The ROAP EMEA Finals bring to a close our advanced remote oral advocacy and cross-examination courses, by featuring the most persuasive and skilled participants on each course.

This year’s edition of ROAP EMEA was dedicated to Prof Mohamed Adbel Wahab.

The outcome of the finals will be determined by a panel of world-class arbitrators consisting of Prof Mohamed Adbel Wahab (President), Dr hab. Beata Gessel-Kalinowska vel Kalisz, and Olasupo Shasore SAN.

The event will take place online on 18 November 2025 from 2pm to 5.40pm CET. Provisional event programme:

• 2pm CET – Welcome from the ROAP EMEA Chairs Cecilia Carrara and Philip Dunham, and introduction by the ROAP EMEA 2025 Dedicatee, Prof Mohamed Abdel Wahab
• 2.10pm CET – CROSS-EXAMINATION FINALS with Anika Havaldar (Freshfields, Dubai), Himmy Lui (Three Crowns LLP, London) and amongst the experts, Ashley Churchman (A&M, London) and Charly Gaillard (Accuracy, Paris)
• 3.45pm CET – ORAL SUBMISSIONS FINALS with Jessica Sblendorio (Omnia Strategy LLP, London), Prianka Soni (Webber Wentzel Johannesburg), Margaux Vandewalle (Asafo & Co., Paris), and Kirsten Wolmarans (Webber Wentzel Johannesburg)
• 5.20pm CET – Tribunal decisions for both Finals
• 5.40pm CET – Word of thanks

Register here for this event and other Delos news:

TRIBUNAL FOR ROAP EMEA 2025 FINALS

Prof Mohamed Adbel Wahab is the Founding Partner & Head OF INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION, CONSTRUCTION AND ENERGY, ZULFICAR & PARTNERS, Egypt; Professor of International Arbitration and International Law and English Contract Law, Cairo University; Member of the Governing Board, ICCA; Chair of the ICC Governing Body for Dispute Resolution Services; Deputy President Global of the CIArb; President Elect of the CIArb (2025); Dean of the Africa Arbitration Academy; Member of the Curatorium of the Hague Academy of International Law; Vice-Chair of the Advisory Committee of the CRCICA; Member of the Advisory Board of the MIAC; Member of the LACIAC Court of Arbitration; Member of the ITA Academic Council; and Member of the Court, PCA. 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). 

He served as ‘Arbitrator’, ‘Legal Expert’ and ‘Counsel’ in more than 260 cases, involving parties from the Africa, Asia, Canada, Europe, the Middle East the United States and Latin America, and is recognized as a world-leading arbitrator and arbitration practitioner in international investment and international commercial arbitration, construction law & practice, Energy law and infrastructure disputes, African and Arab Laws, Islamic Shari’a, private international law and online dispute resolution. His expertise in cross border multi-jurisdictional and highly complex transactions and disputes is extensive and broad. He was shortlisted among the top five arbitrators for the GAR award for the best prepared and responsive arbitrator (2021), and is regularly ranked by Who’s Who Legal, Chambers, The Legal 500, Client Choice Awards as a world leading international arbitration thought leader, counsel and arbitrator. 

He received the Law Magazine 2023 Regional Lawyer of the Year, 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!’”. Chambers and Partners (2023)-Africa-wide says: “Mohamed Abdel Wahab is a leading arbitrator and arbitration counsel based in Cairo. He is very highly respected for his international commercial and investment treaty practice. As an arbitrator, he frequently presides over disputes concerning construction, energy and infrastructure issues”; “Mohamed Abdel Wahab is someone who is very brilliant and technically capable. He is very smart on the law, but also emotionally intelligent as well”. Chambers and Partners (2024)- Africa Wide says: “Mohamed is well recognised for arbitration in Africa. He is a brilliant lawyer who is extremely competent and adds great value.” Chambers and Partners (2023)-Dispute Resolution: Most in Demand Arbitrators says: “Mohamed Abdel Wahab is one of the best-known arbitration lawyers and his practice combines expert witness and arbitrator appointments with regular roles as counsel on significant and high-profile cases, and he receives especially high praise for his expertise in oil and gas and construction disputes”. Legal 500 (2024) – Dispute Resolution: Arbitration says: “Mohamed Abdel Wahab is very highly regarded by peers in the international arbitration community. He knows arbitration inside and out. He is smart, experienced, has great communication skills. His professionalism, integrity, moral values and work ethics are exceptional”. Legal 500 (2023) – Dispute Resolution: Arbitration says: “Mohamed Abdel Wahab – very prepared arbitrator; deep experience in international arbitration; very thoughtful in his comments; collegial; engaged; insightful and sharp questions”,  “Mohamed Abdel Wahab: Highly respected, very experienced arbitrator, exhibiting highest standard of integrity and ethics”‘ and “Mohamed Abdel Wahab is a very highly regarded professional and a leading international arbitrator. He has the quality of being knowledgeable in several system of laws: common law, civil law and sharia law”. 

