Syed Shahab Qutub

Practice Areas

• Dispute Resolution: General Commercial

• Corporate/Commercial

• Projects, Infrastructure & Energy

Career

With more than 20 years of experience practicing law in Pakistan, Shahab is a highly regarded dispute resolution lawyer who specializes in civil, corporate, and commercial dispute resolution.

Shahab’s clientele includes corporate entities and individuals from diverse industries, including the power sector, construction industry, fertilizer sector, pharmaceutical sector, automobile sector, textile sector, telecom sector, food and beverage industry as well as banks and non-banking finance companies.

With a particular focus on the power sector, Shahab has represented leading power sector companies in Pakistan in various disputes including tariff related disputes as well as those arising out of energy purchase agreements. He has extensive experience in mediation and arbitration in the power sector, particularly in relation to hydropower projects.

Shahab is regularly engaged in high profile domestic and international arbitrations in the power, construction, textile and fertilizer sectors. He has represented both public and private sector clients in ICC, LCIA and ICSID arbitrations appearing regularly before domestic and international arbitral tribunals and adjudication panels. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.

Shahab also regularly appears as counsel before the Supreme Court, High Courts, trial courts and administrative tribunals in Pakistan while also representing clients before the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority, the Competition Commission of Pakistan, the Securities & Exchange Commission of Pakistan and the Anti-Dumping Appellate Tribunal. He advises and represents corporate clients in shareholder disputes, corporate control disputes, lending disputes as well as disputes related to cross-border sales, documentary credit and insurance transactions.

Professional Memberships

• Supreme Court Bar Association, Pakistan

• Lahore High Court Bar Association, Pakistan

• Lahore Bar Association, Pakistan

• Lahore Tax Bar Association, Pakistan

• Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators

Publications

•Co-authored brief on enforcing and challenging arbitral awards in Pakistan (Lexology, 2024)

•Co-authored Article: From Eckhardt to Orient: Transformation of the Judicial Approach to International Arbitration in Pakistan – Pakistan Law Review (Vol. 11, 2020)

•Co-authored a report for the IUCN titled Governing natural resources and the processes and institutions that affect them – Northern Areas of Pakistan (2004)

Work Highlights

DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION

• Represented a leading hydropower company in arbitration proceedings under the ICC Rules in a payment dispute with the power purchaser under the power purchase agreement. Successful in obtaining a favourable Award.

• Represented a state-owned company in an LCIA arbitration related to a 400 MW thermal power project.

• Lead counsel representing the National Transmission and Despatch Company (NTDC) in a Paris seated, ICC arbitration against an Iranian corporation in respect of a major transmission line project in Pakistan. Successful in securing an award in favour of NTDC.

• Represented a major Chinese corporation in disputes and arbitration arising out of an EPC Contract related to small hydropower projects in the province of Punjab involving EOT claims, delay damages, price adjustment etc.

• Represented the NTDC in expert determination proceedings related to a 147 MW Hydropower Project in Northern Pakistan.

• Representing a leading hydropower company in domestic arbitration proceedings related to a bridge construction dispute in respect of a 84 MW Hydropower Project in Northern Pakistan

• Represented a fertilizer manufacturing company in a construction contract arbitration involving a civil works construction contract for a fertilizer plant in Pakistan. Successfully defended the client against claims in excess of PKR 1 Billion.

• Represented a leading construction firm in claims against government authorities in respect of three major hospital projects in the public sector, in Punjab.

• Led a successful challenge against a PKR 700 Million Arbitration Award related to the construction of a Five Star Hotel Project.

COMMERCIAL, CORPORATE AND CIVIL LITIGATION

• Represented clients from the automobile, textile and power sectors in tax litigation before the High Courts and the Supreme Court.

• Represented clients in civil litigation related to property disputes before the High Court and the Supreme Court.

•Represented clients before the High Courts in shareholders’ disputes and litigation involving elections of directors, oppression of minority shareholders and directors’ liabilities with respect to both public and private sector companies.

•Represented local subsidiaries of a leading Turkish solar and wind power company and a Norwegian solar power company before the High Court in a challenge to amendments made in the renewable energy policy.

•Represented financial institutions as well as corporate clients in recovery suits before the Banking Courts and the High Court (Banking Jurisdiction).

•Represented clients in insurance disputes before the Insurance Tribunal as well as the High Court related to the oil & gas and power sectors.

•Represented wind, solar and hydropower project companies before the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority in hearings related to licensing as well as tariff determination, review and adjustment.

•Represented a global beverage company in a case involving anti-dumping duty before the Anti-Dumping Appellate Tribunal.

Experience

WORK EXPERIENCE

AXIS LAW CHAMBERS (Advocates & Legal Consultants) Lahore, Pakistan

Partner, 2014- Present

HASSAN, QUTUB & RAHIM (Advocates & Legal Consultants), Lahore, Pakistan

Partner, 2013-2014

QUTUB & QUTUB (Advocates & Legal Consultants), Lahore, Pakistan

Partner, 2011-2013

RAJA MOHAMMED AKRAM & CO. Lahore, Pakistan

Senior Associate Attorney, 2004-2005, 2006-2011

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

•Lecturer Business Law Course, MBA Program, Government College University, Lahore, Pakistan, visiting Faculty, Fall 2008

•Lecturer, Regulation and Infrastructure of International Commercial Arbitration (LL.M. University of London External Program) Pakistan College of Law, Spring 2022

•Punjab Judicial Academy: Lectured on Corporate Governance and Dispute Resolution

Languages Spoken

• English

• Urdu

• Punjabi

Education

Awards