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Stockholm Arbitration Report (SAR)

Preview Page SAR 2001 - 1  

The short life of Dr Ibrahim F.I. Shihata, a national of Egypt, was full of his remarkable contributions to all the positions he held, especially when he was appointed vice president of the World Bank and Secretary General of the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). His contributions extended to cover also the fields of economy, law, and the welfare of the world.

Since 1972, I have observed with real appreciation Dr Shihata's pivotal contributions to the developing countries, and I have always been able to trace a sense of duty underneath, inspiring his works. Between the geographical boundaries of Kuwait, Rome, Vienna and the United States, Ibrahim Shihata's professional contributions were always sincere and outstanding. And there always were an inner affinity that bound him - heart and soul - to his so-long left homeland of Egypt.

Far from being a merely reflective exposition of the national status quo, Shihata's studies present probations that go beyond circumstantial and political constraints into a comprehensive ideology, powerful enough to establish a civilization of modern times. His studies address various matters, some of which deal with the planning of economic, administrative, judicial and legal as well as educational reform – all deemed as being complementary to one another.

The sort of comprehensiveness Shihata was after expands to include ideological and cultural aspects, revealing a perfect reading into the thinking of peoples as well as into the pan-circumstances of nations. It seems that he was quite aware that the idea of comprehensive reform in the sense he suggested to introduce, appeals mainly - if not only - to the "intelligentsia" and therefore is so much alien to the stated ideologies and common sense approaches of the average citizen. This rendered it necessary to call for the re-building of a new culture, one which is comprehensive enough to grasp the multi-dimensional changes.