Lord Angus Glennie

Vice-chair of the Scottish Arbitration Centre & Appeal Judge at the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Courts
Keynote Speaker – Day 1

Lord Angus Glennie is known for his extensive knowledge and expertise in the Arbitration sector, with great experience conducting virtual hearings, appeals, and conferences. He is the Chair of the Scottish Arbitration Centre, and a full-time arbitrator at Twenty Essex after stepping down from the High Court Bench in Edinburgh. Lord Glennie was the principal commercial judge in the Court of Session between 2007 and 2011. He was later appointed as an arbitration judge in 2010, later appointed to the Inner House in 2016 and became a member of the Privy Council. In January 2021, Angus Glennie was appointed to the Court of Appeal of the Dubai International Financial Centre. Prior to becoming a judge, he practiced in commercial chambers in London at 4 Essex Court and 20 Essex Street. He is an honorary fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, Chair of the Arbitration Court Users Group, an Honorary Fellow of Trinity Hall, was formerly the honorary chair of the Edinburgh University Centre for Commercial Law between 2012-2019.

Diamana Diawara

Africa Director – Arbitration and ADR, ICC International Court of Arbitration, Paris
Keynote Speaker – Day 2

Diamana is the Director of the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC Court) for Dispute Resolution Services in Africa. She was previously a Counsel at the Secretariat of the ICC Court for 5 years. She gained expertise in arbitration by leading the administration of hundreds of arbitral procedures, in the case management team in charge of disputes in the Middle East, Africa and Francophone Europe. Prior to joining the ICC Court, Diamana has been trained in the Arbitration Department of the Paris office of the law firm Dentons. Diamana also acts as a Lecturer in the Diplome Universitaire in Domestic and International Arbitration of Montpellier University.

She is a member of several professional networks. In particular, she is the head of the ICC Young Arbitrators Forum (YAF) Africa Chapter, a member of the OHADA group of the Comité français de l’arbitrage, a former member of the IBA Arb40 Steering Committee and a founding member of AfricArb. Diamana holds master degrees in international business law from Paris 1 and Paris Nanterre Universities and is a graduate from the LLM Program of Golden Gate University San Francisco, California.

Brandon Malone

Barrister, Arbitrator and Chair of the Scottish Arbitration Centre
Conference Director

The conference will again be directed by Brandon Malone. Brandon Malone is a barrister, solicitor advocate, arbitrator and adjudicator with over 25 years experience in dispute resolution. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb) and in 2013, Brandon was elected an eminent Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. He is an Honorary Lecturer at the Centre for Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law and Policy at the University of Dundee. Brandon was a driving force behind the establishment of the Scottish Arbitration Centre and is Chairman of the Centre’s Board. He is also Co-Director of the International Centre for Energy Arbitration.

Craig Tevendale

Herbert Smith Freehills

Craig leads Herbert Smith Freehills’ international arbitration group in London and is recognised for his expertise in litigation, expert determination and mediation, and particularly in Middle Eastern-related oil and gas arbitrations.

Craig is experienced in multi-jurisdictional work and has acted in arbitrations as counsel, advocate and arbitrator in ad hoc proceeding and before all major arbitral institutions; this includes: the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) and the American Arbitration Association (AAA). He has also been involved in complex litigation cases before English courts. Craig also is regularly published on issues relating to private international law disputes, as well as arbitration.

Professor Emilia Onyema

SOAS, University of London

Emilia is a Professor of International Commercial Law at SOAS, University of London. Her areas of research include: international arbitration, OHADA law, commercial contracts, international sale of goods, international carriage of goods and Nigerian customary law. She holds a PhD in international commercial arbitration from Queen Mary University of London. She is qualified to practice law in Nigeria and as a Solicitor in England & Wales; and she is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. She accepts appointments as an independent arbitrator as well as an expert witness. She has long standing experience as presiding, co and sole arbitrator in international commercial arbitration cases. Her research and teaching focus on international commercial arbitration, international investment law, law and development, with regional focus on Africa.

Jack Smith

Gornitzky & Co.

