Arshad Ghaffar

Areas of experience

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• Arbitration

  Arbitration, both domestic and international, forms a major part of Arshad’s practice. The bulk of Arshad’s work however has an international dimension, either involving foreign clients or legal or arbitral proceedings in other jurisdictions. Arshad has been or is involved in arbitrations taking place in New York, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Oman, the UAE, Qatar, India and Indonesia. Arshad has in addition considerable experience of investment treaty arbitration having been retained in respect of proceedings before ICSID in respect of a claim under the UK-Kenya BIT and having advised parties to various claims under the Energy Charter Treaty. Arshad has also advised a Pakistani investor in respect of a claim against Saudi Arabia under the OIC Investment Protection Treaty.

  Arshad has particular expertise in the energy sector and has acted in various disputes concerning power plants in Oman, including as to their construction and as to their operation and maintenance. He has also advised in respect of claims arising under numerous Power Purchase Agreements. Additionally, he has experience in the hospitality and tourism sector and has been involved in a numerous arbitrations regarding hotel management contracts as well as in relation to the construction of Integrated Tourism Complexes. Arshad was also counsel in the landmark case of Egan & Eggert v Efa & Eava, in which he was instructed to challenge the jurisdiction of the DIFC Court to enforce a New York Convention Award which had no nexus whatsoever with the DIFC and in which the so-called “conduit” jurisdiction of the DIFC Court was first articulated.

  In the past 3 years, Arshad has, inter alia, acted for the successful party in the following, the details of all of which are confidential, unless otherwise indicated:

  • a Zurich seated, Dubai located, ICC arbitration concerning the sale and purchase of shares in an Omani marble mining company;
  • a London seated, Nigerian Law, ICC arbitration valued at about $40 million in relation to a failed joint venture agreement between a Nigerian and a Turkish construction company regarding a joint venture in the construction services sector;
  • a London seated, UAE Law, LCIA arbitration concerning the supply of equipment for the manufacture of wood based panels and boards.
  • a DIFC-LCIA arbitration with a value in the tens of millions of dollars in relation to a shareholders’ agreement concerning shares in a company established to set up and operate an Antimony roaster and in which one of the parties was a sovereign wealth fund
  • an ad hoc construction arbitration in Oman concerning a major integrated tourism development;
  • an LCIA arbitration concerning the provision of consultancy services by a US company to a Saudi Arabian aerospace company;
  • an ad hoc arbitration in Oman for the Public Authority for Electricity and Water concerning the construction of a sea water reverse osmosis desalination plant;
  • a $50 million ad hoc arbitration in Oman concerning a sewage treatment network (Galfar v Haya);
  • a $10 million LCIA arbitration concerning the distribution of travel goods;
  • an ICC arbitration regarding an aborted trade in Medium Term Notes;
  • a Hong Kong arbitration regarding liability for damage to cargo caused by inadequate lashing under the Gencon 94.

  Currently, amongst others, Arshad is retained as counsel in an ICC arbitration concerning an international Onshore Drilling contract and the provision of oil rigs thereunder; a DIAC arbitration (Case 58/2019) regarding a major construction project in Dubai; and an ad hoc arbitration in Oman for the Military and Security Services Apparatuses Pension Fund (MASSAPF) concerning the construction and fit out of a hotel complex.

  Arshad has also acted as counsel in i) an LCIA arbitration for a partly government owned Omani client regarding wire manufacturing machinery; ii) an ad hoc arbitration regarding the management of a hotel in Duqqum, Oman; iii) an ad hoc charterparty arbitration involving failure to pay the purchase price of 2 vessels chartered on hire- purchase terms (seat London), iv) an LCIA arbitration regarding the sale of scrap metal; and v) continues  to be involved in various shipping arbitrations under LMAA rules acting both for charterers and shippers and in one of which, relating to the hire of various tug boats, he was retained by a foreign government. In the past Arshad has acted in shipbuilding and ship repair arbitrations, both for the yard and the purchaser, and has also been engaged in an  arbitration concerning liability to obtain an exemption from the IMSBC Code.

  Arshad also acted as counsel for a major international company in an arbitration concerning the construction of a sewage treatment plant. Arshad was instructed by Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle in this matter.

