GCCCAC registers record-breaking arbitration, membership rates in 2021

Tareq Yousef Al-Shumaimry
CAC Secretary-General for GCC countries

The Gulf Cooperation Council Commercial Arbitration Center (GCCCAC) registered a record number of trade, real estate, and financial and investment portfolio disputes, as well as witnessed an increase in memberships to the center, during the first-ten months of 2021, between 1 January and 31 October.

These figures and other data related to arbitration cases were revealed by Secretary-General of the CAC for GCC countries, Tareq Yousef Al-Shumaimry, who stated that the year 2019 was “one of the most successful years for the center since its establishment, in terms of the number of cases that were registered and the number of renewals by arbitrators. The year was successful by all standards.”

He added, “In 2020, which saw the outbreak of the Corona pandemic that negatively affected the world economy and impacted everyone, the center witnessed an expected decrease in the number of cases and renewal of memberships in 2020 compared to 2019.”

“Regardless of the influencing factors, CAC continued to receive cases in 2020 and to resolve them using the electronic arbitration session system taking all precautionary measures. Thus the center was able to issue several judgments during this critical period globally, and to emerge with the least damage, but with great benefits and gained experiences,” said Al-Shumaimry.

He went on to note, “In 2021, the center witnessed a boom in the number of cases that were registered, including those filed by Bahrainis, Kuwaitis, Saudis and Malaysians, as well as an increase in the renewal of memberships, during the first-ten months of the year from 1 January to 31 October.

In terms of the number, not value wise, the cases registered in 2021 exceeded the number of cases in 2020 by 167 percent, and was also more by 60 percent than the number of cases registered in 2019, which was until now the most successful year since the center was established.”

Al-Shumaimry indicated that the boom did not include only the number of cases, but even included the rate of renewal of memberships, where 2021 exceeded 2020 by 118 percent and topped 2019 by 114 percent. He pointed out that this increase was due to several factors, the most important of which was an increase in the global trend to resort to arbitration as an alternative means of settling disputes.

In addition, the confidence that the center has enjoyed in legal and commercial circles and the spread of the culture of arbitration through the programs, training courses, forums and conferences arranged by the center, and widely published in the media have been contributing factors.