Jack is a partner at Gornitzky & Co. and leads the Energy & Natural Resources team and the Infrastructure & Project Finance team. He attracts praise as “one of the top two project finance lawyers in Israel” for his expertise and knowledge of the oil and gas industry. He specialises in commercial, corporate, mergers and acquisitions, project finance and international business transactions. He is able to advise on both domestic and international matters and particularly on power and infrastructure project tenders and development.

Daniel Turner

Grant Thornton

Daniel leads Grant Thornton’s dispute advisory practice for the North of England, and oversees the firm’s national and global international arbitration group. With almost 20 years worth of experience in accounting across various sectors, Daniel specialises in forensic accounting, which includes computer forensics and corporate intelligence, in complex international high-profile investigations and in commercial disputes. He has been appointed as an Expert Accountant, and his most recent appointments include the DIFC Courts, DIAC Arbitration and High Court of Justice.

Wendy Miles QC

International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID)

Wendy is a specialist in international arbitration and dispute resolution, with a focus on private and public international law. She is renowned as one of the market’s foremost lawyers in the fields of arbitration and public international law. With over 25 years of experience in these fields, Wendy has conducted arbitrations under all the major arbitral institutions as well as ad hoc. In addition, she has advised on various international law matters, including corporates, multinationals, State entities, sovereign States and multilateral State organisations.

Her clients span a variety of sectors including energy, natural resources, banking, finance and more. She has sat as sole, co-arbitrator and chair under most arbitral institutions since 2005. She has also been appointed by the United Kingdom to the ICSID Panel of arbitrators and to the ICSID Panel of conciliators since November 2020. Wendy also acts as coordinating counsel to major corporates in relation to climate change matters.

Dr Victoria Nalule

African Energy and Minerals Management Initiative (AEMI)

Victoria is the Founder and Executive Director of the African Energy and Minerals Management Initiative (AEMI) and an Energy and Mining professional & consultant with extensive experience working on various projects in the different parts of the Globe. She is a holder of a PhD in International Energy Law and Policy. Victoria is the Founder and Executive Director of the African Energy and Minerals Management Initiative. She was previously involved as a Research Fellow with the DFID-funded, Extractives Hub project, based at CEPMLP, University of Dundee, UK.

Professor Peter Cameron

International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID)

Peter is one of the world’s leading authorities in the energy law field, serving as both an arbitrator and an expert in international arbitral proceedings. He is currently sitting as an arbitrator on a panel at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). He has provided expert testimony before the LIA, Singapore International Centre, Stockholm Chamber of Commerce Arbitration Institute and the ICC in Paris.

Peter is a Professor of International Energy Law and directs the Centre for Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law and Policy at the University of Dundee. He has authored many publications which include International Energy Investment Law and Competition in Energy Markets: Law and Regulation in the European Union.

Peter is the co-director of the Centre for International Energy Arbitration, member of the Advisory Panel for ICCA 2020, Special Member of the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators, a member of the Energy Charter Legal Sub-Committee, Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, a Professorial Fellow at Edinburgh University’s Europa Institute, Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, and Vice President of the European Federation of Energy Law Associations.

Ana Stanic

E&A Law

Ana is the founder and director of E&A Law. She is an expert in energy, EU, international and arbitration law. She provides legal advice to clients within the energy sector in disputes ranging from maritime border disputes, concession agreements to construct large energy infrastructure, cross-border mergers and acquisitions, among others. Ana also advises on EU law matters and has appeared before the Court of Justice of the European Union. She has particular expertise inside the EU, Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, and the Eastern Mediterranean.

Dr Chrispas Nyombi

Derby University

Chrispas is a Reader in International Commercial Law. He has authored and co-authored several books relating to commercial law such as “UK Takeover Law & The Board Neutrality Rule” by Simmonds & Hill Publishing, 2017; “Rebalancing International Investment Agreements in Favour of Host States” by Wildy, Simmonds & Hill Publishing, 2018, and some with a particular focus on Africa, such as “Principles of Company Law in Uganda” by LawAfrica Publishing, 2014 and “The International Investment Policy of the Intergovernmental Authority of Development Member States: The Republic of Uganda” by Wildy, Simmonds & Hill Publishing, 2019.

