Saudi Arabia recently introduced a new law concerning government tenders and procurement procedures that granted the contracting government authorities the right to recourse to arbitration to settle their commercial disputes.

The chairman of the Saudi Center for Commercial Arbitration (SCCA), Yassin bin Khaled Khayat, thanked King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the continued support to institutional arbitration in the Kingdom.

He said: “Day after day, the Kingdom is becoming increasingly attractive for business and investment.”

The SCCA chairman is a lawyer, legal counsel and certified arbitrator from the Saudi Justice Ministry. He is a member of the National Lawyers’ Committee at the Council of Saudi Chambers. 

He is also a member of the board of directors of the General Commission of the Guardianship of Trust Funds for Minors and their Counterparts and the Bankruptcy Committee.

He has served as vice chairman of the lawyers’ committee at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry for the 21st and 22nd sessions.

He also represented Saudi Arabia as the chairman of the board of directors of the Gulf Cooperation Council Commercial Arbitration Center in 2012 and 2016.

Khayyat obtained a master’s degree in law and professional practice at Jeddah’s King Abdul Aziz University.