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Arbitration

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7

Jalal El Ahdab

CIMAC Court President

Jalal El Ahdab (Lebanon)

  • Jalal (Jil) El Ahdab is a partner at Bird & Bird, in the Dispute Resolution Group in Paris. He is the Head of the Arbitration Practice in France and a member of the Dispute Resolution practice in the UAE, where he offers the clients his longstanding and cross-border expertise in managing international disputes and arbitrations, especially in international business law, notably in Europe, Africa and the MENA region, focusing on international disputes and foreign investments.
  • Dr. Ahdab acts as a counsel, an arbitrator and an expert in various sectors such as construction, telecoms, ports, airports, energy, life sciences, sports and more. He has a 25-year experience in the field and was involved in approximately 150 matters (30 as an arbitrator).
  • He has authored dozens of articles and books, the last one on “Arbitration Law and Practice in France”, written jointly with Prof. Daniel Mainguy of the University of Paris 1 – Sorbonne (published by LexisNexis in 2021). He is a former UNCITRAL representative (2013/2018), member of the International Court of Arbitration of the ICC (2015/2021) and Chair of the IBA Arab Regional Forum. He acts currently as the vice-chair (Chair from 2017 to 2021) of the European Branch of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb), of which he is a Fellow Member, member of the Advisory Board of VIAC (the Vienna International Arbitration Centre) and a member of the Board of the Association Française d'Arbitrage (AFA).
  • Dr. Ahdab is qualified to practice in Beirut (Lebanon), Paris (France) and New York (USA), and is equally fluent in Arabic, English and French.
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Dr. Tarik Mossadek

CIMAC Court Vice-President

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Thomas Granier

CIMAC Court Vice-President

Thomas Granier (France)

  • Thomas Granier is Counsel at Asafo & Co in Paris, France.
  • He has a decade of experience in representing companies and State-entities in international arbitrations under all of the major arbitration rules. He also regularly advises parties in setting aside and enforcement proceedings before French and African courts. He has developed a specific expertise in regulated industry sectors, including renewable energies, mining, oil & gas, power, nuclear energy, infrastructure and life sciences. He has extensive experience in compliance and ESG disputes, in respect of which he regularly advises private companies.
  • Thomas has repeatedly acted as arbitrator under the arbitration rules of the ICC, the DIS, Delos Dispute Resolution and in ad hoc arbitrations.
  • Prior to joining Asafo & Co., Thomas worked at McDermott Will & Emery. He has served as counsel in the case management team at the secretariat of the ICC International Court of Arbitration dealing mainly with cases from Africa, the Middle East and France and as deputy counsel for the case management team dealing mainly with cases from Germany, Switzerland and Austria.
  • Thomas is admitted to practice at the Paris Bar (France). He is fluent in English, French and German and has conducted proceedings in all three languages.
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Nadia El Baroudi-Kostrikis

CIMAC Court Member

Nadia El Baroudi-Kostrikis (Morocco – Cyprus)

  • Dr. Nadia El Baroudi-Kostrikis is an Attorney at Law, registered with the Paris Bar Association. She is the founder of Menalink Ltd., a business consulting firm, in Nicosia (Cyprus), and the founder of Menalink Legal, a legal consulting firm, in Marrakech (Morocco).
  • She holds a doctorate degree in Law from the Faculty of Law of Montpellier I (France) and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators in London (UK). She is also a member of the CIArb Cyprus Branch Committee and the ICC Commission of Arbitration and ADR in Paris (France). She is listed in the roaster of arbitrators of several arbitration institutions such as the Court of Arbitration for Art (CAfA), Hague (Netherlands) and the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC), Beijing (China).
  • She is the co-author of the Country Report on Arbitration for Morocco, published in WAR (World Arbitration Reporter) in 2015. She also published on matters dealing with commercial agency, distribution, and franchising in Morocco as well as the application of Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to Technology Transfer Agreements.
  • She has over 20 years' experience on international business law matters, international distribution contracts, commercial contracting matters, technology transfer contracts, competition law, intellectual property law and dispute resolution with a focus on Europe and North Africa. She is the Morocco country expert for the International Distribution Institute (IDI), Turin (Italy). She is also very experienced in art collection and charitable foundation management, including extensive involvement with museums, private and public foundations, auction houses, art dealers and experts. Since 2007, Nadia has been a member of the Board of Directors and Vice President of the Patti and Everett. B. Birch Foundation, New York, (USA), a charitable organization for which she has been principally responsible for the management and disposition of the Foundation’s significant assets in Europe and North Africa. Nadia is fluent in French, English and Arabic. 
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Niuscha Bassiri

CIMAC Court Member

Niuscha Bassiri (Iran – Germany)