His research focuses on the impact of International Investment Agreements on developing countries, emphasising the dispute resolution process.His research has informed regional investment policy, such as the proposed Mediation and Arbitration Centre in Djibouti; Chrispas is on the Task-Force constituted by the General Assembly of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).

Sami Houerbi

Independent (formerly ICC Mena)

Sami is the founding partner of Houerbi Law Firm, in which he developed a recognised expertise in the fields of arbitration, dispute resolution, international contracts, international sale of goods, among others. Sami has been a Consultant of the International Court of Arbitration of the ICC, with a focus on the Mediterranean, the Middle East and Africa. He also regularly acts as an arbitrator both ad hoc and within arbitral institutions, following rules of the ICC, DIAC and CRCICA. He was also responsible for the promotion of the ICC Young Arbitrators Forum in the MENA Region.

Sami is a member of the IBA, UIA, the German Institution of Arbitration, International Arbitration Institution of the French Committee of Arbitration, the Swiss Arbitration Association, Lagos Chamber of Commerce International Arbitration Centre, Tehran Regional Arbitration Centre, and Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre.

Rob Wilson

CMS

Rob is a partner and Solicitor Advocate at CMS in the firm’s ICE Disputes Group (Infrastructure, Construction and Energy) and has led the Energy Disputes team at the firm since 2013. For the last 20 years, he has worked closely with the oil & gas, power and engineering sectors advising on contentious issues.

Rob is dual-qualified (Scotland and England & Wales). His practice covers dispute avoidance, litigation (both in England and Scotland), international arbitration (in particular, ICC, LCIA, UNCITRAL and LMAA) and mediation (acting both as mediator (he is CEDR Accredited) and in representing clients). Much of Rob’s work is of an international nature, advising clients around the world including the UK, Central and Eastern Europe, CIS Countries, the Middle East, Africa, South America and Asia.

Kamal Shah

Stephenson Harwood

Kamal Shah is the head of Stephenson Harwood’s Africa and India groups and specialises in complex, cross-border international arbitration, litigation and fraud and asset recovery. He is highly ranked in legal directories including The Legal 500 UK, Chambers (the UK, global and the Asia Pacific) and IFLR1000 and was named as a leading international arbitration practitioner in “Who’s Who Legal: Future Leaders 2017 – 2020” as well as recognised in Africa’s 30 Arbitration Powerlist 2020 and The Legal 500’s Powerlists for arbitration and Africa for 2019.

In addition to being a LCIA Court Member, Kamal is currently the president of the LCIA African Users Council. He also co-published the text of the ‘African Promise’, which seeks to tackle the under-representation of Africans on international arbitration tribunals. He is also the co-author of the leading text “Arbitration in Africa: A Review of Key Jurisdictions”.

Duncan Bagshaw

Howard Kennedy (former Registrar of the Mauritius International Arbitration Centre)

Duncan is a barrister and a partner at Howard Kennedy LLP in London, and head of the International Arbitration team, specialising in international arbitration and litigation, with particular experience in the energy sector, disputes arising from joint ventures, and in Africa. Duncan has appeared before all courts of England and Wales, including the Supreme Court, and before arbitration tribunals under the LCIA, ICC, LCIADIFC and other rules. He also acts as an arbitrator and he is a Fellow of CIArb (UK).

Duncan spent three years living in Mauritius, establishing the MIAC arbitration centre. Since returning to London in 2015, he has provided advice to several African jurisdictions on improving their legal framework and facilities for international arbitration. Duncan has been recommended for international arbitration, Africa related disputes, and energy sector disputes, in Chambers and Partners, the Legal 500 and Who’s Who Legal.

Dr Rukia Baruti

Secretary General of the African Arbitration Association

Rukia is a qualified solicitor in England & Wales and sits as an international arbitrator. She is the current Secretary General at African Arbitration Association (AfAA), responsible for implementing and achieving the AfAA objectives. Through her role, she also advocates and promotes the AfAA initiative to close the diversity gap and champions for the role of Africans in international law and international arbitration.

