ARBITRATION

Our arbitration practice is led by Luca Radicati di Brozolo, Massimo Benedettelli and Michele Sabatini.

We are arbitration specialists. We act as counsel, arbitrators, experts and advisors.

Our wide-ranging counsel practice also benefits from our partners’ extensive experience as arbitrators, which provides a unique insight into best practices and decision-making processes. We also act as co-counsel, including when clients and colleagues are in need of specialized knowledge and advocacy skills and a strategic vision. Our boutique size allows us to be largely free of the conflicts that afflict large multi-practice law firms.

 

  • COUNSEL

 

Commercial arbitration

We have a vast experience in commercial cases, including involving States and State entities, having represented Italian and foreign clients in a significant number of international and domestic, institutional and ad hoc, arbitrations. We have acted as counsel under a broad array of arbitration rules and applicable laws of European, North and South American, African and Asian jurisdictions. We have deep knowledge of many industry sectors, such as renewable energy, Oil & Gas, M&A, telecommunications, banking, insurance, engineering, defense, pharmaceuticals, fashion, real estate and sports. We have developed a robust construction practice, to which several important players in the field regularly turn.

 

Investor-State arbitration

We have outstanding expertise in investor-State arbitration. ArbLit has recently secured an award in favor of photovoltaic investors from different countries holding the Czech Republic responsible for the violation of the Fair and Equitable Treatment obligation set out in the Energy Charter Treaty and various intra-EU Bilateral Investment Treaties (Natland Investment Group N.V. and others v. Czech Republic). The track record of our partners includes multiple ICSID cases, amongst which acting for the successful claimant in the ground-breaking Saipem S.p.A. v. The People’s Republic of Bangladesh and in two trailblazing cases brought by Italian bondholders against the Argentine Republic arising from the State’s default (Ambiente Ufficio S.p.A. and others v. Argentine Republic, and Giovanni Alemanni and others v. Argentine Republic).

  • ARBITRATORS

 

The firm’s partners sit as presiding, sole and party-appointed arbitrators in major commercial and investor-State arbitrations, in proceedings conducted in English, Spanish, French and Italian. They are also members of, or otherwise active in, the major international arbitral institutions. Luca Radicati di Brozolo, a former member of the ICC Court of Arbitration from 2009 to 2015, is now vice-president of the Court of the LCIA and is on the list of the ICSID Panel of Arbitrators on the appointment of the Republic of Italy. Massimo Benedettelli is member of the ICC Court of Arbitration since July 2018.

 

Arbitrator experience

Luca Radicati di Brozolo

Massimo Benedettelli

Michele Sabatini

Marco Torsello

 

  • EXPERTS

 

Also in consideration of their academic standing, our partners frequently appear in arbitration proceedings as party-appointed experts on matters of Italian law, arbitration law, private international law, public international law, EU law and competition law.

 

  • ADVISORS

 

Our assistance goes beyond the pathological stage of arbitration. By way of example, we assist clients in drafting arbitration agreements, including sophisticated “umbrella agreements” for multi-party and multi-contract relations, in the selection of advisors in foreign jurisdictions and in “corporate planning” to secure the most effective investment treaty protection for foreign investments. We also assist in facilitating the amicable settlement of disputes.

Our most recent cases as counsel

Our most recent experience as counsel in commercial and investor-State arbitrations includes the following:

  • Defending a leading German multinational group against a multibillion Euro claim in ICC proceedings brought by a European State in the defense sector.
  • Representing two leading Italian construction companies in a Panama-seated ICC arbitration brought by a Latin American company in a dispute relating to a hydroelectric project (amount in dispute EUR 70 million).
  • Successfully representing the Mexican subsidiary of a prominent Italian steel-making group in an ICC arbitration in a dispute relating to an accident at one of the world’s largest iron production plants (amount in dispute EUR 70 million).
  • Representing a Maltese company in an ICC arbitration relating to the commercial use of the image rights of one of the world’s leading football players.
  • Representing ten photovoltaic investors of different nationalities in six UNCITRAL arbitrations against the Czech Republic brought under the ECT and various intra-EU BITs (overall amount in dispute EUR 100 million). In the largest of these proceedings (which are still ongoing) the investors prevailed on the merits.
  • Representing a French defense contractor in ICC proceedings concerning a post-M&A dispute (amount in dispute EUR 15 million).
  • Successfully defending the Brazilian subsidiary of an Italian telecommunications group in ICC proceedings brought by a prominent shareholder (amount in dispute approximately EUR 50 million).
  • Representing a railway contractor in a Paris-seated ICC arbitration relating to a FIDIC contract against two East European public entities (amount in dispute approximately EUR 25 million).
  • Representing an Argentine company in a Buenos Aires-seated ICC arbitration relating to the supply of machinery (amount in dispute EUR 12 million).
  • Defending a major U.S. insurance company in two ad hoc arbitrations in disputes with an Italian broker, which ended with a very favorable settlement for ArbLit’s clients (amount in dispute approximately EUR 2 billion).
  • Successfully representing a leading Italian Engineering & Construction company in a widely publicized and long drawn out ICC arbitration against a subcontractor relating to the construction of a polypropylene plant in Greece.
  • Successfully defending four European energy companies in ICC proceedings in a EUR 14 million post-M&A dispute with a U.S. multinational group.
  • Successfully representing a joint venture of Italian companies in an Addis Ababa-seated European Development Fund arbitration against the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and the Republic of Djibouti concerning a project for the rehabilitation of a railway line (amount in dispute approximately EUR 100 million).
  • Representing a joint venture between two Italian companies and a French company in an Addis Ababa-seated European Development Fund arbitration against the Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Electricity of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia concerning a project for the construction of a water network (amount in dispute approximately EUR 30 million).
  • Representing an Italian construction company in a European Development Fund arbitration against a Haitian state entity relating to a road rehabilitation project, which ended in a settlement (amount in dispute EUR 8 million).
  • Successfully representing a joint venture between Italian companies in Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Romania and ICC arbitrations against a Romanian state entity concerning a road rehabilitation project (amount in dispute approximately EUR 35 million).
  • Successfully defending a major Italian construction company in a dispute with two Eastern European sub-contractors in Paris-seated ICC proceedings.