Jordanian lawyers Karam Al Sadeq and Jihad Quzmar have brought separate ICSID claims against the United Arab Emirates under the 2009 Jordan-UAE investment treaty. They allege inhuman treatment during their detention and imprisonment in the UAE. ICSID registered both claims on May 29, 2026, and the tribunals are being constituted.
Latest development May 29, 2026
On May 29, 2026, ICSID registered Al Sadeq’s and Quzmar’s claims against the UAE as ICSID Case Nos. ARB/26/23 and ARB/26/24. The tribunals are being constituted.
Why it matters
The claims test whether an investment treaty can reach a state’s alleged treatment of foreign investors in detention. They also bring allegations about Ras Al Khaimah detentions, litigated in London for years, into investor-state arbitration against the UAE itself.
Background
Karam Al Sadeq is a Jordanian lawyer who was legal adviser to the Ras Al Khaimah Investment Authority from 2008 and its deputy chief executive from 2011. He says he was arrested at his Dubai home on September 5, 2014, taken to Ras Al Khaimah, and held there since. Ras Al Khaimah courts convicted him of fraud. He says he is innocent and the trials were politically motivated. Jihad Quzmar is a former Ras Al Khaimah government legal adviser and judge.
Both men sued the law firm Dechert LLP and its former partner Neil Gerrard in the High Court in London. They allege the defendants were involved in their abduction, detention, and mistreatment, which the defendants deny. On May 5, 2021, the High Court ordered the two claims (QB-2020-000322 and QB-2020-003142) to be tried together. On October 18, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina addressed an application for discovery under Section 1782. The application supported Al Sadeq’s proceedings against Dechert. On January 24, 2024, the Court of Appeal ruled on legal professional privilege in Al Sadeq’s case. It held that the iniquity exception generally requires proof on the balance of probabilities.
The two lawyers have since brought claims against the UAE at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) under the 2009 Jordan-UAE bilateral investment treaty. ICSID records the subject of both disputes as real estate. Global Arbitration Review reported that the claimants allege inhuman treatment during their detention and imprisonment in the UAE. Global Investigations Review reported that they are the lawyers who sued Dechert. Stokoe Partnership Solicitors acts for both claimants and A&O Shearman for the UAE.
ICSID registered both requests on May 29, 2026, as ICSID Case Nos. ARB/26/23 and ARB/26/24. The tribunals are being constituted.
Timeline 6 events
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OtherGlobal Arbitration Review reports lawyers allege inhuman treatment in detention
Global Arbitration Review reported that the two Jordanian lawyers allege they suffered inhuman treatment during their detention and imprisonment in the UAE.
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OrderICSID registers the Al Sadeq and Quzmar claims against the UAE
The Secretary-General registered both requests under the 2009 Jordan-UAE bilateral investment treaty as ICSID Case Nos. ARB/26/23 and ARB/26/24.
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JudgmentCourt of Appeal rules on privilege in Al Sadeq v. Dechert
The court held that, save in exceptional cases, the iniquity exception to legal professional privilege requires proof on the balance of probabilities.
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OrderU.S. court rules on discovery bid tied to Dechert litigation
The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina addressed an application for discovery under Section 1782 brought in support of Al Sadeq’s foreign proceedings against Dechert.
In re Application of Sadeq No. 21mc6 (M.D.N.C. Oct. 18, 2021)
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OrderHigh Court orders a joint trial of the two Dechert claims
Mr Justice Murray ordered a joint trial of the two lawyers’ claims against Dechert and Neil Gerrard, who deny the allegations.
Find Case Law: Al Sadeq v Dechert LLP & Ors [2021] EWHC 1149 (QB)Legal Futures
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OtherAl Sadeq alleges arrest in Dubai and detention in Ras Al Khaimah
Al Sadeq, a former deputy chief executive of the Ras Al Khaimah Investment Authority, says he was arrested at his Dubai home. He says he has been detained in Ras Al Khaimah since.
Experimental AI forecast
How it is made- Predicted outcome
- Insufficient evidence
- Model confidence
- Low
The record is too thin for a calibrated forecast. ICSID registered both claims on May 29, 2026, and neither tribunal is fully constituted. A forecast would become possible once the tribunals are constituted and a procedural calendar is set, or once the UAE files an early objection or a request to bifurcate jurisdiction.
Tribunals not yet constituted, no presiding arbitrators on file · No pleadings, timetable, or relief sought in the record · Untested theory linking detention claims to a treaty-protected investment · Likely UAE jurisdictional objections, not yet filed · Undisclosed amount in dispute and unclear investment basis
Generated automatically by Claude Opus 5.5 on Oct 18, 2026 from this case’s record on this site, and published without editorial review. The probabilities are the model’s judgment, not measured frequencies, and they are scored publicly as cases resolve. Not legal or investment advice. How the forecasts are made