Stephen Hibbert is an international commercial arbitrator and mediator. He is both an engineer and a lawyer.

Stephen is an experienced international arbitrator, with over 35 years acting as counsel, solicitor advocate and tribunal member in arbitrations across Australia, Asia and the Middle East.

From 2008, as a resident of the Middle East, Stephen acted as counsel and tribunal member in arbitrations across Oman; U.A.E and Qatar, with appointments from the LCIA, ICC, DIAC and QICCA.

Independently assessed in Chambers Legal 500 & Who’s Who Legal as one of the top 10 commercial arbitration lawyers in the Asia region.

RECENT PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND

2020- to date: Arbitrator and Consulting Projects Lawyer, based in Dubai, UAE.

2012 – 2020: (8+ years) General Counsel & Head of Legal Services for the Employer, the Qatar Railways Company, for one of the world’s largest civil/rail projects – the Qatar Rail Doha Metro. The full network of 37 stations (31 underground); 140 km of underground tunnels/track was completed and brought into service within 6 years of signing the first contract. The project has been heralded as a great success and set world records, including having 21 TBMs all running at one time.

Took the project from commencement (2012) to completion and into full operations (2019).
- Responsible for the establishment of the Legal Dept. and the drafting and awarding of all project contracts in the USD 35bn plus railway programme for Qatar, including the Doha Metro; Lusail Light Rail and the Long-Distance Passenger & Freight project.
- Providing day-to-day advice to the CEO/MD on commercial; insurance; claims management and governance issues and the drafting of laws, regulations, and procedures to permit the rail projects to be built and operated in Qatar.
- Reviewed all contractor claims. As part of the executive group, direct involvement in the assessment: negotiation and resolution of project claims progressively during the project.
- Responsible for the insurance function on the projects, including submissions to the insurance market followed by the negotiation and placement of the Owner Controlled Insurance Programs for both the construction and operations phases.
- Consulting; Rolling Stock; Systems Supply and Maintenance and all operations contracts (incl. new laws and regulations; 3rd party commercial agreements).
- Tender and procurement structuring and documentation.
- Project risk analysis and allocation – incl. complex underground and site issues.
- Direct interaction with all major subcontractors and suppliers; with an extensive provisional sum program as part of the project.
- Post-contract award – structuring systems for contract administration.
- Contractors claim assessments and dispute resolution.