STL Invites Dr. Ziad Bahaa-Eldin as A Guest Speaker to Conversation Hour

On September 16, 2019, Conversation Hour hosted former Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Development and Minister of International Cooperation in Egypt, Dr. Ziad Bahaa-Eldin. As one of STL’s visiting professors this quarter, Dr Ziad Bahaa-Eldin was invited as a guest speaker to discuss business law in the Arab world with STL’s faculty members and students. It was moderated by STL’s research and writing specialist, Dina Yehia.

Dr. Ziad Bahaa-EIdin is an Egyptian lawyer and expert on financial law, investment and company laws, governance, compliance and economic legislation. He is currently a Visiting Professor at STL. He launched the conversation by providing some background information about law in the Arab World. He pointed out that the Arab world is very diversified, with great differences in the economies, politics and culture of the various countries. He then discussed the Arab world’s legal system emphasizing that it had been greatly influenced by the European continental civil law system. When talking about the significance and influence of the Islamic law, he argued that, for the most part, Sharia is not directly applied as law, but remains as a philosophical influence on the law-making process. Finally，he put forward several reform suggestions that would allow the Arab world to better attract investment. Specifically, when asked about the areas in which reform would do the most to promote business and investment, he said that both judicial and administrative reform are important. Judicial reform is needed to create more space for investment and administrative reform is needed to better organize the economy. Conversation Hour concluded after a stimulating discussion.

Conversation Hour is part of STL’s Legal English offerings. It provides the students with a chance to discuss ideas – legal or otherwise. It is also a great way for Chinese and international students to meet and mingle and a forum for all to work on their networking skills and practice conversing in English. This Conversation Hour was rewarding for all attendees since it offered the faculty and students a unique opportunity to discuss the business law in the Arab world with an expert in this area.