Arbitration - Investing into North African Solar Power - page 117

which led to a rapid increase in investments. 568 Islamic countries had bad experi-
ences with international arbitration during the first oil crises in the 1970s. 569
Western arbitrators who were not able to speak any Arabic denied the application
of Islamic host state law as applicable law. 570 A lot of Moslems were annoyed by
the:

...

' ( ) ignorance, carelessness or unjustified psychological superiority com-

... ...

plexes ( ) of the arbitrators and the ( ) humiliating nature ' of Islamic law

571
Most Islamic countries have prejudices concerning international arbitration. Yet,
there is an overall acceptance of arbitration as a legal tool. Within the last few
decades, the acceptance of international arbitration has grown. Since Mediterranean
states are not as Islamic as Middle Eastern states, the influence of the Shari

exclusion. '

ais

'

significantly lower.

2.6.2.3 Acceptance of International Arbitration

The arbitration rules within Moroccan law are Art. 306 to 327 loi n 1-74-447
(Code de proc´dure civile). In general, the state and its entities cannot be subject to
arbitration, as stated in Art. 310 of the Code de proc´dure civile. Although Art.
310 of the Code de proc´dure civile was introduced in 2007, there is no reference
towards an exception of international arbitration. Interestingly, the Projet du Code
de l

Arbitrage included an exception for international commercial relationships in
Art. 2(3). The new law does not include this proposal. Furthermore, Art. 323 of the
Code de proc ´ dure civile sets forth a comprehensive list of grounds for the rejection
of arbitration. Yet, the newly introduced Art. 327-39 to 327-69 of the Code de
proc ´ dure civile deal with international arbitration. Art. 327-29 of the Code de
proc ´ dure civile explicitly mention that this section deals with the issue of inter-
national arbitration, acknowledging all international conventions ratified by
Morocco. Under the old Code de proc ´ dure civile, there was only a section dealing
with national arbitration. Besides existing legal obligations, e.g. the ICSID, the
former law and practice already included an exception from the general rule of Art.
310 of the Code de proc´dure civile. There is Moroccan case law, mentioning that
the restriction does not apply to

'

) industrial, public or commercial entities when
the contract has an international scope.

( ...

'

572 The principle that arbitration is not
allowed for matters involving acts or property governed by administrative law
should not apply to international arbitration. 573 Furthermore, there is an increased

'

568

Brower and Sharpe ( 2003 ), 643 (652).

569

Ahdab and Stackpool-Moore ( 2008 ), 275 (278).
570 Nariman ( 2004 ), 123 (124); Ahdab and Stackpool-Moore ( 2008 ), 275 (278-279).
571 Ahdab and Stackpool-Moore ( 2008 ), 275 (279); Problematic treatment by Western scholars
and arbitrators, in: Darwazeh and El-Kosheri ( 2008 ), 203 (205).
572 Mernissi ( 2002 ), 179 (180).
573 Mernissi ( 2002 ), 179 (183).