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Judge Susan G. Braden meets with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Commercial Arbitration Centre
Recently Judge Susan G. Braden, retired Chief Judge of the United States Court of Federal Claims and a FedArb panelist, met with the American Bar Association and the following delegation from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Commercial Arbitration Centre: Majed M Garoub, Chairman of the Advisory Committee; Dr. Kamal Al-Hamad, a Member of the Advisory Committee and Secretary-General of the Federation of GCC Chapters and; and Mr. Sami Houerbi, a Member of the Advisory Committee and a Member of the ICC International Court of Arbitration.
In 1993, the Supreme Council of the Gulf Cooperation established the GCC Commercial Arbitration Centre to which all the Member States have now formally joined including: the United Arab Emirates; the Kingdom of Bahrain; Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; the Sultanate of Oman; the State of Qatar; and the State of Kuwait. The GCC Commercial Arbitration Centre is considered the premier specialized platform for commercial and economic dispute settlement in the Arab Gulf region. It was established to resolve existing commercial disputes between parties within the GCC Member States or between them and parties outside the region, which necessarily promotes direct foreign investment.
Arbitration at the GCC Commercial Centre has several advantages, such as speed in resolving disputes (i.e., 100 days to award), complete confidentiality, flexibility in procedures that the parties can control, the ability to select arbitrators, binding and non-appealable enforceability within the GCC Member States, and immunity against any legal action. The Centre has a qualification and accreditation path which is not limited to GCC citizens. It was emphasized that arbitration in the Gulf States is increasingly focused on specialization- e.g., not just energy, but oil, gas, renewables, green energy, etc. As such, arbitrators and experts in these fields are in demand.
An important strategic objective is “to partner with arbitration centers and private entities to foster productive collaboration in the field of commercial arbitration.” Toward that end, in January 2026, the Centre will convene a Gulf States Law & Arbitration Week in Riyad where FedArb will be invited to participate.