Islamic Sharia and arbitration in GCC States: The way ahead

Irrespective of the existence of a legislative environment complying with the most recent international texts in the field of Arbitration in most GCC states; such as UNCITRAL Model Law of international Commercial Arbitration, 1985, Islamic sharia may not be sufficiently clear to foreign investors and western jurists who might consider it as an impediment jeopardizing recognition and enforcement of arbitral proceedings in Arab states especially in GCC. This article clarifies the relationship between Arbitration and the real concepts of Islamic sharia, concluding that rules of Islamic sharia would not be an impediment to the enforcement of Arbitral Awards in GCC states. The article illustrates the real concept of Islamic sharia as a part of public policy and analyzes the attitudes of recent GCC legislations, and court decisions, concerning matters looking contradictory to Islamic sharia and might constitute a legal ground to challenge arbitral awards, such as religion and gender of Arbitrators, interest rates and aleatory contracts.