Rukia has over 15 years of experience in international law and international arbitration, spanning both the practice and training of these fields. Prior to co-founding the AfAA, she founded and managed Africa International Legal Awareness (AILA) to build the capacity of African lawyers in investment treaty law and arbitration. Previously, Rukia practiced law at SJ Berwin’s International Arbitration Group in London where her contribution to a pro bono initiative to train African lawyers in international law saw her listed in The Lawyer ‘Hot 100’.

Ucheora Onwuamaegbu

Arent Fox

Uche’s practice focuses on international investment and commercial disputes, and he regularly provides advisory services and acts as arbitrator in international disputes. For more than a decade, Uche was Senior Counsel at the World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), in Washington, DC. He was involved, as Secretary or Team Leader, in over 70 cases in various economic sectors, including oil, gas, and mining, construction, agriculture, finance, and tourism; and was a core member of the 2016 ICSID Rules amendment team.

Prior to ICSID, Uche was a lawyer at the United Nations Compensation Commission, Geneva, working on various types of cases, including a consolidated claim of over 800,000 migrant workers for lost remittances; as well as claims by airlines and shipping companies, banks and insurance companies. Alongside his practice, Uche has written and spoken extensively on disputes between governments and foreign investors around the world.

Hamid Abdulkareem

Three Crowns LLP

Hamid – a counsel in the London office of Three Crowns LLP – is an experienced arbitration practitioner and litigator, having regularly advised multinational companies on an extensive range of disputes, particularly within the energy and natural resources sector. He has played a lead role in multiple disputes arising from Nigeria’s deep offshore production sharing contracts, resulting in successful outcomes for his clients.

Hamid is a current Co-Chair of the International Bar Association’s Arb40 subcommittee, the Young Africa Chair for the Institute for Transnational Arbitration, and a member of the Lagos Court of Arbitration’s Young Arbitrators Network’s Advisory Board. He is recognised in Who’s Who Legal: Future Leaders and as a National Leader for arbitration in Nigeria. Hamid is also ranked in The Legal 500 for dispute resolution. He is qualified in Nigeria and was educated at the London School of Economics and Political Science and the University of Ilorin, Nigeria.

Ike Ehiribe

7 Stones Commercial & IP Chambers

Ike is a barrister, international arbitrator and accredited mediator specialising in the resolution of a broad spectrum of International, Commercial, Sport, Art and Intellectual Property disputes. He is a Fellow (1994) of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators in London, a Chartered Arbitrator (2007), an accredited mediator of the Academy of Experts in Gray’s Inn since 1998 and also a CEDR Mediator in Investor-State Disputes. In addition to the CAfA Arbitrator and Mediator Pool, he is listed on the Panel of Neutrals of the United Nations-backed World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) in Geneva and the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne.

Ike is also a Visiting Professor and Fellow at the Centre for International Legal Studies (CILS) in Salzburg; a Professor of Law at the School of Law, Christchurch Canterbury University England; a Senior Teaching Fellow and Visiting Lecturer of International Trade Law and International Commercial Arbitration Modules at SOAS and Queen Mary in the University of London.

Khawar Qureshi QC

Serle Court Chambers, London & McNair Chambers, Qatar

Khawar is a QC at Serle Court Chambers in London and McNair Chambers Qatar. He is well recognised in the legal community as a leading barrister in the fields of commercial litigation, international arbitration, public international law and constitutional law. Khawar was appointed a Deputy High Court Judge in 2013, is a bencher of Middle Temple and has made hundreds of appearances before the English Courts at all levels, having also formerly been an “A” Panel UK Government Treasury Counsel before taking Silk. Also, Malaysia has appointed him as a Member of the Advisory Council of the Asian International Arbitration Centre (AIAC). Khawar has also taught Commercial Law at the University of Cambridge and Public International Law at King’s College London.

