Mohamed ABDEL WAHAB
Prof. Dr. Mohamed Abdel Wahab C.Arb FCiarb
Founding Partner & Head of International Arbitration, Construction and Energy, Zulficar & Partners; Professor of International Arbitration, Private International Law and English Contract Law, Cairo University; President of the Ciarb (2025); Member of the Governing Board (ICCA); Chair of the ICC Governing Body for Dispute Resolution Services; Dean of the Africa Arbitration Academy; Fellow of International Academy of Construction Lawyers; Member of the International Commercial Expert Committee, China International Commercial Court; Member of the LACIAC Court of Arbitration; Member of the ITA Academic Council; Member of the Curatorium of the Hague Academy for International Law; Member of the Court, PCA (The Hague); Fellow of the National Centre for Technology and Dispute Resolution at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA; and Associate Fellow of the Centre for Private International Law and Centre for Commercial Law at Aberdeen University (UK). He is also a former chair of the International Expert Committee of the Permanent Forum for China Construction Law (2020-2023); and former Vice Chair, Academic Forum for Investor-State Dispute Settlement (2018 -2020).
Prof. Dr. Abdel Wahab has been recently designated by the President of the World Bank Group, Mr. Ajay Banga, in his capacity as ex officio Chairman of the Administrative Council of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), to serve on the Panel of Arbitrators maintained by the ICSID (2024 – 2030).
Prof. Dr. Abdel Wahab served as ‘Arbitrator’, ‘Legal Expert’ and ‘Counsel’ in more than 265 cases, involving parties from the Africa, Asia, Canada, Europe, the Middle East, the United States and Latin America, and is recognized as a world-leading arbitrator and arbitration practitioner. He advised on ISDS claims and featured in ISDS cases as arbitrator, counsel and expert in investment proceedings commenced under the auspices of the ICSID, the PCA, the SCC and the ICC. He was shortlisted among the top five arbitrators for the GAR award for the best prepared and responsive arbitrator (2021), and is regularly ranked and recognised as a leading international arbitration thought leader and arbitrator.
He received the LAW Magazine 2024 Legal Excellence Award and the 2022 Most Influential Legal Academic Award, the 2021 and 2020 Client Choice International Award, the 2019 AYA Hall-of-Fame African Arbitrator Award, the 2018 ASA International Arbitration Advocacy Prize, and the LAW Magazine 2017 Best Legal Practitioner Award. He is listed in Who’s Who Global Elite Thought Leaders: International Arbitration; selected among the Legal500 Africa Powerlist and the AYA’s Africa's Top 30 Powerlist. He is the co-editor (with Prof Maxi Scherer and Ms. Niuscha Bassiri) of the first ever book on COVID-19 and international arbitration under the title “International Arbitration and the COVID-19 Revolution” (2020), and he is the author of the Abdel Wahab Pandemic Pathway to Virtual/Remote Hearings.. He is also the co-editor (with Prof Ethan Katsh and Mr. Daniel Rainey) of “Online Dispute Resolution: Theory and Practice” (2011 and 2021). He is the author of the Abdel Wahab Pandemic Pathway to Virtual/Remote Hearings (2020); Co-author (with Dr. Kabir Duggal) of the first book dedicated to comparing the OIC and UAIA Treaties under the title “The Resurgence of the Unified Arab Investment Agreement and the Organisation for Islamic Cooperation Investment Agreement” Brill (2022).
Chambers & Partners Global (2025) - Dispute Resolution: Arbitration say: “To my mind, he is one of the finest arbitrators globally. He has an encyclopedic knowledge of international arbitration practice and a tremendous amount of experience in civil and common law cases. He is extremely impressive; very well-prepared. He knows arbitration inside-out and is extremely smart and experienced”.
Client Choice International – WWL: Thought Leaders Global Elite (2024) – Construction by Lexology says: “Mohamed is an all-time great of construction law”. Client Choice International – WWL: Thought Leaders Global Elite (2024) – Arbitration by Lexology, says: “Mohamed is razor sharp and hugely experienced in arbitration matters”, “He is globally recognized as one of the leading arbitrators in practice”.
WWL: Arbitration & Global Elite Thought Leaders (2023) says “‘He is an amazing practitioner and one of the hardest working people’ ‘His sharp mind never ceases to amaze’ ‘He is one of a kind!’”. Who’s Who Legal: Arbitration (2022) says: “He is academically brilliant”, “One of the best minds on arbitration issues” and “Extremely impressive”.
Chambers & Partners Global (2021) says “Peers regard Mohamed Abdel Wahab as “an absolute star in arbitration”. Legal 500 (2021) says: ‘Mohamed Abdel Wahab is a brilliant practitioner who is at the top of the international arbitration field globally. His understanding of and experience in international arbitration are matched by few’; and ‘Importantly, he is one of the most hardworking individuals in the field. His working ethos and common sense approach to complex legal problems are outstanding’.
