Mohamed Mahayni

Counsel

Overview

Education

Mohamed Mahayni (LL.M., Ph.D.) acts as counsel in international arbitrations under institutional and ad hoc rules. He combines both technical expertise in international arbitration and comparative knowledge of French, English, and Saudi law.

During his 15+-year career, Mohamed has intervened in arbitrations conducted under the ICC, LCIA, ICSID, UNCITRAL and JCAA arbitration rules. Prior to joining Hexagon, Mohamed has practiced with the arbitration groups of White & Case in London, Paris, and Hong Kong, and was seconded to the secretariats of the LCIA in London and DIFC-LCIA in Dubai.

In parallel, Mohamed teaches commercial and investment arbitration to experienced lawyers. He taught on Queen Mary University of London’s Distance Learning LLM in International Dispute Resolution (2018-2024), as well as on the Geneva Master in International Dispute Settlement (2024-2025).

Mohamed holds a Ph.D. in International Law from Sorbonne Law School (University of Paris 1) (summa cum laude). In his thesis, he uses the notion of ideology to deconstruct the tensions underlying international investment law and those dividing the investment arbitration community.

Representative Cases

Advising a mining infrastructure company on claims against a foreign contractor (Mongolian seat, MIAC Rules)
Advising a Mexican national on claims against a multinational commodities company for unpaid legal fees in joint defence (English seat, LCIA Rules)
Advising a Syrian investor on its chances of recovering funds blocked in Lebanese bank accounts (Syria-Lebanon BIT 1997 and BIT 2011 and Arab Unified Agreement 1980)
Assisting with advice to a major insurance company on the interpretation of exclusions under a Saudi law governed policy (Saudi Insurance Disputes Committee)
Assisting with advice to a multinational oil and gas company on knock-on claims pursuant to an arbitral award against it (disputed seat, ad hoc rules)
Assisting with advice to an Arab conglomerate on merits of case strategies to oppose enforcement of an arbitral award rendered in Japan (Japanese seat, JCAA Rules)
Assisting with advice to a Japanese company in prospective arbitration proceedings against a government entity arising from an EPC Contract for the design and construction of a project (Saudi seat, UNCITRAL rules, Japan-Saudi Arabia BIT 2017)
Assisting with advice to a German logistics company in arbitration proceedings against a Saudi company arising from a warehousing agreement (Saudi seat, ad-hoc rules)
Advising a contractor in arbitration proceedings relating to a hotel, residential and office construction project in Dubai (Emirati seat, ICC Rules)
Advising a European government entity on issues arising from the termination of a nuclear facility construction contract (French seat, ICC Rules)
Advising the lead member of a contractor consortium in arbitration proceedings against a government entity arising out of the termination of a rail contract (Swiss seat, ICC Rules)
Advising a state-owned oil and gas company in an ad hoc arbitration under Sharia law concerning a major gas plant debottlenecking project in the Middle East (ad hoc rules)
Assisting with advice to an investor regarding possible share expropriation claims in connection with the advent of the financial crisis in Europe (ICSID Rules)
Advising a U.S. national in his defence and counterclaim arising from a disputed share sale in Africa (English courts)
Advising a claimant U.S. online poker company on action against an English individual suspected of ‘hacking’ into its computer systems (English courts)
Advising a U.S. company on English law considerations in a multi-jurisdictional dispute relating to the dishonest appropriation of trade secrets by a Korean competitor (English courts)
Counsel for Fortune 50 software company in patent infringement litigation relating to cell phone software before the ITC
Counsel for leading medical device manufacturer in patent infringement litigation relating to laparoscopic surgery instruments
Lead counsel for Japanese manufacturer of medical devices in patent infringement dispute with competitor
Lead counsel for Japanese manufacturer of computerized assay technology in patent dispute with former business partner

Prior Big-Law Affiliations

Bar and Court Admissions

Languages

Publications

Mohamed Mahayni, The challenges of – and opportunities in – deromanticising the duty to apply the law in international commercial arbitration, 2023(3) JOURNAL OF THE CHAMBERS OF ARBITRATORS 38.
Remy Gerbay, Viraj Bhide & Mohamed Mahayni, Stateless Law as a Psycho-Social Phenomenon: A Short Contribution to International Arbitration Theory, in ACHIEVING THE ARBITRATION DREAM: LIBER AMICORUM FOR PROFESSOR JULIAN D.M. LEW KC 23 (Stavros Brekoulakis, Romesh Weeramantry & Lilit Nagapetyan eds., 2023).
Simon Batifort, Remy Gerbay, Belén Ibañez, Ben Love, Mohamed Mahayni, Luciana Ricart & Esmé Shirlow, Meet The Scholars: Cutting-Edge Issues in International Dispute Resolution, PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICA SOCIETY OF INTERNATIONAL LAW AT ITS ANNUAL MEETING 4-7 April 2022 235 (2023).
Zaid Mahayni & Mohamed Mahayni, Cultural Considerations in Advocacy: the Arab World, in THE GUIDE TO ADVOCACY (5th ed) 256 (Stephen Jagusch, Philippe Pinsolle and Alexander G Leventhal eds., 2021).
Remy Gerbay & Mohamed Mahayni, The London Court of International Arbitration, in MAX PLANCK ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF INTERNATIONAL PROCEDURAL LAW (Hélène Ruiz Fabri ed., 2019).
Zaid Mahayni & Mohamed Mahayni, An Overview of the New Implementing Regulations to Saudi Arabia’s Arbitration Law, MONDAQ, (2017).
Nicolas Bouchardie, Noor Davies & Mohamed Mahayni, Un tournant pour l’arbitrage en Arabie saoudite, 138 DROIT & AFFAIRES (2012).
David Goldberg, Artem Doudko & Mohamed Mahayni, Russian to London, LEGAL WEEK (2010).
Mohamed Mahayni, The Right to Water: State Obligations and Public Private Partnerships, 17(3) JOURNAL OF WATER LAW 100 (2006).