Third-Party Funding in the Dispute Resolution Landscape of the MENA Region

Abstract This article tackles the emergence and progressive acceptance of third-party funding ( TPF ) in arbitration across Arab countries within the MENA region, where civil law systems and Islamic Shariaa principles converge. While legislative regulation of TPF remains largely absent, notable arbitral institutions – including the Cairo Regional Centre for International Commercial Arbitration ( CRCICA ) in Egypt, the Dubai International Arbitration Centre ( DIAC ) and the Abu Dhabi International Arbitration Centre (arbitrateAD) in the United Arab Emirates, the Saudi Center for Commercial Arbitration ( SCCA ) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the Qatar International Center for Conciliation and Arbitration ( QICCA ) in Qatar – have revised their arbitration rules to include express provisions governing TPF . These developments reflect a regional trend towards procedural transparency, primarily through the disclosure of funding arrangements and funders’ identities, in order to avoid conflicts of interest and preserve the arbitrators’ impartiality and independence. Furthermore, the article sheds light on the nature of TPF agreements and assesses their compatibility with the principles of Islamic Shariaa, concluding that when properly structured, TPF agreements align with the overarching Islamic Shariaa principles of justice and fairness. Accordingly, the reliance on TPF in the MENA region is likely to play an increasingly significant role in the region’s dispute resolution landscape, and particularly in arbitration.