He was part of the faculty for the first ROAP EMEA edition in 2021, as well as the 2022, 2023 and 2024 editions. 

Dr hab. Beata Gessel-Kalinowska vel Kalisz is a recognised international arbitrator, and she has participated in more than 170 cases in domestic and international arbitration (conducted, inter alia, under ICC, SCC, VIAC, LCIA, UNCITRAL, FCC, IAA, SCAI, Lewiatan, KIG, KDPW, SIDiR rules) in the fields of M&A, construction law (inter alia, under FIDIC regulations), energy law and international commercial contracts.

She is a Member of advisory bodies and working groups of the world’s largest arbitration institutions: the Permanent Court of Arbitration of The Hague (PCA), the ICC Committee on Arbitration and ADR, the SCC Arbitrators’ Council of the Stockholm Arbitration Institute, the ICDR/AAA Arbitration Rules Revision Task Force and the IBA Task Force for the revision of the IBA Guidelines on Conflicts of Interest in International Arbitration (2024). Chair of the Audit Committee of the Polish Association of Capital Investors (PSIK), board member of the Polish Arbitration Association (PSSP).

She combines her career as an arbitrator with her academic activities. In 2023 she was appointed to the Scientific Council of the Institute of Legal Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences (INP PAN), since 2025 as a professor at INP PAN, she has been heading the newly established Centre for Comparative Private Law. Vice-chair and trainer of the 2024 ICC Advanced Arbitration Academy for CEE programme educating future arbitrators. For many years she was an associate professor at Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University, where she lectured on M&A transactions, international arbitration and commercial law. She has given guest lectures at, among others, Stockholm University, Humbolt University, University of Leicester, Queen Mary University London and Paris, as well as the CIArb Virtual Diploma in International Commercial Arbitration.

Olasupo Shasore SAN is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria. He is also an author, historian, and recently a documentarian. Shasore is mostly known to be an outstanding legal practitioner but recently, he wrote and presented the groundbreaking seven -part documentary ‘Journey of an African Colony’ produced by Quramo Productions on Netflix. The documentary is now running in the third years on Netflix, rating consistently on the top ten shows viewed.

He has authored several books on legal matters, history, and general knowledge. In law ‘Sovereign Immunity in Nigerian Commercial Law’; ‘Ministering Justice: Administration of Justice in Nigeria’. His notable books among the Quramo Publishing titles include ‘Possessed: A History of the Crown Colony of Lagos’; ‘A Platter of Gold: Making of Nigeria’ and ‘The King & The Colony’.

FINALISTS

Ashley Churchman is a Director in Alvarez & Marsal’s Disputes and Investigations practice based in London, and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. He has over fifteen years of experience in audit and forensic accounting. Ashley’s forensic accounting experience includes post-acquisition disputes, audit negligence cases, shareholder actions and large-scale international fraud investigations, working with clients in a variety of sectors including sport, aviation, mining, and healthcare. He speaks English, French and Spanish, and has conducted a significant amount of work in France, Spain and Latin America.

Charly Gaillard is a director at Accuracy with over 10 years of professional experience. Before joining the firm in 2018, he spent three years in the banking industry. At Accuracy, Charly specialises in damage valuation across a range of dispute contexts, including pre-litigation negotiations, proceedings before national courts, and international arbitrations (both commercial and investment). His experience covers a variety of dispute matters, such as commercial disputes, post-M&A disputes, joint venture disputes, intellectual property disputes, competition issues, and expropriation cases. He also conducts economic and financial analyses in non-contentious matters, such as discussions with regulatory authorities, and has led numerous corporate finance engagements in transactions (financial due diligence) and valuation engagements. Charly has worked across a wide range of industries, with significant exposure to the telecom, media, transportation, aeronautics, infrastructure, and construction sectors. He is fluent in French and English.

