Dr. AbdulKareem Al-Kandari

Member of the Kuwait Parliament

DR. ABDULKAREEM AL-KANDARI is a politician and assistant professor who is a member of the Kuwait Parliament. Dr. Al-Kandari was first elected in the Kuwaiti General Election in 2013. Subsequently, in the 2016 General Election he was elected the fourth chair by his constituents. By 2020, Dr. Al-Kandari had be elected the first chair by his constituents. During his time in Parliament, Dr. Al-Kandari has contributed to various committees such as: National Human Resources Development Committee, Human Rights Committee, Woman and Family Committee and many others. He is also a member of many organizations like Kuwait Lawyers Association and University of Strasbourg Center of Commercial Law. Dr. Al-Kandari has received his bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, and Ph.D. in Commercial Law.

Ghanim Al-Dabbous

Lawyer, ASAS Attorneys and Legal Advisers

GHANIM AL-DABBOUS currently works as a Lawyer at ASAS Attorneys and Legal Advisers. He is a member of the Kuwait Bar Association with experience in Corporate Law, Commercial Law and Capital Market Law. He has completed various courses in different fields.

Yousef Al-Harbash

Assistant Professor of Law, Kuwait International Law College

DR. YOUSEF AL-HARBASH is a Assistant Professor of Law at Kuwait International Law College. He received his Ph.D. in Private Law and has served as a Constitutional and Discrimination lawyer. He has also been a former delegated professor at Kuwait University.

Dr. Nawaf Saud Al-Yaseen

Former Minister of Justice and Professor of Law, Kuwait International Law College

DR. NAWAF SAUD AL-YASEEN has 24 years’ experience in the legal field. Prior to working as a Professor of Law at Kuwait International Law College, he held the title of minister of justice. He holds a Ph.D. in Law from Oxford Brookes University in the United Kingdom. He has appeared before the high court, the court of appeal, and is a registered lawyer in front of the Constitutional and Cassation Courts. Additionally, he is a certified Arbitrator in the Kuwait Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Dr. Al-Yaseen has two published pieces of research, one discussing the Public Policy and Morality Principles. In contrast, the other is a critical analytical study on the Nationality of the trademark as a reason for refusing to register in Kuwaiti law. He has participated in various legal workshops, seminars, and training courses throughout his legal career. He has delivered lectures in various universities and conferences on theft in IP law, collective digital copyright, the rules governing trademarks in Islamic Sharia, the public system as a restriction on copyright, and many more.

Dr. Yousef Muhammad Abdullah Al-Ali

Vice President of the Board of Trustees, Kuwait International Law College, and Former Minister of Commerce and Industry

DR. YOUSEF MUHAMMAD ABDULLAH AL-ALI is the Vice President of the Kuwait International Law College board of Trustees. Formerly, he worked as a director of the Legal Department of the Kuwait Chamber of Commerce and Industry, where he possessed the title of the Secretary-General of the Kuwait Center for Commercial Arbitration. Dr. Al-Ali also served as the Capital Markets Authority Commissioner. He was a member of the team preparing the draft law on the Capital Markets Authority, where he led the preparation of the executive regulations for the Capital Markets Authority Law No. 7 of 2010. Dr. Al-Ali was also the minister of Trade and Industry and served as a member of the Appeal Board of Appeals at the Kuwait Stock Exchange.

Dr. Al-Ali is a lecturer and coach in the field of arbitration. He chaired the arbitral tribunal in many international and local arbitration cases, in addition to his participation as an individual arbitrator or a member of an arbitral tribunal in various cases. He also served as a member of the International Chamber of Commerce Arbitration Court for nine years. Dr. Al-Ali has a Bachelor of Laws and Sharia from Kuwait University, a Ph.D. in International Law from Sorbonne University, and a master’s degree in economic law, international specialization, from the University of Bourgogne.

Dr. Khaled A. Mahdi

General Secretary, General Secretariat of the Supreme Council for Planning and Development (GSSCPD)

DR KHALED A. MAHDI is currently the Secretary General of the GSSCPD and the National Director of the Country Program Action Plan with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in the Government of Kuwait. He serves private and public sectors professionally on a global and local scale. Dr Mahdi is a member of various councils and boards, including the Supreme Council of Education, the Supreme Council for Public Universities, the Public Authority for Industries, the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, the Public Authority for Housing Welfare, Ozone Affairs and Climate Change, and many other committees.

Dr Mahdi also cofounded the Kuwait Women Distinguished Award and the Kuwait Sustainable Development Award. Among his many accolades, he received the “People First” Leader GCC HR Award in 2018. In 1993, Dr Mahdi received his bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Toronto. He received his Master of Chemical Engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology in 1995. In 2000, Dr Mahdi earned his Doctorate in Chemical Engineering from Northwestern University. Before his current occupation, Dr Mahdi served as an advisor for the Kuwait University Strategic Office and the Minister of Planning and Development Affairs Office.

Benjamin Filaferro

Managing Director, LexisNexis Middle East & North Africa

As Managing Director – MENA, BENJAMIN FILAFERRO oversees LexisNexis’ activities in the Middle East and North Africa region. Prior to joining LexisNexis, Benjamin set up the Key Account Management teams of two start-ups providing B2B SaaS solutions. Earlier in his career, he was a strategy consultant leading the delivery of large marketing initiatives and customer-centric programs in the Middle East and North Africa region. Benjamin earned an Executive MBA from ESCP Europe and received a Master of Science degree in engineering from Arts et Métiers ParisTech.

Jarrah Al-Fouzan

Senior Partner, Al-Yaqout and Al-Fouzan Legal Group

JARRAH AL-FOUZAN is an attorney at law and a partner at Al-Yaqout and Al-Fouzan Legal Group in Kuwait. He has vast knowledge about the local laws, investment law, governmental procedures, real estate laws, and Islamic finance along with immense litigation experience.

Dr. Ahmed Ali Al-Kudair

Faculty member in the Private Law Department at the College of Law at Kuwait University

Dr. Ahmed Al-Khudair held many positions in various sectors in the State of Kuwait. He worked in the military sector at the Ministry of Interior, reaching the rank of captain in November 2010, then moved to work as an investigator in the General Department of Investigations at the Ministry of Interior until September 2012. After that, he moved to the academic sector and currently holds the position of a faculty member in the Private Law Department at the College of Law at Kuwait University. He was also one of the members member of the legal team to prepare the executive regulations for Law No. 125 of 2019 regarding the regulation of insurance.

Huda Al-Sawan

Chancellor, Department of Legal Advice & Legislation, Council of Ministers (Fatwa and Legislation)

HUDA AL-SAWAN has been in the Fatwa and Legislation Department since 1993, holding several positions, including a lawyer and the undersecretary of the administration under decrees. She currently holds the position of technical supervisor for the Fatwa Sector in the Fatwa and Legislation Department, where she specialises in all projects within the public-private partnership (PPP) system.

Huda holds a Master’s degree in Public Law from the University of Strasbourg and a Bachelor of Law from Kuwait University. She also has several diplomas from numerous accredited institutions.