Skip to content
  1. Home
  2. People
  3. Joseph Chedrawe
Joseph Chedrawe
Joseph Chedrawe
Partner — International Dispute Resolution & Arbitration
E: jchedrawe@velaw.com T: +971.4.403.6205
VCard BIO PDF
Partner — International Dispute Resolution & Arbitration

Joseph Chedrawe

Joseph Chedrawe
Dubai
T: +971.4.403.6205
F: +971.4.330.1300

DIFC
Office 1207 Index Tower
P.O. Box 504945
Dubai, United Arab Emirates

E: jchedrawe@velaw.com
VCard BIO PDF
Joseph Chedrawe

Joseph is an experienced disputes practitioner. He has acted as counsel in more than 40 international construction and commercial arbitrations under all of the major arbitral institutions and in ad-hoc proceedings as well as in cross-border and DIFC Court litigation. He also has experience in investigations.

He has represented multinational corporations, governments, and private clients across multiple sectors, with a focus on construction and engineering, as well as commercial, disputes. He has experience in more than 30 countries across four continents.

Joseph appears regularly as an advocate in litigation and arbitration proceedings. He is an advocate of the Dubai International Financial Centre courts and has sat as a party-appointed and sole arbitrator under the ICC, DIFC-LCIA, and DIAC Rules.

Experience Highlights

  • Advising a global contractor in an ICC arbitration regarding a major infrastructure project in Saudi Arabia

  • Advising a European contractor in litigation and arbitration regarding waste-to-energy facilities in Europe

  • Advising a group of shareholders before the Court of First Instance and Court of Appeal of the Dubai International Financial Centre in relation to a technology dispute

  • Advising a multinational pharmaceutical company in relation to Saudi regulation

  • Advising the majority shareholder of a major food delivery application in relation to a sale and purchase dispute in the Middle East

  • Acted on the Monitor Team for the Middle East and Africa in respect of a five-year United States Department of Justice monitorship of a major global financial institution

  • Advising a UAE contractor in an arbitration regarding a major housing project in Dubai 

  • Advising a Hong Kong based company in a SIAC arbitration regarding an agreement in relation to one of the largest UAE energy projects

  • Advising a Japanese and South Korean engineering and construction consortium in an arbitration regarding the engineering and construction of a multibillion dollar fertiliser complex in North Africa

  • Advising a Gulf Cooperation Council government entity in two expert determinations and an arbitration regarding the construction and ongoing operations of a multibillion dollar independent water and power plant

  • Advising a Gulf Cooperation Council government entity in an arbitration regarding the termination of a waste management contract

  • Advising a consortium of South Korean contractors in an arbitration relating to the construction of a high-value coal-fired power plant in Africa

  • Advising a South Korean engineering and construction company in an arbitration regarding the construction of the world’s largest strategic water storage and recovery system in the Gulf Cooperation Council area

  • Advising a Middle Eastern telecommunications company in a matter before Saudi Arabian regulatory authorities

  • Advising a Gulf Cooperation Council government entity in an adjudication relating to the construction of a major housing project

  • Advising a Saudi Arabian metals company in a dispute regarding a high-value aluminium-rolling facility in Saudi Arabia

  • Advising an oil and gas joint venture in a dispute over the assignment of a production-sharing agreement

  • Advising a Bahraini company in an arbitration regarding the performance of a dredging contract

  • Advising a UAE developer in a dispute regarding the construction of two hotels in Dubai

  • Advising a Canadian telecommunications company in a dispute with an American signal provider

  • Advising a Canadian energy company in a cross-border litigation regarding the construction of an oil platform

Credentials

  • University of Oxford, UK (master of philosophy in law, 2010)
  • University of Oxford, UK (bachelor of civil law, 2009)
  • Dalhousie Law School, Canada (bachelor of laws, 2005)
  • Dalhousie University, Canada (bachelor of arts, 2002)

In 2005, Joseph was selected as a law clerk for the Honourable Justice Daniele Tremblay-Lamer at the Federal Court of Canada. He then practiced in Canada before working in the United Kingdom as a lecturer in law at the University of Oxford, and as a foreign lawyer with the Legal Resources Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa. He has practiced in Dubai since 2012.

His country experience includes: Algeria, Bahrain, Dominican Republic, Canada, Egypt, France, Germany, Iraq, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Kuwait, Madagascar, Morocco, Nigeria, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Tanzania, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the United States, Yemen, and Zambia.

  • Who’s Who Legal (Law Business Research Ltd.); Future Leaders – Non-Partners (UAE), 2019 and 2020; Arbitration, 2021
  • Visiting Lecturer in International Arbitration, Schulich Law School at Dalhousie University
  • Founder and Co-Chair, YConstruction (Young International Construction Practitioners)
  • Advisory Board of the Young Canadian Arbitration Practitioners
  • Member, International Chamber of Commerce
  • Member, ICC Canada Arbitration Committee
  • Member, ICC Canada Arbitrator Nominations Committee
  • Global Advisory Board, International Centre for Dispute Resolution, Young & International group
  • Nova Scotia, Canada (Barrister and Solicitor)
  • Dubai International Financial Centre Courts (Advocate)
  • Solicitors Regulation Authority (Registered Foreign Lawyer)
  • French (fluent)
  • Arabic (fluent)
  • “FIDIC 2017 – A Golden Goose or the Curate’s Egg?” GAR Live Construction Disputes, April 12, 2018 (panelist)
  • “New Developments in International Arbitration: Tour d’horizon,” ICC Canada International Arbitration Conference 2017: Arbitration in a Dangerous Time, November 9, 2017 (panelist)

Conference and Seminar Presentations

  • Global Arbitration Review’s GAR Live Construction Disputes conference,  April 12, 2018 (speaker)
  • Co-organiser and moderator, Young MENA Arbitration Groups Event, Dubai Arbitration Week, 14 November 2017
  • “Enforcing a binding expert determination in the Middle East: key challenges and potential solutions”, ICC YAF Conference, Dubai Arbitration Week, 13 November 2017
  • “Arbitration in a Dangerous Time,” ICC Canada International Arbitration Conference, 10 November 2017
  • “A World Tour of Developments in Arbitration”, Update on the Middle East and Africa, YCAP Fall  Symposium, in conjunction with ICC Canada Conference, Toronto (13 October 2016)
  • “PPPs: Overview, Risk, and Legal Environment”, Hill International Seminar, Dubai (30 March 2016) and Doha (2 August 2016)
  • “Managing the Arbitration Process”, Grand Panel, Kluwer International Arbitration Summit: Qatar and the Middle East, Doha (10 June 2015)

News & Insights

Insight
Getting Paid: Mitigating Non-Payment Risks and Deploying “Self-Help” Remedies under UAE Law
May 28, 2021
Insight
Virtual Arbitration Hearings in the Middle East
April 8, 2021
Insight
Force Majeure in Emerging Markets: Mitigating Risk for Construction and Energy Investors
March 29, 2021
Rankings & Awards
Who's Who Legal Names 6 V&E Lawyers In 2021 Arbitration Guide
December 16, 2020