Dubai International Arbitration Centre Appoints Robert Stephen as New Registrar

Dubai, UAE

The Dubai International Arbitration Centre (DIAC) announces the appointment of Robert Stephen as its new Registrar. Stephen, who officially takes up his new role on July 3rd, 2023, has been a member of the Advisory Committee to the Board of Directors of DIAC since April 3rd, 2023.

Stephen is an internationally recognized arbitration expert and the former Registrar of the DIFC-LCIA Arbitration Centre and Dubai Financial Services Authority’s Financial Markets Tribunal. Until recently, he was a partner and Chief Operating Officer of UAE-based specialist arbitration boutique Ghaffari Partners, and he practiced with Herbert Smith Freehills in London, Paris, Moscow, and Dubai for more than a decade until May 2017.

Stephen commented on his appointment, “I am thrilled to be taking up this appointment and look forward to contributing to the further development of DIAC as it works towards being the ultimate global destination for dispute resolution. Users, party-counsel, and arbitrators are at the core of everything we do, and together with the new Arbitration Court and recently expanded Secretariat, I am certain that DIAC is now well-positioned to provide a competitive level of service and face tomorrow’s challenges.”

Dr. Tariq Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board of Directors, expressed his enthusiasm about Stephen’s appointment, “I am delighted to welcome Robert as our new Registrar. He is very experienced and has actively supported the Board of Directors and Centre in various capacities during what has been an unprecedented period of change. 2021 and 2022 were challenging years, and we can think of no better person to lead the Secretariat and work with the Arbitration Court to develop the practice of the Centre.”

The appointment of Robert Stephen comes as a part of DIAC’s recent efforts to strengthen its Secretariat. In April 2023, Christoffer Coello Hedberg, a former legal counsel at the SCC Arbitration Institute, joined DIAC as its first Deputy Registrar. The Secretariat now comprises one senior legal counsel and six experienced legal counsels, supported by a team of casework administrators and paralegals. In May 2023, the Centre announced the appointment of Jehad Abdulrazzaq Kazim, an experienced ADR professional and the first Emirati woman to lead DIAC, as the new Executive Director.

DIAC continues its journey towards establishing itself as a leading international hub for dispute resolution, underpinned by a commitment to innovation, excellence, and the continuous enhancement of its service offerings better to serve its users, party-counsel, and arbitrators.

For additional information, please contact marketing@diac.com

Robert Stephen, Registrar

Described as a “highly respected figurehead and operator” and a “very composed practitioner“, Robert is an internationally recognised arbitration expert. He is the Registrar of the Dubai International Arbitration Centre; a former Partner and Chief Operating Officer of specialist arbitration boutique, Ghaffari Partners; and the former Registrar of the DIFC-LCIA Arbitration Centre and Dubai Financial Services Authority’s Financial Markets Tribunal. Prior to that, he practiced with Herbert Smith Freehills in London, Paris, Moscow, and Dubai for more than a decade. He has been based in the United Arab Emirates since 2011.

Robert has acted as counsel in international disputes across a wide range of industries and sectors. He has represented clients from Asia, the Middle East, North America and Western and Eastern Europe in international arbitrations under all the major institutional rules, as well as in ad-hoc proceedings, seated in various jurisdictions and subject to civil and common laws. He also sits as an arbitrator.

As Registrar, he has a proven track record of putting users, party-counsel, and arbitrators first. In 2020, he was credited in GAR’s Guide to Regional Arbitration with building one of the world’s fastest growing arbitral institutions and the leading arbitral institution with operations in the Middle East and Africa (DIFC-LCIA). In the same year, the DIFC-LCIA was awarded the GAR Award for Regional Arbitration Institution that Impressed. He was said to have recruited a “real team” of experienced arbitration practitioners and earned the trust of parties, legal representatives, and arbitrators, which commentators credited to five consecutive years of growth in terms of the caseload of the DIFC-LCIA.

Robert has been recognised in the 2021, 2022, and 2023 editions of Who’s Who Legal Arbitration and described as a “Future Leader”. Peers say he is “professional, thorough and meticulous” and “extremely good at explaining complex issues to people who do not have the detailed knowledge he possesses”. He is said to be “excellent to deal with”, possessing a “real depth of knowledge” and he is further described as a “leading figure” that is said to have “raised the standards of arbitration in the [MENA] region”. He was also featured in Legal 500’s inaugural Middle East International Arbitration Powerlist 2022.

He is an Ambassador of the Scottish Arbitration Centre, a member of the Advisory Committee to the Board of Directors of Dubai International Arbitration Centre, a member of the Equal Representation in Arbitration Pledge Middle East Sub-Committee, the former Chair of the UAE Branch of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators Young Member’s Group, and a former member of the Global Steering Committee of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators Young Member’s Group.