In Line with Its Expanding Caseload, SCCA Appoints Additional International Experts to the SCCA Court

The Saudi Center for Commercial Arbitration (SCCA) has announced the appointment of a new group of internationally renowned experts to the membership of the SCCA Court, a step that comes in parallel with the SCCA’s expanding operations and increasing caseload. The appointments also reflect SCCA’s ongoing commitment to institutional excellence and the development of its governance bodies, ensuring high-quality case administration and alignment with international best practices and standards.

The SCCA Court is responsible for performing a series of key administrative determinations pertaining to arbitration, including consolidation of arbitration requests, number of arbitrator disputes, arbitrator challenges, fixing fees and expenses, review of awards, and other key functions.

Pursuant to the Internal Rules of the SCCA Court, the SCCA Court operates autonomously and independently from the SCCA Board of Directors and the SCCA Secretariat. Court members are appointed for a term of three years and may be reappointed, provided that no member serves more than two consecutive terms.

The newly appointed members comprise nine distinguished professionals with outstanding international reputations and extensive experience in the field of arbitration. Representing diverse geographic regions and professional backgrounds, these appointments reflect the international standing that the SCCA has attained. In addition, Mr. James Hosking (New Zealand–United States) and Dr. Majed Al-Rasheed (Saudi Arabia) have been reappointed as Vice Presidents of the Court.

The newly appointed members are:

1. Dr. Nasser Al-Adba, Founder and Managing Director of Omani & Partners (Qatar).
2. Ms. Arwa Alalim/Ruttink, Founding Partner of Al Hikmah & Al Ma’rifah Law Firm and Alalim Legal Services (Saudi Arabia / Netherlands).
3. Prof. Dr. Mohamed Sameh Amr, Dean of the Faculty of Law at Cairo University and Founding and Managing Partner of Amr & Partners (Egypt).
4. Prof. Dr. Nayla Comair-Obeid, Founding Partner of Obeid & Partners (Lebanon / France).
5. Dr. Karim Hafez, Independent Arbitrator (Egypt).
6. Dr. Fathi Kemicha, Independent Arbitrator (Tunisia / France / Bahrain).
7. Mr. Kap-You (Kevin) Kim, Managing Partner at Peter & Kim (Republic of Korea).
8. Dr. Hassan Radhi, Founder and Senior Partner of Hassan Radhi & Associates (Bahrain).
9. Mr. Nasser Alrubayyi, Managing Partner KSA, Co-Chair Middle East & North Africa Practice at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan (Saudi Arabia).

With the addition of these experts, the total number of SCCA Court members reaches 26 from 21 countries worldwide. The SCCA Court’s membership includes arbitrators, academics, former leaders of well-reputed arbitral institutions, former judges, and partners at leading international law firms. The SCCA Court is chaired by the internationally renowned arbitrator and legal practitioner Prof. Jan Paulsson.

The appointment of the nine new members follows the departure of six members whose three-year term on the SCCA Court ended. During their tenure, they made exceptional contributions to supporting the SCCA Court’s mandate. The departing members are:

1. Dr. Ziad Al-Sudairy
2. Dr. Hamad Al-Kudiry
3. Ms. Sara Koleilat-Aranjo
4. Dr. Habib Al Mulla
5. Dr. Mostafa Abdel Ghaffar
6. Dr. Tai-Heng Cheng

The expansion of the SCCA Court’s membership comes amid a significant increase in cases administered by SCCA. Over the past five years, the SCCA’s caseload has recorded double-digit growth, averaging 62%, with annual growth reaching 52% by the end of last year. The total number of cases registered in 2025 reached 182, of which arbitrations (119) represented the largest share at 65%. The number of cases registered with the SCCA during the ongoing first half of 2026 already exceeded 200 cases, reflecting continued quantitative and qualitative growth.

As a result, the total number of decisions issued by the SCCA Court from the commencement of its operations in May 2023 through June of this year reached 821. The largest category comprised fixing advance deposit (202 determinations, 24% of the total), followed by confirmation of arbitrator nominations (196 determinations, 23%), and award review (147 determinations, 17%). These figures demonstrate the pivotal role played by the SCCA Court in supporting and ensuring the effectiveness of arbitration proceedings administered by SCCA.