A Syrian Based Complex Real Estate Development Dispute

We are representing Antrados Syria on a complex real estate development dispute based in Syria. The context of the dispute arose from an agreement with Amer Group to develop a massive real estate complex in Syria, however the agreement was ruptured, largely due to the war.

An arbitral proceeding was initiated before CRCICA, which the client lost. The sum in dispute under the award is valued at approximately USD 250 million. Antrados Syria attempted to annul the award before Egyptian courts, however lost two cases at the Appellate level. After this, the client retained our firm to represent them at the Court of Cassation level of the annulment proceedings. Given that the success percentage of award enforcements in Egypt is at 87%, and that the case was very difficult and complex, especially since the award was over 200 pages in length and contained a large number of highly contested legal and factual issues, the likelihood of successfully annulling this award was, at best, 13%.

However, as of February 2022, we have managed to secure a first temporary win for the client, as we received a judgment temporarily suspending the enforcement of the award. This significant judgment, which is very uncommon as it happens approximately in 2% of cases, indicates a much higher probability that the award will eventually be annulled. Further, during the year 2022, we have been able to postpone the case several times to give our client the opportunity to negotiate a favourable settlement.