Visibility, opportunity, community: young Algerian lawyers launch local chapter of international Young Arbitrators network

A team of eight young Algerian legal practitioners yesterday launched DZ VYAP - Algeria Very Young Arbitration Practitioners, a local chapter of the Global VYAP network, with the goal to create a space where Algeria-related voices in arbitration can connect, grow, and be heard, locally and internationally.

“We aim to promote international arbitration in Algeria, especially to the benefit of young practitioners,” says Adam Malek, a founder and Co-Chair of the new organisation, who told Africa Legal it is the first-ever project in Algeria of its kind. 

DZ VYAP is a network for young Algerian lawyers, as well as students, trainee lawyers, legal academics, and other early-career professionals (no more than six years’ experience in the field) with an interest in international arbitration who share a connection to Algeria - whether through their nationality, practice, or interest.

The global VYAP network seeks to promote arbitration practice internationally. 

The new Algerian chapter aims to support young practitioners by improving access to international opportunities; promoting inclusion and mentoring; and encouraging the development of skills and networks essential to a career in arbitration. 

It also aims to highlight Algeria’s potential as a seat and hub for international arbitration, and to create bridges between generations, between practice and academia, and between local and international communities.

At last month’s London International Disputes Week, Professor Emilia Onyema gave an impassioned call to action for Africa to grow its domestic arbitration and support upcoming arbitrators to build relevant experience and culture so that they are better equipped to then bring a greater African voice to international arbitration. 

The DZ VYAP founders are answering that call.

Malek, a French-Algerian Lawyer registered with the Paris Bar who works as an International Arbitration & Construction Associate at Darci, is also a member of Young ICCA, the Young African Arbitration Association, and the co-founder and President of Levantine Arbitration - Young Middle East and North Africa Arbitration. 

Fellow co-founder Sabrina Bendida, a member of the Algerian Bar and a multi-lingual junior counsel at a prominent Algerian law firm, is looking forward to contributing to the empowerment and support of the next generation of young arbitration practitioners in Algeria. “We believe that building a strong community of young professionals is vital for the future of arbitration in our country,” she adds.

Malek and Bendida are joined on the Steering Committee of DZ VYAP by their fellow co-founders, including:

• Dr Nassim Benzeghiba, a French-Algerian lecturer in Business Law at Panthéon-Sorbonne University in Paris; 

• Adel Al Beldjilali-Bekkaïri, a young Algerian practitioner who helped represent the interests of Kylian Mbappé in the football star’s dispute with PSG; 

• Narimene Idres, is a legal advisor at AIT AMAR & Associates, an Algerian business law firm dedicated to international projects and clients; 

• Oriana Saib, an associate at Obeid & Partners, with experience at the Cairo Regional Centre for International Commercial Arbitration (CRCICA);

• Inès Sedrati, a French-Algerian associate in the International Arbitration practice of DLA Piper in Paris; and

• Yanis Sismail, a junior lawyer at Algiers firm ABS Avocats with a strong interest in the development of international arbitration in North Africa. 

Key activities for the new Algerian chapter of VYAP will include conferences, webinars, and roundtables; publications focused on arbitration in Algeria; networking workshops, dinners, and informal meetups; a mentoring programme matching juniors with more experienced professionals; and strategic partnerships with bars, universities, law firms, institutions, and public bodies.