This thesis aims to provide a critical appraisal of the validity and enforcement of arbitration agreements and clauses in the context of administrative contracts. The proposed thesis will consider the potential impacts of Shariah on arbitration proceedings initiated in Saudi Arabia, with particular attention focused on the requirements of the applicable procedural and substantive laws. Drawing on the administrative systems of France and Egypt, this thesis will consider how other civil law systems have balanced the rights of private parties with the unilateral authority of public administration, and the extent to which these systems have recognised the rights of private parties to resolve disputes through the mechanisms of arbitration.