Currently, H.E. Mohammed Mahfoudh is the Assistant Undersecretary of the Ministry of Justice, UAE. He is responsible for formulating strategies and driving the Ministry Of Justice in its modernization efforts to become the first in smart eJustice governance in the world. Prior to his current appointment, Mr. Al-Majid has held several key posts. In his role as the Federal eGovernment Director, he has spearheaded several major eGovernment projects.

In the Commercial Sector, as Programme Manager of Microsoft MENA, he was instrumental in several new developments and white papers for products for the ME market. H.E. Mr. Al-Majid completed his Graduate Degree and Master of Business Administration (MIS) and is currently pursuing a Ph.D.

Specialties:

• IT
• Human Resources
• Finance
• Project Management
• e-Governance

Amna Al Owais is the Chief Registrar of the DIFC Courts and provides high level support to operations, the administration of the Registries, as well as the delivery of a comprehensive suite of ancillary court public services. Amna spearheads special projects across DIFC Courts operations, particularly in the field of technology and innovation, harnessing digital transformation for core courts services, including major partnerships under the Courts of the Future initiative with the Dubai Future Foundation, such as Court Tech Lab and the Courts of Space, in addition to Court of the Blockchain with Dubai Digital Authority and the creation of the Digital Economy Court specialised Division.

In addition to her role as Chief Registrar of the DIFC Courts, Amna is also Chairperson of the DIFC Courts’ Users’ Committee, Chairperson of the DIFC Courts’ In-House Counsel Committee, and a member of the Consulting Council for the University of Sharjah College of Law. In 2014, Amna was appointed to the Advisory Board of the International Bar Association’s Access to Justice and Legal Aid Committee. In September 2019, Amna was also appointed to the College of Law Advisory Board of the University of Dubai.

In 2014, Amna was selected to join the Mohammed Bin Rashid Centre for Leadership Development (MBRCLD) – the Young Leaders category, and furthermore in 2018 after the relaunch of the MBRCLD, under the Dubai Executive Office and after an extensive selection process, Amna was selected to join the first batch of the MBRCLD Impactful Leaders Programme. Amna successfully graduated in December 2018.

Amna has played a key part in the establishment and development of the DIFC Courts and creation of the Dispute Resolution Authority in 2014. She also spearheaded the establishment of the DIFC Courts’ Pro Bono Programme, launched in 2009, which is the first scheme of its kind in the Middle East. In 2011 Amna was recognised by the International Bar Association as one of the Top 3 young lawyers in the world and was listed in the Top 50 Most Influential Women in the Arab World and in the Top 100 Influential People Helping to Shape the Emirate of Dubai by Arabian Business in 2018. Amna was also awarded Legal Services CEO of the Year at the Arabian Business CEO magazine Awards in 2018 and listed among the Top 30 Most Influential Women in the Arab World by Arabian Business magazine in 2019, The Middle East’s 100 Power Businesswomen by Forbes Middle East in 2020, and the CEO Women of Influence in 2021, and 50 Inspiring Female Business Leaders in 2022 by Arabian Business. Amna was also featured in Arabian Business’ 50 Inspiring Women Leaders in 2023. Lexis Nexis also recognised Amna in 2022 as Legal Services Innovator of the Year at the Women in Law Awards and received honourable mention for the Professional Achievement Award. Amna was also included in the 100 Most Powerful Businesswomen 2023 by Forbes Middle East.

In 2019, Amna was invited to join the Dubai Future Councils, a new initiative launched by His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashed Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, and Chairman of the Board of Trustees at the Dubai Future Foundation. Consisting of 13 councils, its main mandate is to Foresight the future agenda of Dubai in strategic sectors and launch initiatives with both private and public sector partners to create the foundation for that future. Amna will specifically play an active role in the membership of the Dubai Future Council on Entrepreneurship & Innovation Ecosystems.

Launched in 2019 by His Highness Sheikh Nahayan Al Nahayan, Minister of Tolerance, Amna has also been selected by the University Leadership Council and Université Paris II to be in the first cohort of the International Business Law LLM. In September 2019, Amna was also appointed to the College of Law Advisory Board of the University of Dubai.

In 2021, Amna was accepted to join the selective Strategic Leadership and Public Governance course provided by the Singapore Cooperation Programme (SCP). The Programme is provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Singapore in collaboration with the international embassies, who then coordinated with the Singaporean consulate in each country to nominate qualified personnel.

In 2023, Amna was selected to join the Dubai Future Fellowship, an initiative launched by H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai, and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Dubai Future Foundation (DFF). The programme aims to engage current and future economic leaders to contribute towards shaping Dubai’s policies, regulations, and business practices and further enhancing the city’s leading regional and global role as an incubator for the most promising innovators of the future.

