Volterra Fietta Partner Ahmed Abdel Hakam represents the Ministry of Defence of Libya before the Italian Court of Appeal in a EUR 300 million dispute - Volterra Fietta

On 5 March 2025, Volterra Fietta Partner Ahmed Abdel Hakam appeared before the Italian Court of Appeal in Rome on behalf of the Ministry of Defence of the State of Libya. He is representing the State in a EUR 300 million dispute relating to the supply of military equipment by a major European weapons manufacturer.

Photo: Italian Court of Appeal in Rome

Ahmed Abdel Hakam has extensive experience representing clients in the defence industry in high profile and complex international disputes, including before arbitration tribunals and national courts. He is regularly invited to speak at defence industry-focused conferences such as the annual conference of the International Society of Military Sciences, a body created by the military academies of Austria, the Baltic States, Canada, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden.

On 25 April 2025, he will be speaking on investor-State dispute settlement and armed conflict at the annual conference of the Investment Treaty Forum of the British Institute of International and Comparative Law (BIICL). He has also contributed a chapter on the international law applicable to submarine cables in times of peace and war, in an upcoming book entitled “Building Defence Capabilities” to be published by the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) Academy in October 2025.

In addition to his substantial international arbitration expertise in relation to sovereigns, Ahmed Abdel Hakam has represented States and State-owned entities in a wide variety of sovereign-issue disputes before English, French, Swiss and Italian courts. Ahmed currently sits on the Dispute Resolution Committee of the Law Society of England & Wales and is a member of the International Law Committee of the New York City Bar Association. He is Co-Chair of the Dispute Resolution Section of the African Society of International Law.

For further information, please contact info@volterrafietta.com.

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