Loukas Mistelis

Institute of Transnational Commercial Law

Loukas is the Director of the Institute of Transnational Commercial Law, a professor of transnational law and arbitration and former director of the School of International Arbitration at Queen Mary University of London. His research is focused on international arbitration, international sales, comparative law, among other things. He has great experience as both an arbitration academic and practitioner for over 20 years. He has been involved in proceedings covering commercial, investment, construction and other matters.

Loukas was the Secretary of the Advisory Council of the Convention on Contract for the International Sale of Goods (CISG-AC), and is now a member of the Academic Committee of the Institute of Transnational Arbitration, the Investment Treaty Forum, British Institute of International Comparative Law and of the Advisory Board of the European Federation of Investment Law and Arbitration (EFILA).

Leyou Tameru

I-Arb Africa

Leyou Tameru is the founder of I-Arb Africa, Africa’s online international arbitration hub. She is an arbitration expert and regularly consults on international arbitration projects. Ms. Tameru previously worked with international private and government organizations including Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr, DLA Piper, the World Bank, the International Finance Corporation and the African Union. She is experienced in private sector development, international arbitration and youth empowerment in Africa. Ms. Tameru has law degrees from Addis Ababa University and Georgetown University.

Thomas Snider

Al Tamimi & Co.

Thomas is a Partner at Al Tamimi & Co. and the firm’s Head of Arbitration, based in the Dubai office. He is experienced in international commercial arbitration, international investment disputes, state-to-state arbitration, and foreign sovereign immunity issues. His experience covers a wide range of industries, sectors, and types of disputes, including oil-and-gas, construction, hospitality, telecommunications, automobile manufacturing, distribution agreements, shareholder disputes, and joint-venture disputes.

Thomas has sat as an arbitrator and is on the panel of arbitrators of several arbitral institutions around the world. He is also a member of the Court of Arbitration of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC), the Arbitration Committee of the Lagos Court of Arbitration (LCA), and the International Arbitration Committee of KCAB International (an independent division of the Korean Commercial Arbitration Board). He also writes and speaks on topics involving international law and dispute resolution. Prior to relocating to Dubai, he was a professorial lecturer in law at the George Washington University Law School in Washington, DC.

Nesreen Osman

Pinsent Masons

Nesreen is a Partner at Pinsent Masons and specialises in construction and infrastructure disputes. She routinely advises clients on complex and high value arbitration and court proceedings across the Middle East and further afield.
She advises on issues arising both during the life of a project and following completion, including advice relating to contract interpretation, variations, delay and disruption, defective works, suspension of works, termination of contracts and professional negligence. A significant portion of her time is also spent advising clients on managing negotiations and alternative means of resolving disputes with the aim of reaching extra-judicial settlement.

John Vercoe

Albertson Solicitors

John is an experienced international oil and gas upstream lawyer, with leading edge practice gained from transactions in the UK Continental Shelf, Republic of Kazakhstan, the Caribbean and Africa. He previously led British Gas’s E&P Legal Department for 16 years, was a senior legal expert in an environmental law project sponsored by the European Commission in Brussels, and was Head of Legal for Shell in Kazakhstan and The Hague, The Netherlands.

John’s international experience has included participation in major oil & gas pipeline negotiations in Kazakhstan, Jamaica, Syria, Eastern Border of Canada, Denmark, Russian Federation and Pakistan. Alongside his work as a solicitor and legal consultant in the energy industry, John has practiced as a barrister (Gray’s Inn), led training of foreign civil servants, Judges and state Legal Departments and a member of the Editorial Board of several energy and natural resources law journals.

Professor Craig Barker

London South Bank University

Craig is an international lawyer specializing in immunities from jurisdiction. He is widely published in the field having authored eight books and several reports, articles and book chapters in the field.
He has been a Professor of International Law since 2004 and has served as Director of Research and Head of School at Sussex Law School, University of Sussex, and is currently Dean of the School of Law and Social Sciences at London South Bank University.

Craig’s expertise in international law has seen him advise several governments, non-governmental organisations, international corporations and law firms. He is a consultant with the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) as well as the Global Diplomatic Forum. He is a senior fellow with the Global Citizen Forum and a member of the Advisory Board of Arton Capital.

