RIYADH — In support of international best practices, a royal decree was issued on Tuesday (March 23), appointing the third independent board of directors of the Saudi Center for Commercial Arbitration (SCCA). Half of the incoming board members are leading international arbitration experts from four continents, and all are leaders from the business, legal and finance, and banking sectors. Importantly, the new board now reflects more diversity in terms of specializations, gender and nationalities — with foreign experts comprising 40 percent of the board, and a foreign expert named board vice-chairman. This diversity further enhances and promotes international best practices of the SCCA in all its work. It also reinforces SCCA neutrality and independence from the public sector, as no board member shall hold a government position. The new board of directors includes leading national international and professionals of the institutional arbitration, legal, Shariah and business sectors, including the following professionals: Dr. Waleed bin Sulaiman Abanumay, Chairman (from the business sector - Saudi) Mr. Toby T. Landau QC, Vice Chairman (Expert in commercial arbitration - British) Prof. Georges Affaki, Member (Expert in commercial arbitration - French) Ms. Abby Smutny, Member (Expert in commercial arbitration - American) Dr. Mohammad Abdelraouf, Member (Expert in commercial arbitration - Egyptian) Dr. Saud bin Abdullah Al-Ammari, Member (Expert in commercial arbitration - Saudi) Mr. Sulaiman bin Abdulaziz Al-Majid, Member (Business Sector - Saudi) Dr. Abdullah bin Mohammed Al-Ajlan, Member (Shariah expert - Saudi) Mr. Abdullah bin Hashim Al-Hashim, Member (Lawyer and former members of the SCCA Board - Saudi) Dr. Ali bin Abdulkareem Al-Suwailem, member (Lawyer and former members of the SCCA Board - Saudi) For his part, Dr. Walid Abanumay, chairman, on behalf of the members of the board of directors expressed his deepest gratitude to King Salman and Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman for entrusting the new board to bring the SCCA to next level. He aspires to succeed in this assignment and fulfill the SCCA’s vision. The CEO, Dr. Hamed bin Hassan Merah, thanked the wise leadership for appointing highly qualified national and international experts in the field of arbitration and mediation. Noting that this distinguished body will enable the SCCA to become one of the world’s leading institutional arbitration centers. He thanked the Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Commerce for their strategic and ongoing support of the SCCA, which has been critical to its success, and for their wider engagement with all elements of the institutional arbitration industry in general.