On Thursday 23 February, we joined Eversheds Sutherland for a high-level overview of arbitration in Iraq and Jordan as it stands today, followed by a discussion of what the future holds for this space in both jurisdictions. The speakers of this event were Tawfiq Tabbaa, Hani Kurdi and Aseel Barghuthi, with Nadeen Rashdan moderating (short bios below).

You can view the recording here.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Tawfiq Tabbaa is our regional managing partner, based in the Amman office. He specializes in corporate and commercial law as well as regulatory reform and litigation and has 20 years of experience. Tawfiq has advised on a wide range of corporate transactions, including corporate structures and joint venture investments including assisting clients with selecting the most suitable corporate entities for their operations, as well as advising on issues relating to foreign investment, investment promotion, intellectual property, labour law, contract law, competition law, and microfinance regulation. Tawfiq set up the office in Baghdad and Erbil and has advised international clients in the field of oil and gas, transportation, supply management, real estate, telecommunications, media, agency, banking and contracting in Iraq.

Hani Kurdi is a partner and head of litigation in Eversheds-Sutherland Amman office. He has over 20 years’ experience advising clients in Jordan on a with range of matters with a primary focus on complex litigation, arbitration, aviation, banking, construction, telecom and regulatory matters. Hani also advises clients on corporate matters. Hani represents clients in all phases of litigation before the Jordanian courts and on all forms of arbitration. He is regularly appointed as an arbitrator on arbitration panels and represents several clients in a wide spectrum of arbitration contentious matters. Prior to joining Sanad Law Group in association with Eversheds Sutherland, Hani established his own boutique firm, Kurdi & Associates. Prior to that, he was general counsel at Royal Jordanian. Hani is ranked by Chambers Global 2022 in band 3 for Corporate/Commercial in Jordan, and is described as having “an especially strong understanding of aviation matters, as well as advising on the full gamut of corporate mandates”, with clients describing him as “a great corporate lawyer with excellent business acumen and an impressive depth of experience in international M&A transactions”. He was also recommended as a global leader for aviation finance in Who’s Who Legal 2019.

Aseel Barghuthi is a Principal Associate in our litigation and dispute management practice, based in Amman. She advises private parties and states / state-owned entities on international disputes, and has extensive experience advising on commercial claims in the energy, construction, pharmaceuticals, consumer goods and banking sectors as well as investment treaty claims arising out of various bilateral and multilateral treaties. Aseel has also advised clients on: structuring investments to benefit from existing bilateral and multilateral legal frameworks, the prospects of successfully enforcing arbitration awards in various jurisdictions, and dispute resolution clauses. In addition to her role as counsel, Aseel has acted as arbitrator in international commercial arbitration proceedings brought under the DIAC Rules.

Nadeen Rashdan is an associate in our litigation and dispute management team, based in Amman. She has worked on several arbitration cases, predominately governed by Iraqi laws and regulations relating to the oil and gas sector. A number of the disputes Nadeen has advised on were against state owned entities which are governed by complex laws and procedures. She also advises on corporate, banking and commercial legal matters. Before joining Eversheds Sutherland, Nadeen was a Trainee at Nareeman Al Rousan Law Firm.