Reshma Oogorah

Niyom Legal

Reshma is an independent arbitrator and international legal Counsel who has been involved in both ad hoc and institutional arbitrations conducted under major institutional rules including ICC, LCIA, DIAC, DIFC-LCIA, ADCCAC, QICCA, SIAC, HKIAC and SCAI. She is dual-qualified as a Solicitor and a Barrister, admitted to practise law in England and Wales, and Mauritius. Over the course of her career, Reshma gained experience in multi-jurisdictional matters, has worked in London, Mauritius, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, and has represented clients in Oman and Kuwait. She has been involved in complex high value disputes related to mega construction projects and major oil & gas companies in the Middle East, Africa and the UK. Her independent arbitration practice, Niyom Legal, is registered in the United Arab Emirates. Reshma is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, and a committee member and public relations officer of the CIArb UAE Branch.

Hannah Ambrose

Herbert Smith Freehills

Hannah is a Senior Associate in the public international law practice at Herbert Smith Freehills LLP. Hannah has advised states and investors on a number of investment treaty arbitrations and investment arbitration matters. She also advises on a range of matters of public international law, including state immunity, application of international law in the domestic courts, state to state dispute resolution, sanctions and the immunity of international organisations. Hannah is a member of the steering committee for HSF’s pro bono international development project, Fair Deal Sierra Leone. Her work as part of this project has included delivering capacity building training to the judiciary and private practitioners in Freetown, providing legislative drafting support to the Sierra Leone Law Reform Commission, supporting Sierra Leone with its accession to the New York Convention 1958, and working with the Sierra Leone Investment and Export Promotion Agency.

Tunde Ogunseitan

Independent Arbitrator

Tunde Ogunseitan is an independent arbitrator. He has substantial practical experience from several international law firms, specialising in dispute resolution, asset tracing, maritime law, insurance,
structured finance and debt capital markets. Tunde regularly consults internationally for a variety of arbitral institutions, businesses and firms. He is also a teaching fellow in alternative dispute resolution and international commercial arbitration at various universities in England and France. He is a trustee of ODRAfrica. He is a court member of the Lagos Court of Arbitration (LCA) and currently chairs the LCA Sub Committee on reviewing the LCA Rules. Tunde is a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators Professional Development Advisory Group and is part of its teaching faculty in London. He is also a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. He was a founding member of the IBA
40 under 40.

Tunde led the Common Law jurisdictions as Counsel of the International Court of Arbitration including the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Caribbean, Anglophone Africa, and the Indian subcontinent for over 7 years. He is admitted as a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales (n.p.) and a Solicitor and Advocate of the Supreme Court of
Nigeria.

Dr Dania Fahs

ICC International Court of Arbitration & ADRs

Before joining ICC in 2018, Dania had (13 +) years of mixed experience as an attorney in private practice and in-house counseling. She is specialized in transactional, commercial, and IP law and has advised clients on a broad range of commercial contentious and non-contentious matters as well as assisted in negotiating complex cross-border transactions in various sectors (pharmaceutical, technology, FMCG, luxury…). She has an extensive international experience in advising multinational boards on a wide range of legal and strategic issues.

A former lecturer in American Business Law (American University of Beirut), and in Intellectual Property Law (La Sagesse University). She currently lectures at University Saint Joseph (Dubai). Dania holds a PhD in Contractual Law (University Montpellier I -France) Dir. Prof. Jacques Raynard and an Executive MBA from INSEAD (2018). She also holds a postgraduate microprogramme degree in IP and Alternative Dispute Resolution (University of Montreal).

She is certified as Trainer of Trainers by the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Centre, a member of Arbitral Women, and a certified CEDR mediator.

Professor Damilola S. Olawuyi, SAN

Hamad Bin Khalifa University

Professor Damilola S. Olawuyi, SAN is an international lawyer, professor of law, arbitrator, author, and policy consultant, with expertise in petroleum, energy and environmental law. He is a chancellor’s fellow and Director at the Institute for Oil, Gas, Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development (OGEES Institute), Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti, Nigeria. He is also a professor of petroleum, energy and environmental law at HBKU Law School, Doha, Qatar where he teaches energy and environmental law courses.