  On the domestic front, Arshad was counsel in an arbitration involving a regional police force following their termination of a contract with vehicle recovery agents. Arshad was also junior counsel in the first case to reach the House of Lords (and sole counsel in the lower courts) on the interpretation of the Arbitration Act 1996: Inco Europe v First Choice Distribution [2000] 1 WLR 586; [1998] 1 WLR 270.

  Additionally, Arshad has appeared in the High Court on applications under the 1996 Act, including for example, in The Pamphilos [2002] EWHC 2292. Arshad is frequently instructed in respect of the enforcement of arbitration awards and acted for Cyrex Nigeria Barge Ltd in successfully enforcing and executing an arbitration award of over $12m against the Federal Republic of Nigeria. In 2017 he was instructed to resist enforcement of a $2 billion award in the DIFC Court on behalf of the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq (Pearl Petroleum Company Limited & Others v The Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq [2017] DIFC ARB 003). He has also recently been retained to resist the enforcement of an LMAA award by the DIFC Court on the basis that there was no arbitration agreement between the parties. In 2023 he successfully resisted a challenge to the enforcement jurisdiction of the DIFC Courts made on the basis that the award sought to be enforced following the abolition of the DIFC-LCIA arbitration centre was a nullity: Dubai Expo 2020 LLC v Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank PJSC (ARB-020-2022).

  Since 2012 Arshad has increasingly been sitting as an arbitrator following three appointments in respect of arbitrations in the Indian energy sector, concerning the supply of power machines. Subsequently he was appointed in an ICC arbitration seated in Dubai regarding a hotel management contract and in December 2014 was appointed in a $50m ICC arbitration with its seat in London but subject to Emirati Law. In August 2015 he was nominated in an LCIA arbitration regarding a distribution agreement. In recent years Arshad has been appointed as a  party nominated arbitrator in ICC arbitrations 22609/FZ and 22318/PTA and proposed as a party appointed arbitrator in an AIAC arbitration concerning a 3G mobile telecommunications network; as the Chairman of a DIAC Panel in an arbitration regarding a golf course in Dubai and  as the sole arbitrator in a dispute regarding the laying of fibre-optic cable in Oman. Arshad is currently sitting as a co-arbitrator in amongst other matters, DIAC Case 211/2021, with Sir Peter Gross (chairman) and Dominic Kendrick KC.

  Arshad is also on the CEDR Panel of Neutrals and as such has frequently sat as sole arbitrator in London in respect of disputes arising under the   ABTA arbitration scheme. He is also on the Ofgem Panel in respect of disputes involving National Grid Electricity Transmission as well as on the RECC Panel as regards renewable energy disputes. Further, he sits as an adjudicator under the WATRS scheme.

  Additionally, Arshad is, to mention just a selection, on the panel of arbitrators of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO); the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC); the Asian International Arbitration Centre (AIAC); the Cairo Regional Centre for International Commercial Arbitration (CRCICA); the Dubai International Arbitration Centre (DIAC); the Istanbul Arbitration Centre (ISTAC); The Kigali International Arbitration Centre (KIAC); The Lagos Court of Arbitration (LCA); the Centre for International Commercial and Investment Arbitration (CIICA); the Indian Council of Arbitration (ICA); the Nani Pakhiwala Arbitration Centre (NPAC); the IMC International Arbitration Centre (IIAC); the Regional Centre for International Commercial Arbitration, Lagos (RCICAL); the Delhi International Arbitration Centre; the BVI International Arbitration Centre, the GCC Arbitration Centre; the Oman Commercial Arbitration Centre (OCAC); the Energy Disputes Arbitration Centre (EDAC) in Turkey as well as the panel of arbitrators and mediators of the Hainan international Arbitration Court.

