That was the topic of our 24th lunch bowl last Friday with Hussam Mujally, Partner at AMERELLER in Cairo 🇪🇬 Yemen 🇾🇪 and Berlin 🇩🇪
Born and raised in Yemen, educated in Potsdam and Berlin, and now working in AMERELLER’s Berlin and Cairo offices, Hussam has a diverse cultural background and a unique perspective on why we need more diversity in arbitral practice.
Arbitrators owe it to the parties to view the issues of the case from all possible perspectives. Diversity not only enables us to expand our field of view but also to approach the factual and legal matrix of the case from different endpoints.
Moreover, in contrast to court proceedings, arbitration lives from acceptance by the parties. Such acceptance can only come about if the parties see themselves reflected in the tribunal and feel that their arguments have been heard and examined.
Such a diversity of perspectives requires that we work together and continuously reflect our biases – the outcome is not only worth the effort, but also essential to the nature of our practice.
To conclude the discussion, Hussam introduced us to his favorite dish from Yemen, #Mandi, which we are hoping to try soon. Thank you Hussam, for your time and valuable insights.
