Current Legal Landscape:
Kuwait is poised to become a regional hub for arbitration, with growing momentum for reform. Modernising the legal framework—through a unified arbitration law aligned with global standards and harmonising judicial precedents will be key to unlocking its full potential.

Essential Advice for Clients:
Arbitration Clause: Draft tailored clauses that reflect contract specifics and client needs.
Institution & Venue Selection: Choose a reputable arbitration institution and carefully consider the venue, as it influences procedural matters.
Authorisation: Ensure the arbitration clause is signed by a duly authorized representative to avoid enforceability issues in Kuwait’s strict judicial environment.

Threats and Opportunities:
Threats: Judicial interference remains a significant concern, with inconsistent and sometimes contradictory rulings. Greater reliance on the Court of Cassation is needed to unify legal principles.
Opportunities: Technology, particularly AI and virtual hearings, offers a chance to streamline the arbitration process, making it faster, more efficient, and cost-effective.

Maintaining High Client Satisfaction:
Clarity and Transparency: Provide clients with a detailed roadmap, outlining the arbitration process and expected challenges.
Informed Guidance: Assist clients in making informed decisions about institutions, rules, and legal frameworks.
Skilled Teamwork: Assemble case-specific, experienced arbitration teams to ensure tailored and effective representation.

Technological Advancements:
AI and digital platforms are reshaping arbitration by improving case management, legal research, and hearing logistics. Virtual hearings offer cost savings and faster proceedings. While these tools increase efficiency, they also demand adaptability from legal professionals

What is the current legal landscape for International Arbitration in your jurisdiction?

In Kuwait, there is a keen interest on developing arbitration as a dispute resolution mechanism. However, certain measures need to be undertaken in order to be able to achieve this objective.
First and foremost, there has to be an overhaul of the regulatory framework governing arbitration in Kuwait. At the present time, there are a number of articles scattered around in the civil and commercial procedures law dealing with arbitration. These articles are outdated and insufficient to deal with all aspects of the arbitrary process.
Therefore, a new arbitration law need to be considered and to be modelled, for example, after the UN Central model rules, as it is the case in a number of other GCC countries.
Another important aspect for developing the arbitration landscape in Kuwait is to make sure that there is a unification of judicial precedents related to the arbitral process in Kuwait.

What three essential pieces of advice would you give to clients involved in International Arbitration matters?
For clients embarking upon arbitration, uh, they need to take account of the following key consideration. So, number one, drafting a proper arbitration clause that takes into consideration all the particularities of the contract at issue and special circumstances of the client involved.
Number two, choosing a proper institutional arbitral forum, um, with clarity of rules and a lot of experience in handling and administering arbitration matters.
Number three, selecting a proper venue because the location of where the arbitration takes place plays a critical role in determining the procedural aspects of the arbitration process.
Number four, making sure that the person signing the arbitrary clause is duly authorized, because actually in Kuwait, courts are very strict in monitoring this aspect. And if the arbitration clause is not properly signed by a duly authorized representative that would lead to setting aside the arbitration clause.

What are the greatest threats and opportunities in International Arbitration law in the next 12 months?
Well, I’m going to focus on Kuwait. In my view, one of the greatest threats is the heavy handed judicial intervention in arbitration related matters. Actually, we have witnessed recently in Kuwait a number of instances where the Kuwaiti courts have adopted an inconsistent and sometimes contradictory approach in dealing with arbitration related matters.
Therefore, it’s very important that these judgments should be referred to the circuit established at the court of Cassation in order to unify legal principles related to the arbitration, uh, process. In my view, this is one of the most important challenges.
Now, in terms of opportunities, it goes without saying that technology and AI is reshaping the whole arbitration landscape. AI with the immense capabilities in improving and streamlining the, uh, arbitrary process, the concept of virtual hearings are bound to make arbitration a faster, more streamlined, and a more cost-effective option for clients.

How do you ensure high client satisfaction levels are maintained by your practice?
I would summarize my answer in two words, clarity and transparency. It’s very important to provide the client from the very beginning of the process with a clear roadmap, setting out all the steps and all the challenges, uh, relating to the arbitral process and the prospects of success as well. Uh, that, uh, provides the client with a clear set of expectations from the very beginning.
Number two, it’s also very important to assist the client in making the proper choices with regard to the arbitration process, which institution would be resorted to, to administer the arbitration, what kind of procedural rules and substantive law that need to be selected, and all other important elements of an effective arbitration process.
Number three, obviously at Asar, we do have a team of highly qualified practitioners in the area of arbitration, and it is very important to form the proper and comprehensive team dealing with each and every case, depending upon the particularities of such case.

What technological advancements are reshaping International Arbitration law and how can clients benefit from them?
Like everything else, technology is dictating the pace of development, and that applies to arbitration as much as to any other aspect in life. Now with regard to arbitration, obviously the whole revolution relating to AI, the digital case management, virtual hearings are all new features that are bound to transform the arbitral landscape, turn the arbitration process into a faster, better managed and more cost-effective options.
AI, for example, is doing all the heavy lifting, um, in relation to, uh, legal research, in relation to case management and so on and so forth. Virtual hearings are providing the, uh, client with a quicker and a more cost-effective option for conducting arbitration, uh, in a very streamlined way.
Therefore, we are all very, very much excited about the impact of technology, which presents a challenge at the same time because it forces us lawyers and arbitration practitioners to cope with the ever changing technological landscape and assessing its impact on the efficiency of the arbitral process.