Witness evidence in international commercial arbitration

The purpose of the lecture is to provide an overview of the different categories of evidence that are submitted by the parties to an arbitral tribunal.  The lecture will focus on the three main categories of evidence : (i) documentary evidence; (ii) witnesses of fact; and (iii) expert witnesses. The lecture will explore how arbitral tribunals determine the rules applicable to the production of evidence, their weight and admissibility, and under which circumstances evidence could be challenged or excluded from the record of the proceedings.

Speaker

Ahmed Abdel-Hakam is a Counsel at Eversheds Sutherland specialising in international arbitration and complex cross-border litigation. He is a Solicitor-Advocate (Civil and Criminal Higher Rights of Audience) before the Higher Courts of England & Wales and a French Avocat.  Based in London, he has experience in dealing with disputes covering a broad range of sectors, with a focus on regulated industries such as Energy, Natural Resources and Telecommunications.

Ahmed regularly provides training to governments and corporations on topics relating to commercial and investment treaty arbitration and is a contributor to Oxford University Press’ online publication “Investment Claims”. He currently serves on the Y-ADR Steering Committee of the International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution (CPR) based in New York, USA.

In 2019, Ahmed has been selected as a Young Leader by the Franco-British Council which, each year, nominates a select group of young French and British individuals under 40, with distinguished careers across a variety of sectors from sciences to arts, politics, law, the military and finance.

In 2020, he was selected to be part of a delegation led by the President of the Law Society of England & Wales and to speak at a joint conference in Tokyo with the Tokyo Dai-Chi Bar Association, on the impact of Brexit on arbitration in England & Wales.

Ahmed was recently described as “a fantastic, up-and-coming international arbitration specialist, who brings a great deal of energy and rigour to cases, and has a thorough grounding in international law. His ability to operate in French and Arabic, as well as English, also sets him apart as a truly international practitioner.” (Legal 500, United Kingdom, 2022).

This event is organised by the Durham International Dispute Resolution Institute. 

​Contact: Can Eken