Khalaf Masa'deh & Partners

H.E. DR. AHMAD KHALAF MASA'DEH [MANAGING PARTNER]	H.E. KHALAF MASA'DEH [SENIOR PARTNER]
SEWAR MASA'DEH [ASSOCIATE]	MOUNTAHA HOMEIDAT [ASSOCIATE]

H.E. DR. AHMAD KHALAF MASA'DEH
[MANAGING PARTNER]

Dr. Masa'deh specialises in all international trade and foreign direct investment matters, particularly WTO questions such as those resulting from the liberalisation of trade in goods and services as a result of the provisions of GATT, GATS, TRIMS, and TRIPS. Maintaining an extensive domestic legal experience, Dr. Masa'deh is also well exposed to Western legal systems having worked in London with English law firms and being awarded a Certificate in the US Legal System from Georgetown Law Center, Washington D.C., an LL.M. degree from the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, USA, and a Ph.D. degree in investment and WTO law from King's College, University of London.

Dr. Masa'deh joined the firm in 1992, and became a partner in 1997. In the year 2000, he became managing partner. He received his training at Khalaf Masa'deh & Partners where he prepared, documented and argued cases before all kinds of Jordanian courts. In 1999, he attended a work placement with the English law firm of Berrymans Lace Mawer. He thereafter worked as a WTO Specialist with the international law firm of Rowe & Maw in London before rejoining Khalaf Masa'deh & partners in May 2000.

On the practice level, he specialises in foreign investment, World Trade Organisation (WTO) matters, and corporate and finance transactional work. He has had wide experience of advising corporates, multinationals and financial institutions on foreign direct investment, incentives and tax exemptions, corporate structuring, licensing, technology transfer contracts, international and domestic equity offerings, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, equity investments, venture capital and other corporate transactional matters and on general commercial matters.

Examples of recent transactions in which he has been involved include:

acting for a major pharmaceutical multinational corporation on limitations on foreign shareholding under Egyptian law and their compatibility with Egypt's commitments under the GATS and TRIMs Agreement; Product Regulation under the TBT Agreement.

acting for a major UK pharmaceutical corporation on licensing requirements.
acting for a major Arab-international bank on bank guarrantees and syndicated loans.
advising a Jordanian Ministry on Jordan's commitments under the GATS and List of Art. II MFN Exemptions in the sectors relevant to the work of such Ministry.
advising a major audio-visual multinational corporation on Jordan's commitments in the sector of audio-visual services under the WTO agreements.
acting for a United Arab Emirates firm on Jordan's List of Art. II MFN Exemptions in the sector of Air Transport Services, Maintenance and Repair of Aircraft.
acting on the privatisation of a major Jordanian public authority in the field of air training.
advising a major European telecommunication group on intellectual and industrial property rights and on domains registration.
acting for a major US-Kuwaiti telecommunication consortium on corporate structering, patent rights, technology transfer, and investment incentives under Jordanian law, and market access and establishment in Aqaba Free Economic Zone and Jordan's Qualified Industrial Zones (QIZs).

In addition to his practice, Dr. Masa'deh is an Assitant Professor of International Business Law at the School of Law, University of Jordan, where he lectures on international trade law, corporate law, commercial law, and the law of bankrupcty.

Dr. Masa'deh is a member in a number of professional societies such as the Jordan Bar Association (since 1992); the World Trade Law Association, London (Member of Council); the British Institute of International and Comparative Law, London; the US/Jordan Legal Exchange Conference on Alternative Dispute Resolutions (ADR) mechanisms; the Society for Advanced Legal Studies, London; Arab Society for the protection of the Intellectual property; and the Jordanian Society for the protection of Intellectual Property Rights.

Email Dr. Masa'deh at :
a.masadeh@masadeh.com.jo

H.E. KHALAF MASA'DEH
[SENIOR PARTNER]

Mr. Masa'deh is the founder of Khalaf Masa'deh & Partners in the year 1968 and occupies currently the position of the Senior Partner therein.

Mr. Masa'deh has occupied a number of distinguished posts such as the Minister of Justice in the Jordanian Cabinet of H.E. A. Rawabdeh, 2000; the President of the Jordan Law Society; Member of Council of the Jordan Bar Association; Legal Counsel to the Minister of Higher Education and the Minister of Public Works and Housing. He is also currently a Member of Board of the School of Law at the Amman Arab University for Postgraduate Studies.

Mr. Masa'deh is placed among the top-notch lawyers in Jordan particularly in the fields of Civil Law, Commercial and Civil Contracts, Expropriation Law, Governmental Bids, Property Law, Landloard and Tenant Law, Construction Law, Real Estate Investment and Development, and Arbitration. Mr. Masadeh is a first class court-advocate due to his extensive experience of litigating hundreds of cases before all kinds of Jordanian courts.

