School of Law, Gender and Media

Dr Amel Makhlouf

Key information

Roles
School of Law, Gender and Media Research Associate Centre of Islamic and Middle Eastern Law Member SOAS Arbitration and Dispute Resolution Centre Member
Qualifications
(LL.M.) Queen Mary University of London, (PhD) Sorbonne Law School
Email address
am118@soas.ac.uk

Biography

Dr Amel Makhlouf (MCIArb) is an independent counsel and arbitrator qualified to practice in Paris, specialised in international arbitration, banking and finance, Islamic law and finance, and laws of the Arab Middle East. She has gained extensive experience in cross-border disputes and arbitral proceedings based in the MENA region.

Her research interests include comparative law, alternative dispute resolution, FinTech and cryptocurrency, Islamic contract law and its interaction with Western laws and legal systems. Besides, she has worked extensively on the historical transplantation of French law into the MENA region from the nineteenth century.

Dr Makhlouf is an empanelled Arbitrator with the Asian International Arbitration Centre (AIAC): she was appointed as member of its Rules Revision Committee for the drafting of the i-Arbitration Rules 2021 (arbitration rules guided by sharī‘ah principles) and contributed to the new version of the rules. She is also a member (MCIArb) of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and the Managing Editor for the Country Surveys (Vol. 21 & 22) of the Yearbook of Islamic and Middle Eastern Law (YIMEL).

She is a qualified lawyer before the Court of Appeal of Paris, a lecturer in comparative law at the Institute for Research and Studies on the Mediterranean and the Middle East (iReMMO, Paris), and a lecturer in international arbitration at the Paris Bar School (EFB). 

Speaking Engagements

  • 20 March 2024, International dispute resolution & climate change: regional perspectives from Africa, LATAM, Middle East & Asia, Paris Arbitration Week (Paris)
  • 12 March 2024, Tribunal secretaries in international arbitration: mission, tasks and practical guidelines, SADRC (London)
  • 30 Jan. 2024, Arbitration in Jordan and Iran: Cross-cultural perspectives on IDR, SADRC (London)
  • 14 Dec. 2023, The emergence of FinTechs in the MENA region: evolution, benefits and challenges (in French), iReMMO (Paris).
  • 25 Oct. 2023, Commercial arbitration: what opportunities are there for Algerian companies? (in French), Algiers
  • 23 October 2023, Algiers Arbitration Day (Inaugural Arbitration Day), Algiers 
  • 25 September 2023, London International Arbitration Colloquium 2023: ''State Sovereignty and Immunity in Commercial Arbitration", International Dispute Resolution Centre (IDRC), London
  • 15 June 2023, SOAS-Qatar Financial Centre Workshop (by invitation), SOAS, University of London (London)
  • 26 May 2023, The Use of Arbitration and ADR in International Banking and Trade Sectors, Keynote address on “Arbitration of Islamic finance disputes”, ICC-Union of Arab Banks Joint Conference, ICC Headquarters (Paris)
  • 25 April 2023, New types of banking fraud: bank’s liability vs contributory negligence (in French), Paris Bar Association (Paris)
  • 28 March 2023, FinTech and cryptocurrency disputes in Africa, Paris Arbitration Week (Paris).
  • 15 March 2023, Arab-French Economic Summit 2023 (in French), French-Arab Chamber of Commerce (Paris)
  • 8 March 2023, International Women’s Day 2023: Embracing Equity in the Middle East and Asia, SOAS, University of London (London)
  • 8 December 2022, Freedom of expression in the Mediterranean region: a comparative analysis between France, Tunisia, and Turkey (in French), iReMMO (Paris)
  • 17 Nov. 2022, Cryptocurrency disputes and enforceability of arbitral awards, Dubai Arbitration Week, Dubai.
  • 13 Oct. 2022, The rise of cryptocurrency in the MENA region: prospects and challenges (in French), iReMMO, Paris,
  • 6 Oct. 2022, Euro-Arab trade relations: Evolution and impact of the war in Ukraine (in French), iReMMO, Paris.
  • 15 & 16 June 2022SOAS-Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) Islamic Finance Workshop & Public Lecture on Cryptocurrencies, SOAS, University of London (London). 
  • 23 April 2022, Islamic law & finance (in French), iReMMO (Paris), Virtual & Physical Participation.
  • 18 March 2022California International Arbitration Week. Keynote address on “The application of late payment charges (ta'widh & gharamah) in Islamic finance arbitration”, Webinar presented by Asian International Arbitration Centre (AIAC). 

     

Research interests

  • International arbitration
  • Cross-border disputes
  • Banking and finance
  • FinTech and Cryptocurrency
  • Laws of the Arab Middle East
  • Islamic law and finance
  • Comparative law

Publications

Contact Amel