC, ICSID, KIAC, LCIA, LMAA, RCICAL (Lagos), SCC, SIAC, ad hoc UNCITRAL proceedings, and governed by the laws of AngolaBahrain, California, Egypt, England & Wales, France, Iraq, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Libya, Morocco, New York, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Switzerland, Syria, United Arab Emirates and Uzbekistani laws, as well as the general principles of law.

He was shortlisted among the top five arbitrators for the GAR award for the best prepared and responsive arbitrator (2021). He received the LAW Magazine 2022 Most Influential Legal Academic Award, the 2021 and 2020 Client Choice International Award, the 2019 AYA Hall-of-Fame African Arbitrator Award, the 2018 ASA International Arbitration Advocacy Prize, and the LAW Magazine 2017 Best Legal Practitioner Award. He is listed in Who’s Who Global Elite Thought Leaders: International Arbitration; selected among the Legal500 Africa Powerlist and the AYA’s Africa’s Top 30 Powerlist. He is the co-editor (with Prof Maxi Scherer and Ms. Niuscha Bassiri) of the first ever book on COVID-19 and international arbitration under the title “International Arbitration and the COVID-19 Revolution” (2020). He is also the co-editor (with Prof Ethan Katsh and Mr. Daniel Rainey) of “Online Dispute Resolution: Theory and Practice” (2011 and 2021). He is the author of the Abdel Wahab Pandemic Pathway to Virtual/Remote Hearings (2020); Co-author (with Dr. Kabir Duggal) of the first book dedicated to comparing the OIC and UAIA Treaties under the title “The Resurgence of the Unified Arab Investment Agreement and the Organisation for Islamic Cooperation Investment Agreement” Brill (2022).

WWL: Arbitration & Global Elite Thought Leaders (2023) says “‘He is an amazing practitioner and one of the hardest working people’ ‘His sharp mind never ceases to amaze’ ‘He is one of a kind!’”. WWL: Construction (2023) says: “ ‘Mohamed is an all-time great of construction law ’, ‘He has a profound expertise in construction matters’, and ‘Our go-to lawyer for construction cases’ ”. Legal 500 (2023) says ‘Mohamed Abdel Wahab – very prepared arbitrator; deep experience in international arbitration; very thoughtful in his comments; collegial; engaged; insightful and sharp questions’, ‘Highly respected, very experienced arbitrator, exhibiting the highest standard of integrity and ethics’, ‘an outstanding arbitration practitioner’, ‘and ‘He has the quality of being knowledgeable in several systems of law: common law, civil law, and Sharia law.’ Chambers and Partners Global (2023) says: “Mohamed is the crème de la crème in the field and someone who impresses with his unmatched mastery of complex legal issues across various legal systems and sectors”, “He is always well prepared and doesn’t leave any stone unturned”, “He’s outstanding in every way”, and “Mohamed Abdel Wahab is someone who is very brilliant and technically capable”, and “very smart on the law, but also emotionally intelligent as well.” Who’s Who Legal: Arbitration (2022) says: “He is academically brilliant”, “One of the best minds on arbitration issues” and “Extremely impressive”. Chambers & Partners Global (2021) says “Peers regard Mohamed Abdel Wahab as “an absolute star in arbitration”. Legal 500 (2021) says: ‘Mohamed Abdel Wahab is a brilliant practitioner who is at the top of the international arbitration field globally. His understanding of and experience in international arbitration are matched by few; and ‘Importantly, he is one of the most hardworking individuals in the field. His working ethos and common sense approach to complex legal problems are outstanding’. Who’s Who Legal Construction (2019) says: Mohamed Abdel Wahab is highlighted as “a leading heavyweight construction law specialist whose analytical skills are second to none”.


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