  Arshad has also been placed, by the Attorney General of Pakistan, on the panel of international lawyers to be used by the Government of Pakistan in international arbitrations maintained by the Federal Law Ministry and is the founding member and a vice-president of the Pakistan Branch of the International Law Association. He is also a life member of the Indian Council of Arbitration (ICA) and a member of ICCA, LCIA and the ICC. Arshad is a member of the ICC Commission for arbitration and ADR as well as of its Task Force on ADR and Arbitration and was a member of its Task Force on the Arbitration of Climate Change Related Disputes. He was also an Ambassador to the ICC Commission on Belt and Road Disputes. Arshad has also been elected as the Chairman of the Steering Committee formed to set up a Branch of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators in Oman.

  Arshad frequently lectures on and publishes articles on various aspects of arbitration law. He is a regular speaker at the XXIV Annual Dubai Conference. In May 2022 he spoke at the inaugural CIArb (Pakistan Branch) Conference, held in Lahore, Pakistan, on recent developments in arbitration practice globally. In February 2019 he delivered a paper at the joint CIArb / CRCICA conference on arbitrating banking and finance related disputes, held in Cairo Egypt. In November 2019, he was a member of a panel which discussed the presentation made by Professor Lucy Reed for the Pakistan Branch of the ILA on Pakistan’s experience of investment treaty arbitrations. He has also, in 2018, spoken at the third annual CIICA Conference held in Lahore, Pakistan with the support of UNCITRAL, on  the resolution of disputes arising under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). In 2017 he also spoke on CPEC disputes at a conference organized by the UMT School of Law and Policy in Lahore as well as on arbitration law in Pakistan at a conference organized by the Sheikh  Ahmed Hassan School of Law at the Lahore University of Management Sciences which was featured in the GAR Article “Winds of Change in Pakistan.” In November 2016 he spoke on the Omani Arbitration Law at the ICC Young Arbitrators’ Forum on Revitalising Arbitration in the Middle East, which took place in Muscat, Oman. Arshad has also spoken at various law firms on escalation clauses and the decision in the case of Emirates Trading Agency v Prime Mineral Exports [2014] EWHC 2104 (Comm) and has published a case note on the decision in Habas Sinai v VSC Steel Co [2013] EWHC 4071 (Comm) in Arbitration, November 2014, Vol.80, No.4, p.463. He is also an accredited course leader and exam marker for the CIArb Fellowship and Membership courses. Since 2019 Arshad has also been extensively involved with the creation and establishment of the Oman Commercial Arbitration Centre (OCAC) in Muscat.

• Aviation

  Arshad is consistently recognized as a leading aviation junior by both Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners. He has particular expertise in issues of ownership, leasing and financing. He has lectured on the Capetown Convention to specialist aviation solicitors and has been   involved in a number of aircraft financing and leasing disputes. He was asked to be a speaker for the IBA Aviation Law Sub-Committee at the Annual IBA Conference in Madrid 2009 on security and repossession rights and has most recently spoken at the IBA Aviation Committee’s session on legal and commercial issues relating to drones at the IBA Annual Conference in Washington DC, 2016.

  He has advised on injunctions over aircraft in support of non-payments of lease rentals; has been retained in a major case for an airline against a premiere engine manufacturer, raising significant and novel issues about duty of care and aviation safety policy; and has assisted in drafting and advising on various other aviation related transactions, including an $80m purchase of helicopters by the Royal Oman Police. He has also given advice on the pension scheme of an airline. He is frequently instructed in cases involving air charters and seat sale    agreements. Other experience includes various Fatal Accident Act claims involving aircraft crashes; disputes over brokers’ commissions; advice to a major rail freight operator on emergency timetables following the Hatfield disaster as well as on track access agreements; and a large number of CMR and carriage by road disputes.

  Arshad has also acted for Pakistan International Airlines Corporation Ltd (PIACL) in, amongst other claims against it, an action for unpaid lease hire brought against it by the lessor, Asia Aviation Capital Limited (AACL v PIACL (2020).