Previous to her employment at the DIFC Courts, she practiced as a lawyer in the litigation department with Hadef Al Dhahiri and Associates now known as Hadef & Partners. Amna holds a bachelor’s degree of Law from the University of Sharjah and obtained a Masters (LLM) with Commendation in International Commercial Law from Kingston University, London.

Arul has over 15 years of rich experience in technology infrastructure, mobile, cloud and GRC, largely across government and financial sectors and has been employed as Manager of IT Operations with the DIFC Courts since 2016.

He has been instrumental in transforming the operational and administrative infrastructure of the Courts through digitalisation and pioneering technologies that expedited the DIFC Courts to be recognised as one of the most innovative global commercial courts. Several innovative implementations have received industry recognition, including an award for best technology solutions for improving access to justice by US-based National Association for Court Management; ICT Achievement Awards MENA-Editor’s Award; and, listed among the Top 100 CIOs by Computer News Middle East.

Arul spearheaded the introduction of the Middle East’s first ‘SMART’ Small Claims Tribunal (SCT), a DIFC Courts facility that enables a remote virtual courtroom service for dispute resolution. Identifying the need for accessibility, convenience, and flexibility, this virtual infrastructure was built to open further access to justice, especially for individuals and SMEs.

Arul has also led the DIFC Courts taskforce, working in conjunction with Smart Dubai, to launch the world’s first Court of the Blockchain. Building on existing dispute resolution services, the alliance is exploring how to aid the verification of court judgments for cross-border enforcement. The partnership is the first step in creating a blockchain-powered future for the judiciary which will have far-reaching benefits, including streamlining the judicial process, removing document duplications, and driving greater efficiencies across the entire legal ecosystem.

Arul completed his Post Graduate Diploma in Information Systems Management in the UK, and in 2018 completed the Certified Oxford Blockchain Strategy Programme. He is presently exploring and testing emerging technologies such as Blockchain and AI for the DIFC Courts.

Ayesha was appointed as a Registrar of the DIFC Courts in November 2022. She currently oversees case progression at the DIFC Courts, as well as sitting as a judge and mediator with the Small Claims Tribunal (SCT). Ayesha also hears applications in the Court of First Instance, Court of Appeal and the Enforcement Department. Ayesha also oversees the day-to-day function of the DIFC Courts Wills Service.

Ayesha joined the DIFC Courts in the role of Case Progression Officer in March 2015 and was promoted to the role of Assistant Registrar in 2018. In 2019, Ayesha was appointed as the Deputy Registrar of the Small Claims Tribunal and in 2020 Ayesha was appointed Deputy Registrar of the DIFC Courts.

Ayesha holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Law and Political Science from University of Saint Joseph Dubai and studied on a scholarship from the Edad Leadership Programme. She is also qualified to appear before the local and federal courts in the UAE.

Faisal Al Hawi is currently a Senior Product Manager at Amazon working on customer experience and retail business projects across the MENA region. Prior to that, he was the Director of Accelerator and Incubators at the Dubai Future Foundation where he oversaw all startups ecosystem programs and policies in addition to other strategic projects for the city of Dubai. He was also the Product Manager for Trust Services and Blockchain at Smart Dubai; responsible for the implementation of the UAE Pass project, the national digital Identity of the UAE, as well as the Dubai Blockchain Strategy.

He has more than 13 years of experience working on digital transformation strategies and programs, products design and management and information security. Faisal is a Khalifa University graduate with a Bachelors Degree in Computer Engineering and Masters Degree in Information Security. He is also a graduate of MBRCGI’s Public Sector Innovation Diploma Cohort 3 and Palmwood’s Chief Design Officers program.

Helen Tung is a barrister and NewSpace Legal Futurist. Her background is in commercial law with specific interests in maritime, aviation and aerospace. Helen has spoken extensively on LegalTech at the International Bar Association and worked with start-ups including NewSpace start-ups. She spent 3 months at NASA Ames, is part of the Hague Working Group on Space Resources and instrumental contributor to the Maritime Autonomous Regulatory Systems Working Group (MARSWG) on shipping standards.

Helen Tung is the UAE Representative for the Moon Village Association, Chair of the joint session on space debris and space operations and Vice-Chair of the Enterprise Risk Management Committee of the IAF. Helen is interested in the potential role of Courts of the Future in Space, emergent technologies and user engagements.

Tan Ken Hwee is currently the Chief Transformation and Innovation Officer for the Singapore Judiciary. Ken Hwee is in charge of the transformation, digitalisation, innovation and technology plans of the Judiciary.

He will seek to further improve the systems that we already have, and deploy relevant cutting-edge systems to keep the Courts, and the legal profession, at the forefront of legal technology.

