Dr Amel Makhlouf

Dr Amel Makhlouf is an independent counsel and arbitrator (Paris/London), specialising in international arbitration, banking and finance, Islamic law and finance, and laws of the Arab Middle East. 

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.

She has gained extensive experience in cross-border disputes and arbitral proceedings based in the MENA region. She has acted in arbitral proceedings conducted under the auspices of the ICC, HKIAC, DIAC, BCDR-AAA, as well as ad-hoc proceedings under the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules across a wide range of sectors. She has experience of international arbitrations governed by various laws, notably those of Algeria, Bahrain, France, England and Wales, Hong Kong, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.

Her diverse expertise encompasses mediating domestic and EU disputes involving consumers and traders in various sectors, including banking, construction, telecommunications and e-commerce. She has served as mediator in over 350 mediation proceedings.

Dr Amel Makhlouf is a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (MCIArb since 2019), a research associate at the Centre of Islamic and Middle Eastern Law (CIMEL) of SOAS University of London and belongs to the Management Committee of the SOAS Arbitration and Dispute Resolution Centre (SADRC). She is also a lecturer in both international arbitration and banking and finance at the Paris Bar School (EFB), as well as in international arbitration at the University of Toulouse (UTC). In addition to these roles, Dr. Makhlouf extends her expertise by serving on the Advisory Committee of the Cairo Regional Centre for International Commercial Arbitration (CRCICA) and the Advisory Board of the Arbitration Fund for African Students (AFAS).

She holds a PhD in Islamic law and finance from the Sorbonne Law School (2013) and was a Visiting Researcher at the Islamic Finance Project at Harvard University (Spring 2011). She is the former Managing Editor for the Country Surveys of the Yearbook of Islamic and Middle Eastern Law (Vol. 21 & 22), the leading English-language journal covering contemporary Islamic laws and laws of the Middle East, affiliated with SOAS University of London. In June 2023, she submitted a report to the Qatar Financial Centre addressing the challenges faced by the rise of FinTech and cryptocurrency in the MENA region. She is a national of Algeria and France.

Speaking engagements

2026

• Use of AI in International Arbitration, Boumerdes (Algeria), 17 October 2026.
• Energy Volatility Unlocked: Fossil Fuels, Electricity & Renewables in a Changing World, Egypt Arbitration Days (EAD), Cairo, 13 October 2026.
• The Evolution of Arbitration Practice in Tunisia: Challenges, Opportunities, and Perspectives for Modernisation, Welcome Remarks delivered by Dr. Amel Makhlouf, SADRC, London (webinar), 29 September 2026.
• Financing Justice: TPF in the World of Shariah and Islamic Finance, Islamic Arbitration Conference 2026, AIAC, Kuala Lumpur, 24 June 2026.
• Choix des règles de procédure et rapport avec les normes impératives, Université Euromed de Fès, Fès, 9 April 2026.
• Evolving Practices in Construction Arbitration: Comparative Insights from Africa, the Middle East and Eastern Europe, SADRC–Kroll Event, Paris Arbitration Week (PAW), Paris, 25 March 2026.
• International Arbitration in North Africa: An Insider’s Perspective, Welcome Remarks delivered by Dr. Amel Makhlouf, Paris Arbitration Week (PAW), Paris, 27 February 2026.
• Resolving 3.0 Islamic Finance Disputes: Blockchain, Smart Contracts, and Arbitration, Riyadh International Disputes Week (RIDW), Riyadh, 27 March 2026.
• Arbitration Reform Across 5 Legal Traditions: KSA, England, France, China & Nigeria, Riyadh International Disputes Week (RIDW), Riyadh, 2 February 2026.

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