Doha-based Richard Ashmore of Pinsent Masons provided the view after the Court of First Instance of the Qatar Financial Centre (the QFC Court) ruled that it has jurisdiction to supervise QFC-seated arbitrations where the parties to the dispute are non-QFC entities.
The seat of arbitration is something businesses determine when putting in place an arbitration agreement. It determines which courts are competent for resolving matters of arbitration law that arise in the context of the arbitration proceedings, and it has a strong bearing on…