Before this, he was the Chief Prosecutor of the (then) Financial and Technology Crime Division (FTCD) of the Attorney-General’s Chambers. FTCD handles white-collar cases in Singapore, including cheating, criminal breach of trust, corruption, cybercrime, money-laundering and terrorism financing, and Securities and Futures Act and Companies Act offences.

FTCD also made use of AI-assisted evidence review technology. Ken Hwee was also personally involved in major initiatives including the introduction of video recorded interviews for certain offences, and deferred prosecution agreements.

He has also been a Senior State Counsel in the International Affairs Division at AGC. He helped negotiate a Free Trade Agreement and participated in international dispute settlement on behalf of Singapore at the Hague and Hamburg.

He also contributed to the development and drafting of the Electronic Transactions Act 1998, the Computer Misuse (Amendment) Act 1998 and the Internet Code of Practice.

As Senior Assistant Registrar in the Supreme Court from 2006-2009, he led the development of the current e-Litigation system used in the Singapore Judiciary. Ken Hwee has been involved in various legal technology and tech-law efforts in Singapore for more than 25 years.

Ken Hwee graduated from the National University of Singapore’s Faculty of Law in 1994 (LL.B) and proceeded to Columbia University in the City of New York in 1999/2000 for his LL.M with a focus on technology and international law.

Lucas Pitts has advised on matters throughout the Middles East for over ten years and have extensive experience advising on disputes in a wide range of sectors, including telecommunications, banking, insolvency, aviation, fraud and breach of fiduciary duty, as well as general commercial disputes.

Lucas’ practice is inherently international in nature, and he has worked on cases from a wide variety of jurisdictions outside of the Middle East, including the United Kingdom, New York, Uganda, Rwanda, Ivory Coast, Mauritius, Italy, and Switzerland.

He has advised on cases proceeding under the Civil Procedure Rules of the English Court, DIFC, ICC, LCIA, GCC Commercial Centre and DIAC arbitrations as well as arbitrations proceeding under the 1996 Arbitration Act and the Oman Arbitration Act.

Lucas Pitts has also handled cases before tribunals in the High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court of England and Wales; the Bahrain Centre for Dispute Resolution, the SAMA Committee, Board of Grievances and Committee for the Resolution of Securities Disputes in Saudi Arabia and the Commercial Court in Mauritius. His work includes obtaining freezing injunctions, pre-action and specific disclosure orders; Norwich Pharmacal orders; search orders as well as preparing cases and pleadings for foreign proceedings.

As well as being a qualified solicitor in England and Wales, he has also admitted to practice in the United Arab Emirates, meaning he is qualified to advise on matters of UAE law.

Lucas Pitts has developed a deep knowledge of a wide range of dispute resolution procedures both in the Middle East and internationally and his clients recommend him for my creative and thoughtful approach to resolving their disputes. He always works with them to find sensible, cost-efficient strategies to obtain the results they require.

Mohamed is an Information Technology Director at the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority with a strong focus on aligning technology initiatives with the organizations and Government’s strategic goals, emphasizing Digital Transformation and leveraging Government cloud infrastructure. With over 16 years of experience in the tech industry, Mohamed led technical teams in modern infrastructure management, CICD, DevOps, software development, AI projects, and employing state-of-the-art technology to drive innovation.

Mohammed is an Advisory Services specialist with vast experience in corporate finance, technology, startups and innovation strategy, and development. He has worked extensively as a turn-around consultant in UAE and Europe, as well as an advisor to startups, where he mentored and acted as both Executive and non-executive board directors in over 30 companies globally over a period of 10 years. Doing work in Europe mostly but also in Australia, India, and Chile.

During his work with startups, Mohammed had participated in the fundraising of over Euros 200 million for startups in Europe in industries from high-tech, health tech, and aviation with eight successful exits in China, Switzerland, and the USA (to private equity).

Mohammed has established Deca4 over a year ago with a group of senior partners that has offices in UAE and Chile, with a focus on providing advisory and consultancy services to government and private companies in the usage and implementation of Blockchain technology as well as the application of tokenization for the purpose of fundraising, covering technology, financial implications, and regulatory understanding.

Mohammed holds an MBA degree from London Business School, and a B.S. in Computer Sciences and Electrical Engineering from University of Texas at Austin, where he is also an advisory board member at the College of Natural Sciences.

