The Legal 500

Position

Ian Edge gives advice on Islamic and Middle East law to English or foreign clients, particularly in the fields of civil and commercial law, banking law (including Islamic banking and finance issues) and estate planning (including Shari'ah compliant trusts which he has helped to develop and other succession issues). He has acted as an expert witness on Islamic and Middle East laws in courts and tribunals throughout the world and his clients include UK and US governments and many of the governments, public authorities and major corporations of the Middle East with special reference to Saudi Arabia and the Gulf. He advised the SFO on Saudi Arabian law in the British Aerospace bribery case. He advised the Foreign Office on Egyptian law in the case of Abu Hamza. He advised the Candy brothers on Qatari law in the claim concerning the Chelsea barracks. He advised the Kuwaiti Oil minister in the case of Gruppo Torras. He assisted in the drafting of the Islamic Finance legislation for Malaysian offshore island of Labuan. He has advised members of the Royal Families of Bahrain, Dubai, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait as well as many of the wealthiest families in the Middle East on matrimonial and succession problems. At present he is acting as the expert on Saudi Arabian law on behalf of Maan Al-Sanea in Saudi Arabia's biggest insolvency in proceedings in New York, the Cayman Islands and London. He acts regularly as counsel and arbitrator in international commercial arbitrations involving Middle East and foreign legal matters. He was the main Counsel on behalf of the Angolan State Diamond Corporation in three related arbitrations in Lisbon, London and Rio de Janeiro that arose out of Angola's termination of various diamond concessions with De Beers. He recently acted in Stockholm as an arbitrator in a dispute concerning a major agency contract between a Yemeni company and a major Chinese multinational and in Paris as an arbitrator under the ICC rules concerning termination of a Syrian pharmaceutical concern.

Career

Called 1981, Middle Temple; director of the Centre of Islamic and Middle Eastern Law, SOAS University of London (teaches all aspects of Islamic and Middle East law, international commercial arbitration, international fraud and private international law).

Languages

French; Arabic.

Member

MCIArb, MEI; president of Family Division's International Committee (as expert on Islamic and Middle East Law); Bar Council's International Committee (as expert on Islamic and Middle East Law).

Education

Leek High School; Queens College Cambridge (1977 LLB; 1978 LLM).

Leisure

Theatre, opera, walking, skiing.

Practice Areas

ADR; Family - matrimonial; International commercial arbitration