by Gladwin Issac, Associate, S&R Associates, Mumbai, India

Youssef Al Saman, Member of the Rising Arbitrators Initiative (RAI)’s Executive Committee - Institutional Liaison Task Force and Partner at Zulficar & Partners in Cairo, speaks to Annette Magnusson, Secretary General of the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce (SCC) in the sixth session of the RAI “Interview the Institution” series.

In this short talk with Youssef, Annette applauds initiatives like RAI and their pivotal role in “building” the international arbitration community. She also sheds light on recent appointment trends at SCC and the criteria that the SCC Board applies while making arbitrator appointments. Annette then discusses the various factors that influence the “character of a dispute” which play a vital role in the Board’s determination of a suitable candidate for appointment. She reflects on SCC’s remarkable progress on the gender diversity front and notes that the Board is committed to replicating the same when it comes to regional diversity in international arbitration. In her advice to candidates looking for their first arbitral appointment, Annette encourages them to gain expertise in a field of law and seek opportunities to demonstrate this expertise before their colleagues.

Watch the full recording of the interview on the RAI website available here.