MARC Court
The MARC Court is operational since 2 October 2017 as per the 2017 Amendment to the 2014 MARC Arbitration Rules. Its tasks include prima facie decisions on MARC’s jurisdiction to accept a case, decisions as to the number or designation of arbitrator(s) in the absence of agreement between the parties, decisions on challenges raised against arbitrators and decisions on other issues related to procedure.
The MARC Court is composed of 17 eminent experts in the field of arbitration and is currently headed by Mr Neil Kaplan KC.
Mr. Neil Kaplan CBE KC SBS
President
Mrs. Aisha Abdallah
Ms. Funke Adekoya SAN
Mr. Makhdoom Ali Khan SC
Dr. Matthieu de Boisséson
Ms. Laurence Burger
Hon. L. Yves Fortier CC KC
Ms. Cheng Yee Khong
Mr. Arthur Ma
Lord. (David) Neuberger
Dr. Achille Ngwanza
Prof. Marike Paulsson
Ms. Shaheda Peeroo
Mr. David Rivkin
Prof. Klaus Sachs
Mr. Harish Salve KC
Mr. Roger Wakefield
Mr. Neil Kaplan CBE KC SBS
President
Mr. Neil Kaplan CBE QC SBS has been a full-time practising arbitrator since 1995. During this period he has been involved in several hudred arbitrations as coarbitrator, sole arbitrator or chairman. These arbitrations have included a wide range of commercial, infrastructure and investment disputes. Called to the Bar of England and Wales in 1965, Mr. Kaplan has practiced as a barrister, Principal Crown Counsel at the Hong Kong Attorney General’s Chambers, and served as a Judge of the Supreme Court of Hong Kong in charge of the Construction and Arbitration List.
From 1991 to 2004, he was Chairman of the HKIAC, and in 1999 – 2000, he wasPresident of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. Since 1995, he has been a CouncilMember and now Governing Board Member of the International Council of Commercial Arbitration. Between 2012 and 2016 Mr. Kaplan was also a Member ofthe ICC International Court of Arbitration. He is a Chartered Arbitrator and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, the Hong Kong Institute of Arbitrators, and the Singapore Institute of Arbitrators. He is a panelist of several other arbitral institutions including CIETAC. Since 2017 he has been the President of the Court of the Mauritius Chamber of Commerce and Industry Arbitration and Mediation Centre (MARC).
Mrs. Aisha Abdallah
Aisha Abdallah is the Head of the Litigation Department at Anjarwalla & Khanna and is based at the head office in Nairobi. She is dual qualified in Kenya and England and Wales and has over 16 years of experience in dispute resolution. Aisha’s practice focuses on domestic and international arbitration, commercial litigation, anticorruption, insolvency and disputes over land, the environment and natural resources. Much of her work involves cross border disputes. Aisha regularly writes and speaks on a wide range of contentious issues, including arbitration and anti-corruption. She is the co-author of the Kenyan chapter of the 6th, 7th and 8th editions of the International Arbitration Review.
Ms. Funke Adekoya SAN
Appointed Notary Public in 1986 and elevated to the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) in 2001, Funke Adekoya, was nominated and voted as the Most Outstanding Female Legal Practitioner of the Year 2007 by Financial Standard Newspaper and Women Entrepreneurs African Network. As a litigator, she represents clients regularly before the Nigerian courts at all levels, and has provided expert opinions and appeared as an expert witness on Nigerian law issues before the courts of England, United States and Turkey. In the field of arbitration, she represents both local and transnational parties as counsel in both domestic and international arbitration proceedings within Nigeria and abroad and has acted in numerous disputes as either - party appointed Arbitrator, Sole Arbitrator and Presiding Arbitrator.