A prolific and highly regarded scholar, Professor Olawuyi has published over 100 influential peer-reviewed articles, books, and reports on energy finance, sustainable development law and extractive resource governance. His most recent book publications include: Local Content and Sustainable Development in Global Energy Markets (Cambridge University Press, 2021), Extractives Industry Law in Africa (Springer 2018), The Human Rights Based Approach to Carbon Finance (Cambridge University Press, 2016) and Climate Change Law and Policy in the Middle East and North Africa Region (Routledge, 2021).

Professor Olawuyi was formerly an international energy lawyer at Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP, Calgary, where he served on the firm’s global committee on extractive resource investments in Africa. He has lectured on energy and environmental law in over 40 countries in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America and the Middle East. Professor Olawuyi serves on the executive committees and boards of several organizations and is a regular media commentator on all aspects of natural resources, energy and environmental law.

Değer Boden

Boden Law

Değer Boden practices in energy, infrastructure, climate change and arbitration matters. She is listed in Legal 500, Chambers & Partners, IFLR 1000 and Who’s Who Legal as a leading individual for her energy and natural resources’ practices. She acts as arbitrator in disputes.

She takes an active role in the society for environment protection. She lectures and speaks widely on climate change and sustainability matters. She is a member of the Advisory Board of the Center for Energy and Sustainable Development (CESD) of Kadir Has University. She is also a Board Member in the Carbon Footprint and Sustainability Association, and Chair of the Energy Commission of Istanbul Arbitration Center (ISTAC).
Değer is a Turkish, English and French speaker.

Dr Sally El Sawah

El Sawah Law

Dr. Sally El Sawah is the Co-founder of Junction – Paris,  Principal of El Sawah Law – Cairo, and Deputy Secretary-General of the African Arbitration Association. She is a qualified attorney in Egypt and France and a Registered Foreign Lawyer with the SRA in England & Wales. She has gained a wealth of experience during a career spanning over fifteen years in Paris, London and Cairo, both in reputable law firms and as an independent practitioner. She regularly acts as Arbitrator, Counsel, Consultant and Legal Expert and has been involved in a number of high-profile cases and projects in Egypt and in the “Europe, Middle East and Africa” (EMEA) region.

Professor Paul Stevens

Chatham House

Educated as an economist and as a specialist on the Middle East at Cambridge and SOAS; 1973-1979 the American University of Beirut in Lebanon; 1979-93 the University of Surrey; 1993-2008, Professor of Petroleum Policy and Economics at CEPMLP, University of Dundee; since 2008 he has been working with Chatham House  in London.  He is now Professor Emeritus at the University of Dundee, an Associate Fellow at Chatham House, a Distinguished Fellow at the IEEJ in Tokyo. In March 2009, he was given the OPEC Award for 2009 for services to improve the understanding of the international oil industry.

Mick Smith

Burford Capital

Mick Smith is a Principal with responsibility for leading Burford’s investment activity and operations in Europe, focusing on companies, funds, investors and law firms engaged in commercial litigation and arbitration. He co-founded Calunius Capital. He previously practiced law at Freshfields in both London and Madrid and then worked as an investment banker at JPMorgan Chase, Credit Agricole Lazard and Dresdner Kleinwort.

Mr. Smith earned his bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Law from Cambridge University and recently completed MSc modules in Data Science and Mathematics.

Mahmood Khagani

Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines & Agriculture

Mahmood Khaghani, now retired, has more than 33 years of service in senior international positions in Iran’s petroleum industry. He held the position of the Director for Energy, Minerals and Environment at the Secretariat of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) during 1996-2000. He is a graduate in energy engineering at Britain’s Surrey University and is a Petroleum- development Strategy advisor (International). Mr Khaghani has participated and presented papers in many international conferences and seminars. He is Advisor to the ICCIMA Education & Research Institute-Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines & Agriculture(ICCIMA) and  Research Institute for Energy Management and Planning (RIEMP)-University of Tehran.