Anika Halvadar is a senior associate in the dispute resolution group at Freshfields, based in Dubai. She specialises in commercial arbitration and litigation, investor-state dispute settlement, and public international law. Prior to joining Freshfields, Anika served as a law clerk to then-President Abdulqawi A. Yusuf at the International Court of Justice and Judge Judith W. Rogers at the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

Himmy Lui is an associate at Three Crowns LLP.  He has experience in a range of international commercial and international investment treaty arbitrations across a number of sectors, including energy, mining, and construction, with particular expertise in contractual disputes, operational disputes and cost recovery claims arising out of long-term production sharing agreements.  He has advised and represented clients under a range of arbitral rules, including the ICC, LCIA and UNCITRAL Rules.  Before joining Three Crowns, Himmy specialised in commercial dispute resolution involving matters of insurance, insolvency, and property, and made a number of court appearances.  He was also a judge’s clerk at the High Court of Auckland in New Zealand. Himmy graduated from the University of Auckland with a BA/LLB (Hons), and obtained his LLM with Distinction from the London School of Economics and Political Science.  He is admitted as a Barrister and Solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand.

Jessica Sblendorio is an associate at Omnia Strategy LLP and is a dual-qualified lawyer practising as a solicitor in England and Wales and a New York attorney. Her practice centres on international commercial and investment arbitration disputes and the resolution of complex cross-border challenges facing States, corporates and private clients. She has spent years advising on complex disputes (both for litigation and arbitration) in the United States, England, and Germany. She began her career at a national boutique law firm in the United States with a particular focus on intellectual property, antitrust and commercial disputes before federal courts and domestic administrative bodies, as well as in arbitration proceedings. Alongside her commercial work, Jessica has experience providing counsel to clients in the fields of constitutional law, human rights and international law. Following the completion of her L.L.M. in London, Jessica has worked at leading international law firms in Germany and London.

Prianka Soni is a Partner in Webber Wentzel’s Dispute Resolution practice and an admitted attorney of the High Court of South Africa. Prianka specialises in dispute resolution (litigation and arbitration) across a broad spectrum of matters. She has deep experience in class actions and mass tort litigation, having assisted in representing large multinational clients in some of South Africa’s most prominent class action cases. Her experience includes contractual and general commercial litigation, with expertise in both domestic and international arbitration. She has acted in very substantial disputes in the mining and telecommunications sectors, in particular, and frequently works on high-value, complex, cross-border and multi-jurisdictional matters. Prianka holds an LLB from the University of the Witwatersrand (2016) and a BA from the University of the Witwatersrand (2013).

Margaux Vandewalle is an associate at Asafo & Co. Her practice focuses on international commercial arbitration, investment arbitration, and public international law. She specialises in the representation of African governments and state-owned entities in disputes across a wide range of sectors. She also advises and represents States in disputes relating to maritime boundary delimitation. Margaux is a graduate of Université Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne, Université Paris II Panthéon-Assas and Georgetown University Law Center (LL.M.). Margaux is admitted to practice in Paris and New York.

Kirsten Wolmarans is a Partner at Webber Wentzel in Johannesburg, South Africa. She brings a blend of strategy and practical insight to complex commercial disputes, with a practice that spans international arbitration, regulatory enforcement, and complex litigation. Her experience covers proceedings under rules under a number of arbitral institutions, including the ICC and the Arbitration Foundation of Southern Africa (AFSA), as well as ad hoc arbitrations, across sectors including commercial, energy, infrastructure, financial services, and telecommunications. She has extensive experience before South Africa’s High Court, Supreme Court of Appeal, and Constitutional Court. Kirsten holds an LL.M (with distinction) in International Commercial Arbitration Law from Stockholm University and an LL.B (cum laude) from the University of the Witwatersrand. As a Board Member of AFSA and a founding committee member of Young AFSA, Kirsten is committed to promoting arbitration across the continent and supporting the development of young practitioners through practical, skills-based initiatives.