Mr. Makhdoom Ali Khan SC
Makhdoom Ali Khan serves as Senior Counsel at Fazleghani Advocates. Mr. Ali Khan was the Attorney General of Pakistan during which time, he advised the Pakistani Government on all international arbitrations in which it was involved. He is a Senior Advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, appearing in a large number of landmark cases, and he also appears before both domestic and international arbitraltribunals in commercial and investment disputes. He serves as a Director of American Arbitration Association. Mr. Ali Khan is the author of the Recognition and Enforcement Ordinance, by which the New York Convention was incorporated into the laws of Pakistan. He also authored the Arbitration Ordinance to implement the ICSID Convention
Dr. Matthieu de Boisséson
Matthieu de Boisséson specializes in International Commercial Arbitration and International Litigation. He advises French and international companies in the fields of oil and gas, mining, construction, joint-ventures, government and defence contracts, distribution, telecom and high technologies, advertising, mergers & acquisitions and investments
Ms. Laurence Burger
Laurence Burger’s legal practice focuses mainly on international dispute resolution in investment and commercial arbitration. She has considerable experience representing parties in arbitral proceedings and has often been appointed to act as sole arbitrator, president or as amember of an arbitral tribunal. Laurence also advises a wide variety of clients in various economic fields such as banking and finance, oil and gas, defense, information technology, sports, telecoms, construction, pharmaceuticals, shipping and the food and beverage industry on issues of Swiss commercial law and corporations. A dual Swiss and US-trained lawyer, Laurence is located in Geneva, Switzerland
Hon. L. Yves Fortier CC KC
Honourable L. Yves Fortier, PC, CC, OQ, QC, Ad.E, Cabinet Yves Fortier, Montréal. Mr Fortier is the former Chair and Senior Partner of Norton Rose (formerly Ogilvy Renault) in Montréal from 1992 to 2008. Mr 31 Fortier was then Chairman Emeritus of the December 2011. Since January 1st, 2012, Mr Fortier practises law in Mont f irm until réal as an independent arbitrator/mediator. He is a graduate of Université de Montréal, McGill University and Oxford University (Rhodes Scholar). He is a past president of the London Court of International Arbitration and of the Canadian Bar Association. Mr Fortier was made Queen’s Counsel in 1976 and an Avocat émérite of Quebec in 2007. In 1984, he became an Officer of the Order of Canada and promoted to Companion of the Order in 1991. From 1984 to 1989, he was a member of the Permanent Court of Arbitra tion in The Hague. From July 1988 until February 1992, he was Canada’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York. In 1989, he was president of the Security Council of the United Nations. In 2006, he became an Officer of l’Or du Québec. During the last 25 years, Mr dre National Fortier has acted as arbitrator and mediator in numerous international arbitrations under the auspices of all major arbitral institutions in the world. From 2012 to 2015, Mr World Bank. In 2013, Mr Fortier was Chairman of th e Sanctions Board of the Fortier was appointed as a member of the Security and Intelligence Review Committee of Canada and sworn in as a member of the Privy Council of Canada. In July 2016, he was appointed Chairman of the Enforcem ent Committee of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
Ms. Cheng Yee Khong
Cheng Yee specialises in international arbitration, having represented parties in international arbitrations at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in Paris and administered over 800 arbitrations as director and counsel of the ICC International Court of Arbitration Secretariat in Hong Kong. She is qualified to practise in England and Wales as well as Malaysia. Her career to date spans London, Paris, Kua Kong. Chengla Lumpur and Hong Yee recently joined IMF Bentham, an arbitration and litigation funder with offices worldwide. She is based in Hong Kong.
Mr. Arthur Ma
Arthur Ma is a partner in DaHui Lawyers’ dispute resolution team. Prior to joining DaHui, Mr. Ma practiced in various jurisdictions with leading international and local firms in Shanghai, London, Washington DC, Hong Kong, and Beijing. Arthur’s practice focuses on foreign-related domestic and on foreign-related domestic and cross-border dispute resolution with expertise in international arbitration He has represented both foreign and domestic clients, ranging from individuals to SOEs, in litigation and arbitration both in China and overseas. He has also covered a broad range of industries in his practice, including construction and engineering, energy, manufacturing, and international trade. He also has represented clients in arbitral award enforcement proceedings in and outside of China. Arthur has participated in a range of FCPA investigations.
He works in both Chinese and English. In addition, He is a registered PRC lawyer, as well as qualified in New York and England, and Wales
Lord. (David) Neuberger
David Edmond Neuberger, Baron Neuberger of Abbotsbury, PC Hon FRS, became a judge in the United Kingdom in October 1996. He served as President of the UK Supreme Court and the senior member of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council from October 2012 u ntil his retirement in September 2017. Before that, he was a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary until the House of Lords' judicial functions were transferred to the new Supreme Court in 2009, at which point he became Master of the Rolls, the second most senior jud ge in England and Wales. He is currently a NonPermanent Judge of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal and a Judge in the Singapore international Commercial Court, and practises as an arbitrator.