Mr. Massa'deh is highly active in legal, social, cultural and academic sectors due to his continuous involvement in lectures, seminars and conferences both as speaker and participant to which he is often invited by legal, commercial, and professional associations and societies.

His practice in Jordan has involved him in negotiation of and drafting of documentation relating to hundreds of clients the most recent of which includes the following:

acting for public authorities on public policies matters, drafting laws, shaping legislative reforms, and advising on construction contracts and loan agreements.
advising a major UK multinational on the legal structure of railways sectors in Jordan.
acting for a major local foreign exchange company on legal interaction with the Central Bank of Jordan.

SEWAR MASA'DEH
[ASSOCIATE]

Ms. Masa'deh holds a Master of Laws degree (LL.M.) from the University of Ottawa, Ottawa-Canada and a Bachelor of Laws degree (LL.B.) from the University of Jordan, Amman- Jordan. Ms. Masa'deh specializes in International Criminal Law.

Her duties at Khalaf Masa'deh & Partners involve the following;

• As the legal counsels of UNRWA in Amman; advising on all matters affecting the Agency which involve international, constitutional, and public law problems relating to the legal status, privileges and immunities of the Agency, its relations with the Government of Jordan and international organizations, and preparing and/ or interpreting and applying of international agreements and conventions affecting the Agency. In addition to advising on all matters affecting the Agency which relate to the legal relationship between the Agency and its employees including the interpretation of international administrative law, Agency and UN rules and regulations and other contractual conditions by which this relationship is governed, the resolution of problems of staff privileges and immunities, claims, accidents and disputes.

• As the official legal translators of UNAMI and UNOPS in Amman; performing legal editing of the Arabic- English/ English- Arabic translation of all legal documents concerning the Iraqi Constitution- making process and other legal documents such asthe drafting of contemporary Iraqi laws and the outlining of political and legal concept papers on part of the new Iraqi Government established following the de-baathification phase.

• As local lawyers of the IMF Resident Representative Office for Iraq in Amman; reviewing and modifying the IMF's Standard Lease Agreement for leases the IMF wishes to engage with in Amman, as appropriate with Jordanian local laws and taking into account the immunity of the IMF from taxation and from all legal process. In addition to assisting on other different lease terms requested by landlords, finalizing the leases for signature, and registering the leases when required by local law.

Ms. Masa'deh has also worked as Legal Counselfor the Foreign Ministry of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. She was responsible for the files of Terrorism, Disarmament & the International Criminal Court (2003- 2006). Her duties involved the following;

• Preparing Jordan's National Reports, submitted to the UN Counter Terrorism Committee, on measures taken to implement UN Security Council Resolution 1373 (2001) on the criminalizing of terrorist acts including its financing.

• Preparing Jordan's National Reports, submitted to the UN Sanctions Committee, on measures taken to implement UN Security Council Resolution 1267 (1999) on the imposing of embargo on Al-Qaida and Taliban and associated individuals and entities identified in the Committee's Consolidated List.

• Preparing Jordan's National Reports, submitted to the UN Committee, on measures taken to implement UN Security Council Resolution 1540 (2004) on Disarmament and Non- Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction, their means of delivery and related materials.

• Working with the Expert National Committee, established by H.E. the Prime Minister, to shape an official Jordanian position on dealing with the UN Independent Inquiry Committee (the Volcker Committee) established pursuant to UN Security Council Resolution 1538 (2004) to conduct an inquiry into allegations of impropriety in the administration and management of the Iraq "Oil- For- Food" Programme.

• Working with the Expert National Committee, established by H.E. the Prime Minister, to coordinate responses with regards International and Foreign assistance requests relating to bank accounts of the Former Iraqi regime (the frozen funds) and other matters of relevance to Jordan's national security such as Terrorism.

• Working with the Expert National Committee, established by H.E. the Prime Minister, to carry out necessary amendments to Jordanian laws and regulations to harmonize them with the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

• Representing the Foreign Ministry in National Committees established to study the plausibility of Jordan's signature, ratification or accession to certain bilateral and multilateral treaties.

- Fellowships awarded to Ms. Masa'deh: The 2005 United Nations Programme of Fellowships on Disarmament, Geneva, The Hague, Berlin, Vienna, Hiroshima, Nagasaki and New York, 29 August- 2 November 2005.

- E-mail Ms. Masa'deh at:
sewar@masadeh.com.jo

MOUNTAHA HOMEIDAT
[ASSOCIATE]

Mrs. Homeidat specialises in preparing administrative procedures as well as labour matters. She also advises on aviation matters.