Dr. Patrick Noack is Executive Director: Future, Foresight and Imagination, at the Dubai Future Foundation, where he manages three teams: Dubai Future Research is the research arm of the foundation and provides thought leadership on emerging technologies, social impacts and cross-domain topics; Dubai Future Councils which were established to explore how 13 key sectors could be re-imagined to be fit for the future; the World Economic Forum’s UAE Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution which develops policy-oriented research in the 4IR domains of relevant to the UAE. Prior to this role he was senior policy adviser at the Royal Society where he led on emerging technologies and foresight. He was responsible for a landmark report on neural interface technologies – iHuman – which aimed at exploring the forthcoming scientific opportunities and the social and policy implications. In the years prior, he has developed scenarios and foresight on complex issues with United Nations specialised agencies and in the private sector. Patrick holds a master’s in social policy from the LSE and a doctorate in zoology from the university of Aberdeen.

Phil Reynolds is a globally experienced and award-winning entrepreneur and VC investor. He has also spent over 25 years as an intrapreneurial “C” suite executive, in-house General Counsel and non-executive Director.

He is a well-known and long respected legal and regulatory specialist in the ME region and recognised as a legal and regulatory expert in his core fields of communications and digital transformation, including Fintech, AI, ML, and robotics.

Seasoned in demanding pivotal roles in regulated industries and emerging markets, he has worked in multiple geographically disparate and multicultural environments.

He is well recognized for having started the Virgin Mobile Middle East and Africa group of companies in Dubai in 2006 and held “C” level and NED posts for over 9 years. He is retained as an adviser to the company.

Phil subsequently broke new ground by co-founding Pyypl Group Ltd in the UAE in 2016. Pyypl, a regional ADGM authorised Fintech pioneering entity, uses cloud-based blockchain technology and machine learning to deliver multiple digital financial services from a single mobile phone App focusing on solutions for under-developed emerging markets. Pyypl’s core customer market is the almost 1bn under-banked citizens within the MEA region

Phil is also a consultant and advisor to other international technology start-up entities in the FinTech, UAV, and AI and AR sectors. He previously held Executive Director-level posts in three Fortune 500 global communications companies.

Educated in Australia (University of Melbourne and University of Canberra) and the U.K. (Queen Mary College, University of London), he holds a Master of Laws (Melb.) specializing in technology and communications law and has numerous additional postgraduate academic and professional qualifications. He is a Ph.D. candidate researching product liability law relating to AI, ML, and robotics. He is admitted to practice as a barrister and solicitor in 3 jurisdictions including the High Court of Australia.

He is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (MAICD), the Institute of Directors (MIoD), the Law Society of New South Wales and various professional information associations and societies.

Reem began her career in Human Resources with the DIFC Authority and joined the DIFC Courts in January 2011 as the Head of Human Resources and Business Excellence. In 2013, under Reem’s direction and as a result of DIFC Courts’ commitment to court excellence, the DIFC Courts became the first court in the world to achieve the International Standard for Service Excellence (TISSE) certification.

In 2014 the DIFC Courts, led by Reem, attained the 5 Star Customer Excellence Award by the UAE Prime Minister – the first non-federal UAE government entity to do so. In the same year, she became the Chief Operating Officer overseeing all the operational departments supporting the divisions which make up the DRA. Following her success in 2015, Reem graduated from the Mohammed Bin Rashid Centre for Leadership Development – the Young Leaders category.

In 2016, Reem became the ICCE Representative for DIFC Courts and Member of the Executive Committee following the DIFC Courts proudly becoming a member of the International Consortium for Court Excellence (ICCE). Since then the DIFC Courts and Reem have been working actively to assist judiciaries across the world to adopt the International Framework for Court Excellence.

In September 2018 Reem attended the IACA conference in Brazil with H.E. Justice Ali Shamis Al Madhani, Chairman of the Middle East Board of IACA. In collaboration with the ICCE, Reem also spearheaded the organisation of the Court Excellence and Innovation conference in Dubai on November 2018, which identified international best practice and challenges for courts around the globe.

Saeed Al Falasi, Executive Director – Future Design and Acceleration at Dubai Future Foundation, an innovation ecosystem formed by the Dubai government to challenge the status-quo and design a future-ready city powered by innovators and disruptors. In this role, he leads the Dubai Future Accelerators (DFA), Area 2071, and Dubai Future Labs. Most notably, he spearheads the accelerator program that connects government entities with technology companies, start-ups, and entrepreneurs from all over the world to work closely with decision-makers in Dubai to tackle and solve current and future challenges through cutting-edge technologies such as AI, IoT, Blockchain, etc.

Prior to joining Dubai Future Foundation in 2018, Saeed served as the Executive Director of Retail and Strategic Alliances at Dubai Festivals & Retail Establishment (DFRE) of Dubai Tourism and led several departments such as Strategic Alliances and Sponsorships, Retail Permits, and Retail Promotions and Raffles. He also played a key role in developing and rolling out Dubai’s Retail Calendar (DRC) in 2017 that introduced new shopping seasons.

Saeed earned his Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from the University of Colorado and completed his Master’s in Information Technology from Bond University in Australia.