Dr. Achille Ngwanza
Dr. Achille Ngwanza teaches arbitration law and petroleum and mining law in several European and African universities. Author of several publications, he is also a practitioner of ICC arbitration, OHADA arbitration and various other systems of African arbitrations.
Prof. Marike Paulsson
Marike Paulsson is the Director of the University of Miami School of Law’s International Arbitration Institute and a Lecturer in Law. Marike has over fourteen years of practice and academic experience in public international law, international arbitration, and cross-border litigation. She teaches in the US, the Middle East, India, Latin America, and Europe and publishes extensively in the field of international arbitration and public international law. She is a leading expert on the 1958 U.N. Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (The New York Convention). She has assisted in the drafting of numerous expert opinions on the Convention and acts as an expert witness herself. She has co-authored and edited the ICCA Guide on the New York Convention (International Council for Commercial Arbitration) and co-founded the ICCA NYC Roadshow for the purposes of which she familiarizes judges around the world with the application of the Convention in the national space. She is the author of “The 1958 New York Convention in Action”. She is the vice president for North America of the Global Legal Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution Centre of the University of Sao Paolo. Marike, a Dutch national, speaks five languages and has degrees from Leiden University, University of Miami, and Sciences-Po Paris, and is a member (and past member) of the Dutch, Bahraini and Belgian Bar and is a Foreign Legal Consultant in the US.
Ms. Shaheda Peeroo
Shaheda Peeroo is a former Judge of the Supreme Court of Mauritius. She retired in 2016 as the most senior of the “Designated Judges” specialised for international arbitration matters, after having delivered judgments in a number of landmark cases, including Cruz City v Unitech Limited [Yearbook Com. Arb. 2014 (Vol 39) 447];[2014 MR 46] and UBS v MCB [2016 SCJ 43]. The Cruz City judgment was nominated by the Global Arbitration Review (GAR) for an award as "the most important published decision of 2014 for jurispru dential or other reasons". She is a member of the Administrative Tribunal of the African Union, and an arbitrator at Peeroo Chambers in Mauritius.
Mr. David Rivkin
David W. Rivkin is Co-Chair of the International Dispute Resolution Group of Debevoise & Plimpton and the Immediate Past President of the International Bar Association. A litigation partner in the firm’s New York and London offices, Mr. Rivkin has served as counsel and arbitrator in international arbitrations throughout the world for more than 30 years. He is consistently ranked as one of the top international dispute resolution practitioners in the world. Chambers Global (2015, 2016, & 2017) identified Mr. Rivkin as one of the top fourteen international arbitration practitioners worldwide, and recognized his demonstrated “aptitude for complex, high-stakes disputes” in international arbitration. He has also served on the Board of many other international arbitration institutions.
Prof. Klaus Sachs
Klaus Sachs is a partner of the German law firm CMS Hasche Sigle. He has acted as arbitrator in more than two hundred international arbitrations, both commercial and investor-state disputes under various rules. He is member of the Governing Board of ICCA and a former Vice-President of the ICC Court. He is co-publisher of the German Arbitration Journal and teaches arbitration law as professor at the university of Munich.
Mr. Harish Salve KC
Harish Salve is a barrister (Blackstone Chambe rs) and a Senior Advocate (India). He qualified as a Chartered Accountant (India) in 1979 and enrolled as an advocate in 1980. In 1986 he set up independent Chambers in India. Mr. Salve was designated as Senior Advocate in 1992. He was also the Solicitor G 1999 and November 2002. Mr. Salve eneral of India between November had an extensive practice in the Supreme Court of India and the High Courts in commercial law, taxation and arbitration. He was enrolled as a barrister in the UK in July 2013 and is a membe r of the Gray's Inn. Presently, Mr. Salve Treaty arbitration . practices mostly commercial arbitration and Bilateral Investment
Mr. Roger Wakefield
Roger Wakefield has been a director in Werksmans Attorneys Litigation and Dispute Resolution Department since 1996. Roger specialises in major commercial litigation with a focus on health, pharmaceutical & life sciences and technology. He has indepth expertise in cross-border disputes, enforcements of foreign judgments, private international law and commercial litigation in the United States. He is also skilled in arbitration, mediation and alternative dispute resolution; IT litigation; administrative law; intellectual property law, trade marks & copyright law; healthcare and health funding; mining law; and corporate fraud. Roger has been involved in a number of foreign judgment cases that are now leading authorities in South African law. He is named as a leading commercial litigator in The International Who's Who of Commercial Litigators and in Best Lawyers.