  Some of Arshad’s past case references in this field are:

  • Walton Family Estates Limited v Tristar and others [2021] EWHC 88 (Comm)
  • Peregrine Aviation v PIACL (2020);
  • CALC v Air India (CL-2020-000585);
  • Oman Air v Datalex (Ireland) ltd
  • Al Kharafi Aviation 200 Ltd v Liza Transport International
  • PAFCO v National Air Services
  • London 28 v Eimskip London 28 v Air Atlanta Celtic Capital v Air Tanzania
  • Emerald Airways v Rolls-Royce Plc and ors [2006]
  • XL v New Horizons [2007]
  • Excel v GM Tours [2002]
  • Aviation accidents: AAIB Bulletins 11/2006, 4/2004, 1/2003 and 1/2001 Indian Airlines v GIA [2003 All England Official Transcripts];
  • Case C-64/99 Pace Airline Services v Aerotrans.
• Commercial Litigation

  In the last several years Arshad has been instructed in several matters of note, the details of many of which are confidential. Amongst others, these have included a multi-million dollar dispute regarding long-term cargo haul arrangements of a petroleum development company;   advising on a $3 billion procurement contract in the Defence industry; publishing agreements; merchandising rights; music concert promotion; distribution agreements; asset and share sale agreements; collective investment schemes; ownership of a Top Level (Country Code) Internet Domain; software development and licensing agreements; the use of nominees in sham transactions; trade mark infringement and passing off claims involving a global luxury brand; ownership of shares in mining companies; the granting of anti-suit injunctions and resisting the enforcement  of a New York “judgment by confession” both in the Commercial Court in England and in the DIFC Courts; a joint venture for property development, and the movement of a heavy-lift cargo from Novorossysk Port, Russia, to its destination, at Atyrau Refinery in Kazakhstan. .

  Arshad has also been engaged in drafting transactional documents for the supply and maintenance of a 3G mobile communications network and for the development of an Integrated Tourism Complex in Oman, as well as drafting standard terms and conditions for recovery agents.

  Arshad’s experience further covers commodities disputes; financing disputes; letters of credit cases; civil fraud; conflict of laws; and agency cases, in particular commercial agency claims for compensation or indemnity.

  Some of Arshad’s cases in these various areas are:

  • IDBI Bank v Fast Telecom: DIFC CFI Case 090-2021 concerning forged signatures on bank facility documents
  • Primelodge Developments Limited -v- Goldberg London Ltd [2020] – successfully obtained summary judgment in relation to a joint venture agreement for property development and advised on steps for enforcement, including committal for contempt of court
  • Globalink v DHL [2019] EWHC 225 (Comm) – representing the Claimant in an action for unpaid freight arising from carriage of a heavy-lift cargo from Novorossysk Port, Russia, to its destination, at Atyrau Refinery in Kazakhstan
  • Saeed v Ibrahim [2018] EWHC 1804 (ch) – illegality and fraud
  • Midtown Acquisitions LP v Essar Global Fund Limited [2017] EWHC 519 (Comm)
  • Barclays Bank PLC (2) Credit Suisse Loan Funding L.L.C. (3) Midtown Acquisitions L.P. (4) Special Situations Investing Group Inc. v Essar Global Fund Limited [2016] DIFC CFI 036
  • Advised Oakley Sunglasses Re European Commission Block Exemption Regulations
  • Davenport v House of Dee plc (commercial agency)
  • Advised regarding concessions for stalls selling merchandise at Formula 1 races
  • Tom Stevenson v Dorling Kindersley (publishing agreement)
  • Advised a slush drink manufacturer regarding abuse of dominant position by Slush Puppie
  • AMG Global Nominees (Private) Ltd V SMM Holdings Ltd [2008] EWHC 221 (Ch) (13 February 2008) and [2008] EWCA Civ 1262 (Nov 2008) (share ownership)
  • Godfrey v Torpy [2007] EWHC 919 (Ch) (fraud; sham transactions)
  • Sharma v Sood [2006] EWCA Civ 1480 (concert promotion; procedural rights at trial)
  • Express Newspapers v Animated Expressions [2006] (merchandising rights in “Rupert the Bear”) Wiheshi v Tayeb [2005] (dispute re a CC TLD)
  • Ark v Event Vision [2004] EWHC 691 (event management contract)
  • Flynn v Wheatcroft, The Irish Times, 21 January 2004, p.1 (sale of fake Nazi memorabilia)
  • Bosman v LKW Walter [2002] EWCA Civ 850 (warehouse security)
  • United Arab Shipping v Galleon [2000] EWHC 202 (Comm): (service out of the jurisdiction; permanent anti-suit injunction)
  • Clark (Inspector of Taxes) v Perks [2000] 1 All ER 1 (rights of appeal)
  • Prolaw v Adams [1998] 1 WLR 1379 (civil procedure)
• Company

  Arshad’s company and partnership law profile continues to grow. Amongst others, he has acted in partnership disputes involving accountants and solicitors and in particular in relation to LLPs.

