Nabila Abdul Malik practises predominantly in the areas of international arbitration, commercial litigation, international trade and investment as well as white collar defence. Her breadth of experience and knowledge across multiple jurisdictions enable her to assist clients in a myriad of commercial contexts.
Nabila obtained her law degree from the University of Oxford and her master’s degree in law from Columbia University in New York. She is called to the Bar in four jurisdictions across three different continents. She has represented corporations, investors and sovereign States before courts and tribunals, and provides legal advice in relation to a broad spectrum of issues and a wide variety of industries.
Nabila has acted as counsel in numerous international arbitration proceedings, both commercial and investment, conducted under various arbitration rules including the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC), the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) and the Dubai International Arbitration Centre (DIAC).
She was previously a prosecutor at the Attorney General’s Chambers of Malaysia, where she was involved in extradition, bail and habeas corpus proceedings before the courts. She also provided legal advice as federal legal counsel to the government of Malaysia, and represented the government in civil matters before the courts.
She has also worked at the Central Bank of Malaysia, where she was involved in the Financial Sector Assessment Programme under the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and was part of the trade negotiations team, in charge of the financial services chapter of the Malaysia-European Union FTA and the Trans-Pacific Partnership. She also worked on a collaboration with the Malaysian Competition Commission in the implementation of competition law in the financial sector.
Nabila interned at the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva, Switzerland, where she assisted in providing legal advice and support to WTO dispute settlement panels. She also interned at the United Nations (UN) Secretariat in New York, where she worked on cases before the UN Dispute Tribunal and the UN Appeals Tribunal.
In addition, Nabila has represented Malaysia in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) task force on enhancing its dispute settlement mechanism. She was also a member of the OIC task force on establishing an arbitration centre in Istanbul, Turkey.
Notable matters include:
International Arbitration
- Counsel in ICC arbitration between a Chinese mining subsidiary and an African mining services company concerning a copper and cobalt mine in Africa.
- Counsel in ICC arbitration between a French chemical company and a Turkish mining company concerning a fluorspar mining project in Turkey.
- Counsel in ICSID arbitration between multinational investors and the Democratic Republic of Congo concerning a lithium mining project.
- Counsel in LCIA arbitration between an oil and gas exploration and production company and a regional government concerning a natural gas project in the Middle East.
- Counsel in ICSID arbitration between Turkish investors and the Republic of Uzbekistan concerning shopping malls and retail shops.
- Counsel in UNCITRAL arbitration between a construction company and an international organisation concerning an airport construction project in Africa.
- Counsel in SIAC arbitration between a construction company and a government-related entity concerning an infrastructure project in Central Asia.
- Counsel in DIAC arbitration between two construction companies concerning a construction project in the Middle East.
- Counsel in GAFTA arbitration between two commodities trading companies concerning a commodity agreement.
- Counsel in ICC arbitration between two pharmaceutical companies concerning the manufacture and distribution of pharmaceutical products in Asia.
- Counsel in ICC arbitration between multinational companies and investors concerning the manufacture, trading and distribution of printed circuit boards.
International Trade and Procurement
- Counsel in procurement dispute against the Ontario Government for breaching the free trade agreement between Canada and the European Union (CETA).
- Member of team appointed to the Government of the United Kingdom’s international trade law panel to advise on international trade issues and disputes.
White Collar Defence
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Counsel in R v. Arapakota, the first acquittal secured in a landmark case prosecuted under the Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act (CFPOA), before the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, the Court of Appeal for Ontario and the Supreme Court of Canada.
*In England and Wales, providing legal services that are not reserved legal activities under the Legal Services Act 2007.