MARC Advisory Board
The MARC Board is operational since 15 November 2017 and consists of sixteen internationally renowned experts in the field of arbitration. The Board is consulted on matters relating to MARC’s development policies and best practices as well as on projects and initiatives to further the development of ADR methods as effective trade and business facilitation tools. Dr Jalal El Ahdab is the current chair of the MARC Advisory Board.
Dr. Jalal El Ahdab
Chairman of MARC Advisory Board
Ms. Sarah Grimmer
Mr. Mark Appel
Mr. Duncan Bagshaw
Mr. Vyapak Desai
Maria Krystyna Duval
Mr. Rajeev Sharma Fokeer
Ms. Maryan Hassan
Ms. Sophie Henry
Dr. Jamsheed Peeroo
Mr. Wesley Pydiamah
Mr. Daniel H. Sharma
Mr. Nish Shetty
Ms. Leyou Tameru
Mr. Christopher Thomas KC
Dr. Jalal El Ahdab
Chairman of MARC Advisory Board
Dr. Jalal (Jil) El Ahdab is a partner in the Dispute Resolution practice of Bird & Bird, based in Paris and is the head of Bird & Bird's arbitration department in France. Before joining Bird & Bird, Jil was a partner with GMPV. Jil’s practice covers international business law, notably related to the Arab world and Europe, and more specifically in the field of international disputes and foreign investments. Having acted as a counsel, arbitrator a nd expert in about 100 cases, Jil has strong experience in managing international disputes and particularly disputes regarding shareholders and securities suits, class actions, breach of negotiations, bank guarantees. The type of business his practice incl udes relates to the trade of commodities, telecom markets, port concessions, construction industry and sport; etc. With a solid academic background (degrees in law, finance and political science), he is well regarded from a scientific standpoint. He is Leb anon’s UNCITRAL Representative and a member of the ICC Court. Also, he chairs the European Branch of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and is the vicechair of the IBA Arab Regional Forum. A regular speaker at numerous international arbitration confer of various articles and the coences, Jalal is the author author of Arbitration with the Arab Countries (Kluwer, 2011). He is also managing editor of the International Journal of Arab Arbitration, available on www.kluwerarbitration.com and www.intljaa.com . In 2019, he will publish a book on Arbitration Law in France, with Professor Daniel Mainguy (LexisNexis). Jalal is also a lecturer in arbitration law at the Versail SciencesPo Paris (IEP). Jil holds a doctorate in law from Paris I les University and Sorbonne (2003) and also graduated in Political Sciences & International Finance from Sciences Po Paris (1998), in Business & Management from the Institut Supérieur de G from Columbia Law School (2002). estion (1995) and obtained his LLM He is admitted to practice in Paris (France), Beirut (Lebanon) and New York (USA) and is fluent in French, English and Arabic.
Ms. Sarah Grimmer
Sarah Grimmer is SecretaryGeneral of Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre. She was formerly Senior Legal Counsel at the PCA where she served as tribunal secretary interin multiple investorState arbitrations and was appointed registrar in several State arbitrations. Prior to joining the PCA, Sarah served for three years as Assistant Counsel at the ICC International Court of Arbitration in Paris. She was also a mem ber of the international arbitration group at Shearman & Sterling LLP in Paris, prior to which she worked in private practice in Auckland. In 2015, Sarah was appointed to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon Disciplinary Board. She is a member of the ICCAASIL Task Force on Damages (2016), ICCA Publications Committee (2015), the IBA Investment Arbitration Subcommittee (2014), New Zealand ICC Arbitration Committee (2014), and the IBA Arb40 Steering Committee (2013). She has an LLM from Cambridge University and a n LLB/BA (Criminology) from Victoria University of Wellington. She is admitted to practice law in New Zealand.
