Ifriqya Online Directory

Sami Houerbi started his legal career in 1992 with French and German law firms in Munich (Germany) and in Paris (France).

From 1999 to 2005, he was deputy counsel to the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), where he was responsible for the management and supervision of hundreds of international arbitration proceedings.

From 2005 to 2021, Sami Houerbi acted as Arbitration and ADR Director of the ICC International Court of Arbitration for the Mediterranean, Middle East, and Africa.

Sami Houerbi acts regularly since 2006 as Counsel and arbitrator under ad hoc and institutional international arbitrations under the ICC Rules, DIAC, ACIC, and CRCICA with proven experience in the implementation procedures of international awards.

In 2008, he founded Houerbi Law firm, where he developed a recognized expertise in the field of business, energy and construction law and international dispute resolution.

Sami Houerbi is a contributor in several publications in the field of international arbitration. The most recent: “Wolters Kluwer – Arbitration in Africa: A Practitioner’s Guide: Author of the Chapter on North Africa”.

Sami Houerbi is a Court Member at the Lagos Chamber of Commerce International Arbitration Centre (LACIAC), a Board member of the Tehran Regional Arbitration Center (TRAC) and a Member of the Panel of Arbitrators of Hong Kong Arbitration Center (HKIAC) and Shanghai Arbitration Center (SHIAC)

• Lawyer at the Tunis Bar
• LL.M, University of Ludwig Maximilian, Munich
• Postgraduate Diploma on international law at the University Paris II
• First law degree at the University Paris II
• Pre-law degree at the University of Saarbrucken, Germany

• Counsel in an ICC arbitration opposing a Tunisian public company against a Spanishpublic construction company, in a case dealing with the construction of sewage watertreatment plant.

• Counsel in an ICC arbitration opposing a Tunisian accounting firm against one of the “Big Four” international auditing groups.

• Co-arbitrator in an ad hoc arbitration opposing a French company against a Tunisian State-owned company related to the construction of a power plant in Tunisia.

• Counsel in an ad hoc arbitration case opposing the Burkinabe State-owned Company against a French company in a dispute related to the 2007 law on the energy sector.

• Co-arbitrator in a UNCITRAL case opposing a German company to an Egyptian company about the implementation of environmental measures in one of the power plants in Egypt.

• Counsel in an ad hoc arbitration opposing a Libyan construction company and the Libyan Ministry of Health about the construction of a university hospital in Libya.

• Chairman in CRCICA arbitration opposing a Saudi airlines company against an Egyptian tour operator.

• Chairman in ad hoc arbitration opposing a Lebanese contractor against a Qatari investor related to the construction of two towers in Doha.

• Chairman in a DIAC arbitration related to the construction of the Terminal III of Dubai International Airport.

• Co-arbitrator in an ad hoc arbitration opposing an Iranian private construction company against a UAE-Swiss consortium to carry out part of the civil and construction operations of the Power plant in Iran.

• Sole Arbitrator in an ACIC arbitration case involving an Iranian textile company and a Bulgarian reseller.

• Sole Arbitrator in an ICC arbitration opposing a Saudi services company and an Egyptian engineering company related to the execution of a distributorship agreement.

• Co-arbitrator in an ICC arbitration opposing a Tunisian real estate development business against a Tunisian-French private person.

• Chairman in a CRCICA Arbitration case opposing an Egyptian Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services Industry company to an Egyptian Petroleum Company, and a Virgin Islands privately-owned petroleum exploration and exploitation company.

• Co-arbitrator in an ADCCAC Arbitration case opposing an Emirati Construction Company to an Emirati Real Estate company in a construction dispute involving Roads and Infrastructure Works for a major real estate project in Abu Dhabi.

• Counsel in ICC arbitration representing the Tunisian State against a Turkish Holding.

• Contributor to the book “Arbitration in North Africa: An overview, in Arbitration in Africa:
  A practitioner’s Guide”, Wolter Kluwer, 1st edition, 2013.

• Contributor to the book “Arbitration in North Africa: An overview, in Arbitration in Africa:
  A practitioner’s Guide”, Wolter Kluwer, 2nd edition, 2021.

• Contributor to the International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA) Project entitled “Does a Right to a Physical Hearing Exist in International Arbitration?”.

• Contributor to the ICC Dispute Resolution Bulletin entitled “Sorelec v. Libya: A call for Vigilance to prevent Corruption in Investor-State Arbitration”, Issue 2, 2021.

• Co-author of an article titled “TPF beyond COVID-19: What can we expect in the post-pandemic scenario?” published in the Commercial Law Centre of the University of Nottingham.

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