In the Middle East we are increasingly aware of situations where local practice and the expectations of the international market, or vice versa, do not match up. By way of example: local courts are expected to apply international wordings to local situations but seldom manage to do so; the international market expects risks to have been placed locally in accordance with international best practice, but does not realize some of the local practices are at odds with these expectations; and local regulators are perceived to operate from a platform that often seems to be intended to stifle growth of the global market.