Mr. Mark Appel
Mark Appel is an independent, international Arbitrator, Mediator, Consultant, and Trainer. Mr. Appel has nearly 40 years of global arbitration and mediation experience, having served in both executive and senior executive positions at the American Arbitration Association (AAA) and International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR), leaving ICDR/AAA as Senior Vice President, EMEA in December of 2015. Mr. Appel is thoroughly familiar with arbitration practice and procedure, with 30 years of experience in training arbitrators on four continents on behalf of various arbitral institutions, government ministries, Courts, and NGOs. While serving as a Regional executive for AAA, M r. Appel personally administered or was responsible for the administration of thousands of commercial arbitrations. Mr. Appel has also managed arbitral prefiling and preliminary hearings, addressing issues including jurisdiction, arbitrator appointment/c conflicts, scheduling, and information exchange in a wide variety of commercial settings, with individual case claims up to 1 Billion USD.
In cooperation with industry experts, Mr. Appel has drafted multiple sets of arbitration and ADR procedures, including online, “desk” arbitration procedures for manufacturers and suppliers, and Dispute Review Board procedures. An experienced mediator and mediator trainer, Mr. Appel is a founding, now honorary, Director of the International Mediation Institute (IMI). Mr. A Chair of the IMI Investorppel currently serves as State Mediation Taskforce and is a member of the IMI Independent Standards Commission. Mr. Appel has consulted with individual companies and whole industries on dispute resolution design. Mr. Appel also participated in a series of groundbreaking ICDR corporate dispute resolution and conflict management benchmarking surveys of leading French corporations. At the request of several government ministries of justice and economic development and global NGOs, Mr. Appel has worked with community stakeholders including Bar Associations, Chambers of Commerce, and the Courts to build new Arbitration and Mediation Centers in the EMEA region. Mr. Appel has taught arbitration law and procedure and overview courses in resolution at the graduate and post-dispute graduate (law) levels in multiple jurisdictions. Mr. Appel provides Arbitration, Mediation, and Conflict Management Consultancy, and Training Services through Appel Dispute Resolution LLC. Mr. Appel is an International Member of ArbDB Chambers, London, and takes his arbitrator and mediator appointments through Chambers.
Mr. Duncan Bagshaw
Mr. Vyapak Desai
Maria Krystyna Duval
Mr. Rajeev Sharma Fokeer
Ms. Maryan Hassan
Maryan is Chief Negotiator for Somalia to the WTO. She is based at the Office of the President and was formerly Chief Legal Adviser at the Federal Government of Somalia where she reestablished the Office of the Legal Adviser for the first time in 26 years. Prior to working in Mogadishu, Maryan worked at the arbitration practice of Al Tamimi & Co in Dub ai, and as Legal Adviser to the Somali Mission to the UN in New York. Maryan is a member of the World Bank's International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) panels of arbitrators and conciliators. Somalia’s Arbitration Task Force alongside Gary Born She founded this work and was shortlisted for ‘Best Development’ in GAR’s 2017 awards. She undertook a career in arbitration and ADR after studying at SOAS, University of London. During her time at SOAS, she was recognized by the US Embassy as a ‘Young Leader’.
Ms. Sophie Henry
Sophie Henry is the Déléguée générale ( Mé diation et d’Arbitrage de Paris. Executive director) of the CMAP Centre de She holds a DEA in Private Law (Master Degree) Univer sity of Paris II Pantheon Assas. Sophie Henry was an associate lawyer, and a member of the Paris Bar, specializing in commercial litigation for nearly ten years. exercised as an Expert in the area of Pro She also duction and Consumption for the Economic and Social Committee of the European Commission. She then joined the CMAP in 2000 and successively practiced as a European program manager, mediation Trainer, Consultant, and Secretary general until now. Since 2012, So phie is VicePresident of the French Federation of Arbitration Centres (Fédération des centres d’arbitrage).
Dr. Jamsheed Peeroo
Dr. Jamsheed Peeroo is a dualqualified barrister (UK & Mauritius) and holds a PhD in international arbitration law from the Sorbonne. He has worked on many arbitrations at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in Paris, at 3VB in London and at Peeroo Chambers in Mauritius. He has taught arbitration law and was closely involved in preparing draft procedural rules governing arbitration currently splits his timrelated claims before Mauritian e between London and Mauritius.