  On the company law front, in late 2008 Arshad successfully concluded litigation in the Court of Appeal which had been on-going for 3 years between his client and a Government of Zimbabwe nominee company involving issues of financial assistance and disputed title to bearer share warrants, commenced as an application under section 359 of the Companies Act 1985:

  AMG Global Nominees (Private) Ltd V SMM Holdings Ltd [2008] EWHC 221 (Ch) (13 February 2008) and [2008] EWCA Civ 1262 (Nov 2008).

  Arshad also appeared for the successful Claimant in:

  Corporate Development Partners LLC v E-Relationship Marketing Ltd [2007] EWHC 436 (Ch) (09 March 2007)

  Also involving questions of financial assistance, and has experience of section 459 / 994 petitions. In addition, since 2005 Arshad has been retained by and acted in a dispute concerning a large UK Mosque organized as a company limited by guarantee, in which issues of membership, mismanagement, financial transparency and directors’ duties all arose. The matter was initially settled through mediation and then subsequently gave rise to further litigation: Hussain and others v Wycombe Islamic Mission Mosque Trust [2011] EWHC 971 (Ch).

• Construction & Projects

  Arshad has considerable experience of construction disputes. His expertise ranges from power plants to general construction contracts. He has particular experience of operating in the Middle East. He was shortlisted by The Legal 500 for Middle East Construction Junior of the Year 2024 and is ranked as a leading junior for Construction in the Middle East in The Legal 500 EMEA Guide.

  Currently Arshad is acting as counsel for the Omani Ministry of Defence Pension Fund in respect of claims brought against it as the Employer under a contract for the construction of a major integrated tourism development complex where the award has very recently been annulled by the Omani Courts, and the Public Authority for Electricity and Water (PAEW) in disputes arising out of an EPC contract and associated O&M contract in respect of the construction of a reverse osmosis water filtration plant. Arshad is also retained as counsel for an ICC arbitration concerning the construction of an office tower in Business Bay, Dubai.

  Much of his work involves Arshad acting as counsel in an arbitration and such matters are highly confidential. However, if you would like further information about Arshad’s experience, please contact the practice management team on 020 7691 2424.

  Arshad’s recent cases have included:

  • US $50m dispute concerning construction of a major integrated tourism development complex
  • US $50m dispute concerning construction of a sewage treatment plant in Oman
  • Multi-million dollar concerning construction of a sea water reverse osmosis desalination plant
  • US $70m dispute concerning a power plant in the Middle East. Multi-million $ dispute concerning a malfunctioning gas turbine
  • Dispute concerning the termination of an extremely valuable maintenance contract. Arbitration concerning payments due under a construction contract
  • DIAC arbitration concerning the construction of a major residential tower at Culture Village in Dubai
  • Dispute concerning the supply of bitumen and polymer modified bitumen for use in the construction of an airport in Doha, Qatar.
• Energy, Oil & Gas

  Arshad’s expertise in the area of energy, oil & gas continues to grow. He has acted in arbitrations concerning the construction and operation and maintenance of power stations in Muscat, Oman. He has sat as an arbitrator in the energy sector in India. He has frequently advised on the provisions of Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), including technical matters as well as pure legal issues such as the correct interpretation of a force majeure clause.

• Mediation

  Arshad is an accredited mediator and has appeared as counsel in successful mediations. He is the author of various articles on mediation including “The Rise of the Fudge” which appeared in the Lawyer magazine on 24 July 2006. He is also the author of the chapter on “BATNA and WATNA” in the IBA E-Book on Mediation Techniques. He was also invited to speak at the IBA Mediation Committee Conference in Rio De Janeiro scheduled for June 2016 on ADR and Sports Law.

