International Arbitration

We regularly represent clients as counsel in commercial, investment and sports arbitrations. Our lawyers are also appointed as sole arbitrators, party-appointed arbitrators, court-appointed arbitrators, as well as Chairman of arbitral tribunals in commercial disputes.

We also provide legal opinions on procedural issues related to international arbitration in Switzerland or in foreign jurisdictions, particularly in England and Wales, in France, in the United States and in the United Arab Emirates (Dubai and Abu Dhabi).

Our lawyers appear in institutional arbitrations administered by the main arbitral institutions around the world as well as ad hoc arbitrations.

Our lawyers have special expertise in arbitral proceedings governed by the arbitration rules enacted by the following arbitral institutions:  International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), Swiss Arbitration Center (former Swiss Chambers’ Arbitration Institution) (Swiss Rules), London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), Stockholm Chamber of Commerce (SCC), Association Française d’Arbitrage (AFA), American Arbitration Association (AAA), OHADA Arbitration Centre (CCJA), International Commercial Arbitration Court at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation (the ICAC at the RF CCI), Maritime Arbitral Chamber of Paris (CAMP), London Maritime Arbitrators Association (LMAA), Grain and Feed Trade Association (GAFTA), Federation of Oils, Seeds and Fats Associations (FOSFA), Refined Sugar Association as well as World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules.

Our lawyers also represent clients before the main arbitral institutions of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, i.e. the Dubai International Arbitration Center (DIAC), the Dubai International Financial Centre-LCIA Arbitration Centre (DIFC-LCIA Arbitration Centre), the Abu Dhabi Commercial Conciliation and Arbitration Centre (ADCCAC) and the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) Arbitration Center.

Our Shanghai office and Hong Kong (associated) office represent clients before the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Centre (CIETAC) and the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC) both in China and Hong Kong.

We also regularly represent athletes, clubs and sports federations in sports disputes, in particular in arbitral proceedings before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) under the Code of Sports-Related Arbitration (the CAS Code). We are also involved in proceedings before the adjudicatory bodies of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) and in arbitrations before the Basketball Arbitral Tribunal (BAT), as well as before the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA Formula One) International Court of Appeal (ICA).

Our lawyers are qualified in Swiss law, English law, law of the State of California, law of the State of New York, as well as French and Dutch law. Our lawyers are also licensed to practice in foreign jurisdictions, in particular in England and Wales, France, State of California, Dubai as well as on an ad hoc basis in English common law and overseas territories jurisdictions and in French-speaking African countries.

Beside their arbitration practice, our lawyers regularly represent clients in setting aside proceedings against arbitral awards brought before the Swiss Federal Supreme Court as well as in foreign jurisdictions, particularly England and Wales and France. We are also involved in legal proceedings for the recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards before Swiss courts and in several foreign jurisdictions. Our lawyers have a broad expertise in freezing proceedings before Swiss courts as well as foreign courts.

Our Expertise

The Firm has a special expertise in the arbitration of disputes relating to the following fields of business (in alphabetical order):

• Art and cultural property;
• Carriage, shipping and aviation;
• Commodities;
• Distribution agreements;
• Energy;
• Financial and securities transactions;
• Infrastructure, construction and engineering;
• Investment;
• Joint ventures and consortium agreements;

• Licenses;
• Mergers and Acquisition (M&A) and shareholder agreements;
• Mining;
• Oil & gas;
• Pharmaceutical industry;
• Sale of goods;
• Sport;

The Firm’s fields of practice include:

• Counsel in commercial arbitration (ICC, Swiss Rules, LCIA, SCC, AAA, DIFC,  GAFTA, FOSFA, Refined Sugar Association, WIPO, UNCITRAL), in sports arbitration (in particular CAS Code, BAT Arbitration Rules and Code of procedure and Rules of the FIA ICA) and in investment arbitration (ICSID);
• Sole arbitrator, party-appointed arbitrator, court-appointed arbitrator as well as Chairman of arbitral tribunals in international arbitrations;
• Legal advice, including drafting of legal opinions, to companies and foreign lawyers on procedural issues related to international arbitration in Switzerland or in foreign jurisdictions, particularly in England and Wales, in France, in the United States and in the United Arab Emirates (Dubai and Abu Dhabi);

• Setting aside proceedings against arbitral awards before the Swiss Federal Supreme Court well as in foreign jurisdictions, particularly in England and Wales and in France;
• Recognition and execution of arbitral awards in Switzerland and before foreign jurisdictions, particularly in England and Wales and in France;
• Counsel in legal proceedings in connection with an arbitration, in particular before the local courtsin Switzerland and before foreign jurisdictions, particularly in England and Wales and in France;
• Drafting of arbitration agreements;
• Mediation and negotiation of settlements.