Mr. Wesley Pydiamah
Mr. Daniel H. Sharma
Mr. Nish Shetty
Nish Shetty is a partner at Clifford Chance (Singapore Office), where he heads its Litigation and Dispute Res on many complex cross solution practices for the Asia Pacific region . He has advised jurisdictional disputes in the past 22 years including arbitrations in Europe and Asia. Nish is on the panel of arbitrators of the key arbitral institutions in the region. He is the founder and ex-chairman of the SIAC’s Users Council and the first in Asia to be appointed as a Judge of Appeal on the F IA International Court of Appeal in Paris. Nish is qualified in both England & Wales and Singapore.
His Arbitration experience includes acting for:- PNGSDP in an ICSID arbitration in relation to the (alleged) expropriation of shares in the Ok Tedi gold and copper mine in PNG by the PNG Government. This largest ICSID claim in history by Singapore is the company
- Churchill Mining and Planet Mining in their ICSID arbitrations against the Indonesian government arising from the cancellation of their mining licenses
- an international company in a US$350 million BIT dispute with an Asian government
- a global bank in a SIAC arbitration proceeding arising out of a dispute under a shareholder agreement regarding a US$60 million investment in an Indian technology company and its Dubai-based subsidiary. The dispute involved allegations of significant fraud and legal proceedings in various jurisdictions, including India, London, Dubai, and South Africa. It involved one of the first-ever applications to obtain emergency relief, including worldwide Mareva relief, under the SIAC emergency arbitrator provisions
- companies owned and controlled by one of India's most prominent developers on four LCIA arbitrations against a UK listed entity arising out of US$2.5 billion de velopment projects in India
- a leading Dubai based conglomerate in a SIAC arbitration against a BVI entity backed by an Indian promoter. This is a shareholder dispute between the parties arising out of investment in a power plant in India (worth US$1.1 billion) under a joint venture
- JPMP (a subsidiary of JP Morgan) in an SIAC International Arbitration arising out of the Leveraged Buyout of the Metalform Group of Companies and related proceedings in Singapore & Mauritius
- a leading Iranian manufacturing compa ny in a dispute with a local manufacturing company and its Japanese parent company, in an International Arbitration in relation to a claim in excess of US$40 million (SIAC)
- an oil and gas contractor pursuing claims against the owner of an FPSO facility und er SIAC arbitration. The dispute concerned a potential claim of US$22 million with a counterclaim by the owner for a similar amount
- Alstom against Insigma in relation to a jurisdictional challenge based on the ability of the SIAC to administer an ICC arbitration
- a major corporate in a series of parallel SIAC arbitrations against a state-owned Vietnamese shipbuilding company. Our clients achieved a complete victory and the Awards were rendered within nine months of the appointment of Tribunal
- private investo director. rs in a SIAC arbitration against a Thaibased fund and fund Our clients achieved a complete victory and the Tribunal rendered the Award within six months of its appointment
- Korean and Swiss entities in respect of a SIAC arbitration regarding the goods and services for a construction project in the Middle East
- a leading Indian trading house in a multisupply of million dollar SIAC international arbitration against a Korean multinational chaebol for the supply of iron-ore
Ms. Leyou Tameru
Mr. Christopher Thomas KC
John Christopher Thomas QC practices in the field of international trade and commercial law with an emphasis on trade and investment regulation, commercial disputes and international dispute settlement. He was educated at the University of British Columbia , B.A. and LL.B., Sussex University, M.A., and Columbia University, LL.M. He is the founding editor of InvestorState LawGuide, an online legal research database on investment treaty arbitration law. He is a national of Canada and was appointed Queen’s Co unsel in 2002
He is presently the Head of the International Dispute Resolution (Practice Skills) programme at the National University of Singapore’s Centre for International Law. While in private practice he acted he acted as an external legal advisor in the negotiation of international investment and trade agreements such as the NAFTA and other regional treaty negotiations. In addition to advising on treaty negotiations, he acted as an external legal counsel in many international disputes before GATT, Ca nadaU.S. Free Trade Agreement, WTO, and NAFTA panels and tribunals. He also acted in many in domestic administrative law procedures (antidumping and countervailing duty cases), and in contentious proceedings before the superior courts of Canada.
Mr. Tho mas has acted as an arbitrator in many international commercial and investment treaty disputes, administered under the ICSID, UNCITRAL, SCC, SIAC, HKIAC, and ICSID Additional Facility Rules.
