Hakim focuses on civil and corporate litigation (class actions, shareholders’ disputes, post-acquisition claims, ...), international arbitration (including proceedings related to arbitration: enforcement of arbitral awards, setting aside, interim measures, ...) and asset recovery. Hakim is one of the most renowned specialists of collective redress. He also frequently acts as counsel or arbitrator in international arbitration matters.

Hakim’s recent activities include:

  • Defending Meta Platforms, Ryanair and Porsche in class action proceedings;
  • Defending a major European Retail Alliance based in Brussels against the French Ministry of Economy;
  • Defending AstraZeneca against the claim of the Commission and the Member States in relation with COVID-19 vaccine supply;
  • Chairing ICC panel in a dispute between partners in a consortium for a construction project in Africa.

Hakim speaks at conferences and has written several articles in civil procedure law, private international law and arbitration law.  Hakim is Professor at the Université de Liège.

Sectors & Markets
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Memberships

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Board of CEPANI (Belgian institute for arbitration)
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ICC Commission on Arbitration and ADR
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International Arbitration Institute (IAI)
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IBA – Officer Class Action Committee
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Brussels Bar (Ordre Français des Avocats), 1996
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Qualifications

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Doctor of Laws, Université libre de Bruxelles (Belgium), 2007
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Master of Laws, Université libre de Bruxelles (Belgium), 1996
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Publications

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Boularbah, H., Mallien, A., “The Impact of Default on Post-Arbitration Proceedings” in De Meulemeester, D., Default in international arbitration - Striking the balance, CEPANI, Wolters Kluwer Belgium, Mechelen, 2022, 127-153.
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Boularbah, H., Van der Haegen, O., Mallien, A. (2022). Challenging and Enforcing Arbitration Awards 2022, Global Arbitration Review, GAR Insight.
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Boularbah, H., Berger I. (2022), Belgium chapter: Litigation funding, Getting the deal through, Lexology.
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Boularbah, H., Van den Bossche, M.-C. (2021). Recent developments in case law and legislation in Belgium, Mass Claim Journal, Den Hollander.
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Boularbah, H., Van den Bossche, M.-C. (2021). The Class Action Law Review, The Law Reviews, Law Business Research Ltd, Camilla Sanger (5th ed.).

What others say

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Ranked Band 1. Clients say that "not only is he clever and efficient, but he has the ability to make complex things simple, which is a great gift."
Chambers & Partners – Dispute Resolution (2022)
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Ranked Band 1. One client enthuses that Boularbah is "the best lawyer I've ever met," adding: "He is fully reliable - when he gives you an opinion, you can be sure this is a bulletproof opinion." Another source notes that Boularbah is "absolutely excellent at dispute resolution."
Chambers & Partners – Dispute Resolution (2021)
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Ranked as Leading Individual.
Legal 500 EMEA – Dispute Resolution (2021)
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"Hakim Boularbah is an absolute outstanding contention specialist, whose precision and quality of legal analysis and approaches of recommendation makes him immensely valuable as leader of our contention defense team. His proximity to the client, ability to understand business reality while still figuring out the decisive legal matters to defend client rights are second-to-none. His ability to work as team player and team leader among several high-profile legal counsels are also greatly valuable in a complex legal set-up"
Legal 500 EMEA – Dispute Resolution (2021)
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Ranked as Global Leader
Who’s Who Legal – Arbitration (2021)
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Peers and clients say: "He is a court procedures specialist", "He has superb advocacy skills and great knowledge", "One of the best practitioners in Brussels", "He is brilliant"
Who’s Who Legal – Arbitration (2021)
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Ranked as Thought leader
Who’s Who Legal: Thought Leaders – Litigation (2021)
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Hakim Boularbah is looked upon with enormous favour by peers who single him out as “a specialist in cross-border litigation”.
Who’s Who Legal: Thought Leaders – Litigation (2021)
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Leading Individual Dispute Resolution
The Legal 500 EMEA (2022)
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Hakim Boularbah

Partner - Attorney at Law

hakim.boularbah@loyensloeff.com

Brussels

Person image

Hakim Boularbah, attorney at law, is Partner and heads the Litigation & Risk Management practice group in our Brussels office. He focuses on cross-border litigation and international arbitration. He is also a member of the France Region Team and of the US Region Team.

Hakim focuses on civil and corporate litigation (class actions, shareholders’ disputes, post-acquisition claims, ...), international arbitration (including proceedings related to arbitration: enforcement of arbitral awards, setting aside, interim measures, ...) and asset recovery. Hakim is one of the most renowned specialists of collective redress. He also frequently acts as counsel or arbitrator in international arbitration matters.

Hakim’s recent activities include:

  • Defending Meta Platforms, Ryanair and Porsche in class action proceedings;
  • Defending a major European Retail Alliance based in Brussels against the French Ministry of Economy;
  • Defending AstraZeneca against the claim of the Commission and the Member States in relation with COVID-19 vaccine supply;
  • Chairing ICC panel in a dispute between partners in a consortium for a construction project in Africa.

Hakim speaks at conferences and has written several articles in civil procedure law, private international law and arbitration law.  Hakim is Professor at the Université de Liège.