London, November 29, 2010 -The International Shari’ah Research Academy For Islamic Finance (ISRA) in collaboration with the Institute of Islamic Banking and Insurance London (IIBI) and Thomson Reuters conducted a one-day conference in London.

The event was sponsored by Westlaw Business and jointly organised by IIBI, ISRA and Thomson Reuters. The theme of the conference was “The Polemics of Governing Laws in Islamic Finance: Recent Developments and the Way Forward”. Participants included regulators from Germany, France, Italy and London, local Shari’ah scholars and officers, judges, representatives of banks from Europe, legal practitioners, accountants, academicians and post-graduate students in Islamic finance.

In total there were 150 participants. There were two keynote addresses. The first through video-conferencing was delivered by Dato’ Mohamad Ibrahim, Deputy Governor, Central Bank of Malaysia. The second was by Alderman Michael Bear, Lord Mayor of the City of London, United Kingdom. The opening remarks and the programme overview were delivered by Dr Mohamad Akram Laldin, Executive Director of ISRA.

Keynote Address 1:

H.E. Dato’ Muhammad Ibrahim, Deputy Governor, Bank Negara Malaysia

Keynote Address 2:

Alderman Michael Bear, Lord Mayor of the City of London, United Kingdom

Session 1: Malaysia & London – Leading Beyond Islamic Finance Hubs

Panellist:

1. Kamarul Arifin Mohd Jamil – CEO, Affin Islamic Bank
2. Jacob Dajani – Business Manager, Markets Division Middle East & Africa, Thomson Reuters
3. John Ewan – Director, British Bankers’ Association
4. Brian Martin – Head of Treasury Content EMEA, Thomson Reuters
5. Hugues Gillibert – Head of New Ventures, Lipper, Thomson Reuters

Moderator: Rushdi Siddiqui – Global Head of Islamic Finance, Thomson Reuters

Session 2: Critical Review of the recent disputes in Islamic Finance industry

Panellist:

1. Dato’ Dr Nik Norzrul Thani – Managing Partner, Zaid Ibrahim & Co., Malaysia
2. Chris Utting – Partner, White & Case, London

Moderator: Richard T de Belder – Partner and Head of IF, SNR Denton, London

Session 3: Contemporary Shari’ah Discourse in Cross-Border Transactions

Panellist:

1. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mohamad Akram Laldin – Executive Director, ISRA
2. Dr. Bashir Umer – Advisor to Governor on Non-interest Banking, Central Bank of Nigeria

Moderator: Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki – Head of Research Affairs, ISRA

Session 4: Alternative Dispute Resolution mechanisms in Islamic Finance; Do We Need to Have International Convention to Govern Cross-Border Islamic Finance Transactions?

Panellist:

1. Hakimah Yaakob – Associate Researcher, ISRA
2. Habib Motani – Partner Cliord Chance, London
3. Richard T de Belder – Partner and Head of IF, SNR Denton, London

Moderator: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mohamad Akram Laldin – Executive Director, ISRA

The Conference was concluded by proposing a way forward to overcome the current polemics. A prominent point mentioned in the closing remarks by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Akram Laldin, Executive Director of ISRA, was the need for an international treaty and convention to govern Islamic finance.