Other information

• Recommendations

  Aviation

  The Legal 500

  ‘Arshad Ghaffar  is a popular choice for aircraft lessors.’ (2023)

  ‘He has excellent knowledge of aviation matters.’ (2022)

   

  International Arbitration: Counsel

  “Arshad has an excellent grasp of arbitration and has always satisfied his clients’ queries as to strategy and process of various arbitration disputes. He is impeccable in his conduct and professionalism, and you can rely on him entirely in matters of international arbitrations. No-nonsense, with a matter-of-fact attitude, he delivers what and when he says he will do.”

  The Legal 500 UK Bar 2024, International Arbitration: Counsel

   

  “Arshad gets straight to the point, understands the interplay between the law and the commercial reality of the situation.” 

  The Legal 500 UK Bar 2023, International Arbitration: Counsel

   

  Leading junior (2022)

   

  “Great attention to detail, excellent cross-examination skills and forceful advocacy.”

  The Legal 500 UK Bar 2023, International Arbitration: Counsel 2021

   

  Construction

  The Legal 500

  Arshad is ranked as a leading junior for Construction in the Middle East in The Legal 500 EMEA Guide.

  ‘He is logical, incisive, committed and hard-working.’ (2021)

  Middle East: The English Bar – Construction

  The Legal 500

  Leading junior (2024)

  Arshad Ghaffar has an extensive disputes practice with in-depth knowledge of the construction and engineering space, as well as a particular interest in aviation law. (2022)

  Arshad Ghaffar is instructed in a range of construction disputes, often with Omani elements. (2021)

   

  Middle East: The English Bar – Commercial

  The Legal 500

  Leading junior (2024)

  Leading junior (2022)

  In the United Arab Emirates, Arshad is know to be ‘involved in both DIFC litigation and arbitration too. His practice includes a number  of Oman-related disputes’.

  Previously he has been described as ‘a highly effective barrister with a strong analytical mind and astute advocacy‘.

• Academic history
  • Westminster School
  • LLB Hons (Exon); LLM (i) (Cantab)
  • Harmsworth Entrance Exhibition, Middle Temple
  • “Stage” scholarship at EU from Bar Council
• Publications
  • Contributor to Practitioner’s Handbook of EC Law
  • Various articles and reviews: The Lawyer; ‘The 2012 ICC Arbitration Rules’ (2012) in Arbitration 172 – 173; case note on the decision in Habas Sinai v VSC Steel Co [2013] EWHC 4071 (Comm) in Arbitration, November 2014, Vol.80, No.4 p.463;  Ghaffar, A. (2018). Alternative Visions of the International Law on Foreign Investment: Essays in Honour of Muthucamaraswamy Sornarajah edited by CL Lim [Cambridge University Press, book review in the International and Comparative Law Quarterly, 67(4), 1038-1039; the European Young Bar Association; Complinet Country Guides.
  • Contributor of chapter on BATNA and WATNA to IBA E-Book on Mediation Techniques
• Professional memberships
  • Licensed to practice in the Courts of the Punjab, Pakistan by the Punjab Bar Council (2016)
  • Commercial Bar Association (COMBAR) and Chancery Bar Association
  • Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb)
  • LCIA
  • ICC UK and ICC Pakistan
  • Associate Member DIAC (Dubai International Arbitration Centre)
  • Bar of the DIFC (Dubai International Financial Centre)
  • Royal Aeronautical Society (MRAeS)
  • Solicitors’ European Group (SEG) and Bar European Group (BEG) and European Circuit
  • British Institute of International and Comparative Law (BIICL)
  • International Bar Association (IBA)
  • Society for Advanced Legal Studies (SALS)
• Appointments
  • Ambassador for the Commission of the ICC Court of Arbitration on the Belt and Road initiative
  • Chairman of the Steering Committee – CIArb (Oman Branch)
  • ICC Task Force on Arbitration of Climate Change Related Disputes
  • ICC Task Force on ADR and Arbitration
  • Vice President of the Pakistan Branch of the International Law Association (ILA)
  • Member of the Executive Council of the ILA
  • Member of the Board of Governors of the Pakistan Centre for Law and Society (PCLS)
  • Public access accredited