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Hussein is a Partner at Withers LLP in London, Head of Public International Law and Co-Head of International Arbitration at the firm. He is also Co-Head of the firm's Middle East and North Africa Special Interest Group.
Hussein is a King’s Counsel in England and Wales and Professor of Practice at SOAS, University of London.Hussein has extensive experience advising States, State-owned entities and corporations as lead counsel and advocate on public international law matters. He has served as counsel before the International Court of Justice and in international fora such as the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), as well as in national courts such as in England and Wales and the British Virgin Islands (BVI) on matters relating to public international law, international arbitrations and enforcement.
Hussein's public international law practice includes advising on the law of the sea, land and maritime boundary disputes, constitutional and human rights matters, sovereign immunity, energy and natural resources, international humanitarian law, sanctions, international investment law and treaty and legislation drafting. He has served as counsel on arbitrations under various rules including ICSID, UNCITRAL, LCIA, ICC, SCC and SIAC, as well as in ad hoc arbitrations.
Recognised in multiple Legal directories, including Chambers UK, Legal 500, GAR, Lexology Index and Chambers Global, he is commended as "meticulous and commercial", someone whose "strength is getting to grips with the detail of the case" and a "precise advocate and excellent negotiator." Hussein is also noted as "highly intelligent, has great experience and knows how to win".
Hussein is a Fellow of the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law at the University of Cambridge. He is a Member of the Management Committee of the SOAS Arbitration and Dispute Resolution Centre (SADRC) and is on the Faculty at the University of Rome, Roma Tre University, Certificate Course in International Commercial and Investment Arbitration. In addition to his practice as counsel, he sits as an arbitrator.
Hussein is based in London, having previously worked in New York and Paris. He speaks French, Arabic and Italian.
Recent recognition
Track record
Advising a Middle Eastern State on public international law issues
We advised a Government in the Middle East on public international law issues regarding accession to a multilateral treaty and international organisation.
UK-based services company
We advised a UK-based services company on sanctions at the UK, EU and US levels.
A Mainland Chinese industrial conglomerate in a claim against the Federal Republic of Nigeria
Successfully acted for a PRC industrial conglomerate in a billion-dollar treaty claim against the Federal Republic of Nigeria under the China-Nigeria bilateral investment treaty. The claim was for expropriation and breaches of fair and equitable treatment and other standards regarding an investment in a 10,000-hectare free trade zone and joint venture agreement with Ogun State in Nigeria.
ICSID arbitration
Scholz GmbH v Kingdom of Morocco Counsel of the Claimant in an ICSID arbitration related to a metals recycling business.
UNCITRAL arbitration
Asian investor v Sub-Saharan African State Counsel of the Claimant in an UNCITRAL arbitration related to a free trade zone.
International Court of Justice
Advising a State on proceedings before the International Court of Justice concerning a human rights treaty.
Government legal challenge
Advising a Government on a legal challenge to measures of another Government concerning human rights and constitutional issues.
Italian energy company
Representing an Italian energy company on a successful ad hoc arbitration concerning the construction of a hospital in Libya.
Talks
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'Renewing the Relationship between Treaty and Custom in International Investment Law', BIICL Investment Treaty Forum (ITF) Conference - March 2019
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'Investment Arbitration: Five Controversies', SOAS, University of London - October 2017
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'Investment Arbitration in Ukraine and the CIS', Law Society of England and Wales - March 2017
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'W(h)ither ICSID jurisdiction?', Quadrant Chambers Conference, London - April 2016
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'ASEAN and Investment Treaty Arbitration', KLRCA / RAIF Conference, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - May 2015
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'The BVI and Bilateral Investment Treaties', Business BVI International Arbitration Conference, British Virgin Islands - May 2015
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'Costs in Investment Treaty Arbitration', Investment Treaty Forum Conference of the British Institute of International and Comparative Law, London - October 2013
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State-State Disputes in International Environmental Law', New York City Bar Conference on Developments in International Environmental Compliance and Enforcement - April 2013
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'Arbitral Agreements and Awards as Investments in Investment Treaty Arbitration', Investment Treaty Forum Seminar of the British Institute of International and Comparative Law, Paris - February 2013
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'The Future of the UN: Four Predictions', The International Conference on Cultural Diplomacy and the UN, UN Headquarters, New York - February 2012
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BIICL Investment Treaty Forum Conference, "Renewing the Relationship between Treaty and Custom in International Investment Law" - 2019.
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SOAS, University of London, "Investment Arbitration: Five Controversies" - 2017
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Law Society of England and Wales, "Investment Arbitration in Ukraine and the CIS" - 2017
Insight
External publications
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'Sovereign Wealth Funds: Transnational Regulation and Dispute Resolution', Withers and British Institute of International and Comparative Law, Co-author, 2021
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'And You Are?: Dual Nationals in Investment Treaty Arbitration', BCDR International Arbitration Review, Wolters Kluwer, 2016.
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'The Non-Disputing State Party in Investment Arbitration: An Interested Player on the Third Man Out' in Practicing Virtue: Inside International Arbitration (Editors: D. Caron, S. Schill, A. Smutny and E. Triantafilou), Oxford University Press, Oxford - 2015
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'Investment Treaty Arbitration increasingly utilized', Connecticut Law Tribune, March 2017
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'A Tale of Two Standards: "Fair and Equitable Treatment" and the Minimum Standard in International Law', 27(1) Arbitration International (2011). This article was awarded the LCIA Gillis Wetter Memorial Prize for 2010-2011
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'Fairness and the Final Word', Turkish Commercial Law Review, Volume 2(1) - Summer 2016
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'New rules in the new year: SIAC's Investment Arbitration Rules', Asia Business Law Journal, January 2017
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'Asean and Investment Treaty Arbitration', The Arbitrator & Mediator - December 2015
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'Cuba libre - but with investment protection', Global Arbitration Review - November 2015
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'How the Pechstein case has brought CAS's independence into question', Global Arbitration Review - September 2015
Admissions and Qualifications
- King's Counsel, 2024, England and Wales
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England and Wales, 2008
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Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (BVI), 2020
Education
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London School of Economics, LLM (Distinction), 2005
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McGill University, B.A. Hons 1st Class Honours, Political Science, IDS, Economics, 2002
Languages
- English
- French
- Arabic
- Italian
Key dates
- Year joined: 2014
- Year became partner: 2014
- Year of Silk: 2024