MARC Permanent Secretariat
The Permanent Secretariat of MARC ensures compliance with the MARC Internal Rules and the proper conduct of arbitration/mediation proceedings under the MARC Arbitration/Mediation Rules and MARC Code of Ethics for Arbitrators/Mediators. The MARC Permanent Secretariat is responsible for administrative and financial matters of MARC, and the promotion of Alternative Dispute Resolution methods in general through the organisation of training programmes, promotional events and activities, and through international cooperation with other ADR centers and stakeholders. The MARC Permanent Secretariat is led by its Registrar, Mr Alexis Merle.
Mr. Alexis Merle
Registrar
Mr. Alexis Merle
Registrar
Alexis is a practising Barrister-at-Law. He completed a Licence en Droit at the Université Toulouse 1 Capitole in France before heading to Ireland to read a LL.M in International and Comparative Law at the University of Dublin, Trinity College. He also completed a Graduate Diploma in Law at BBP Law School in Bristol and followed the Bar Professional Training Course at The City Law School, University of London.
He is a member of the Honourable Society of Gray’s Inn and was called to the Bar of England & Wales as well as to the Bar of Mauritius. He is also a Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb).
Since he qualified in January 2020, he started his own private practice, namely Merle Practice. His practice is split between dispute resolution and advisory work. In terms of advisory, he regularly advises companies and investors on all aspects of commercial transactions and insolvency. In terms of dispute resolution, his practice areas include contract, tort, family, commercial, construction, land/property, intellectual property and sports.
Alexis regularly appears before all levels of the Mauritian Courts and tribunals.
Alexis started acting as Registrar of the MARC in September 2021. As Registrar of this institution, he supervises the administration of arbitration and mediation matters under the MARC Rules and is also responsible for maintaining state-of-the-art case management and procedures at the centre. He oversees the running of the MARC Secretariat and also ensures that high standards of governance are followed at MARC.
With the support of the MARC Court and the MARC Advisory Board, he is also responsible for developing and promoting mediation and arbitration in Mauritius and the MARC, on domestic, regional and international levels.
Board of Directors
MARC Board of Directors comprises of Mrs. Namita Jagarnath Hardowar (Chairman of the Board), Mrs. Sarada Moothoosamy, Mr. Charles Harel and Mr. Azim Currimjee
The Directors oversees the operations and management of the arbitral institution are not involved in case management.
Mrs. Namita Jagarnath Hardowar
Chairman of MARC
Mr. Charles Harel
Mrs. Sarada Moothoosamy
Mr. Azim Currimjee
Mrs. Namita Jagarnath Hardowar
Chairman of MARC
Mr. Charles Harel
Charles Harel holds a National Diploma in Management and Finance from the Cape Technikon, South Africa, as well as an MBA from the University of Birmingham, UK.
- 1993: joined Harel Mallac Group as the General Manager of the Tourism and Retail Cluster.
- June 2006: appointed to Harel Mallac & Co Ltd Board of Directors
- January 2014: appointed Group Chief Executive Officer of Harel Mallac Group
Mrs. Sarada Moothoosamy
Mr. Azim Currimjee
Mr. Azim Currimjee is the Managing Director of the Food & Beverages Cluster of the Currimjee Group of Companies and the Managing Director of Quality Beverages Ltd.
He holds a BA in Mathematics from Williams College, Massachusetts and an MBA from Trinity College, Dublin. He has also undertaken executive courses at Insead Business School at Fontainbleau, Paris on Strategic Manufacturing and Management of Family-Owned Businesses. Mr. Currimjee has over 30 years of experience in Industry. He has led large textile organizations in the past and has been leading the Food & Beverages Cluster of the Currimjee Group for the last 22 years.
He was the President of the Mauritius Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) from March 2016 to March 2018, a responsibility he also held in 2007.
Mr. Currimjee was the Vice President of the Economic Development Board of Mauritius (EDB) from 2017 to 2020. Mr. Currimjee was a director on SBM Holdings, SBM Bank Holdings, SBM Kenya and SBM India for the period 2018 to 2020.
Mr. Currimjee was appointed as Chairperson of the Business Regulatory Review Council (BRRC) in 2022 by the Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning and Development (MoFED). He was appointed on the Board of Air Mauritius in June 2022.
Directorships in listed companies: Quality Beverages Ltd, Soap and Allied Industries Ltd.
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