  • Niuscha Bassiri is a partner at Hanotiau & van den Berg in Brussels.
  • She is counsel and arbitrator in numerous international arbitrations under various arbitral institutions and arbitration rules governed by diverse procedural and substantive laws involving State-entities and private entities alike and spanning a multitude of sectors. She is also a sought-after strategic adviser on setting-aside and enforcement matters, in particular under the New York Convention regime.
  • She is a member of the faculty of the University of Miami White & Case International Arbitration LLM program and lectured as a Visiting Senior Fellow at the National University of Singapore Faculty of Law and the Geneva LLM in International Dispute Settlement (MIDS) program. She was the inaugural and long-time lecturer in the master’s program of the ICHEC Business and Management School in Brussels on International Commercial Law and Dispute Resolution. She regularly speaks at leading conferences and seminars and publishes on novel matters concerning international arbitration.
  • Since 2014, Niuscha appears in all major rankings. Currently, in the 2023 edition of Who’s Who Legal, she has been praised by her peers and clients, stating that "Niuscha has an abundance of hands-on experience", that "she is sharp, quick and attentive to details" and that "Niuscha has excellent experience in investment arbitration and energy-related disputes".
  • Niuscha is admitted to the Cologne Bar (Germany) and is a member of the Brussels Bar (Belgium). She holds German and Iranian nationalities. She is a native German and Farsi speaker, with fluency in English and a working knowledge of Dutch, French and Spanish.
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Kawtar Jalal

CIMAC Court Member

Kawtar Jalal (Morocco)

  • Kawtar Jalal is a partner at Agouram & Jalal law firm. She is admitted to practice at the Casablanca bar (Morocco).
  • Fluent in French and Arabic, Kawtar Jalal acts as a counsel and as an arbitrator in national and international arbitration proceedings in various sectors for over a decade. Her experience extends to institutional and ad hoc arbitration. She also represents clients in relation to annulment and exequatur before Moroccan courts.
  • In addition, Kawtar acted as counsel in sport arbitration proceedings before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Lausanne, Switzerland), the FIFA Dispute Resolution Chamber (Zurich, Switzerland) as well as the litigation and disciplinary bodies of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (Rabat, Morocco).
  • Prior to creating Agouram & Jalal in 2008, Kawtar Jalal started her career in the legal and litigation department of a renowned banking institution and major law firms in Casablanca. She authored several articles on arbitration.

Detailed bio available on the following link: https://agjal.ma/

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Mahutodji Jimmy Vital Kodo

CIMAC Court Member

Mahutodji Jimmy Vital Kodo (Democratic Republic of Congo – France)

  • Dr. Mahutodji Jimmy Vital Kodo, FCIArb, is an active member of the Bar Associations of Paris (France) and Kinshasa Matete (Democratic Republic of Congo). A confirmed arbitration expert, Dr. Kodo has acted as co-arbitrator in Investor-State disputes and as sole arbitrator and counsel in commercial and construction disputes.
  • He regularly represents parties to arbitration and litigation proceedings before various arbitration institutions (notably the ICC – in Paris and the Arbitration Center of the Common Court of Justice and Arbitration – CCJA, of OHADA).
  • He was also elected, in September 2022, best arbitration lawyer in France in 2022 by Finance Monthly.
  • Fully bilingual (English and French), he obtained a master’s degree in business law from the University of Abomey-Calavi, Benin, an L.L.M. in corporate law from the University of Lille and a Ph.D. summa cum laude in African business law (OHADA) from the University of Paris-Est Créteil, France.
  • From 2014 to 2016, Dr. Kodo has been the Technical Advisor to the President of the CCJA, the only attorney to have held such office. Prior to becoming the Technical Advisor to the President of the CCJA, he was an adjunct professor of law at the University of Paris-Est Créteil (France). Dr. Kodo is a Member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), The Hague, Netherlands and Member of the Africa Commission of the Arbitration Court of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).
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Magnus Jesko Langer

CIMAC Court Member

Magnus Jesko Langer (Switzerland)

  • Dr. Magnus Jesko Langer is counsel at the Geneva law firm Lévy Kaufmann-Kohler (LKK). He specializes in international investment and commercial arbitration, as well as in public international law. He is admitted to practice at the Geneva bar.
  • Mr. Langer has extensive experience in investment disputes, in particular those relating to environmental matters. His other areas of expertise include oil and gas, mining, natural resources, environmental regulation, infrastructure, telecommunications and service industries in different jurisdictions.
  • He has acted as secretary and assistant of the arbitral tribunal in over 30 international arbitration proceedings under various rules, including ICSID, UNCITRAL, SCC and ICC. He has also acted as legal adviser in interstate proceedings before the International Court of Justice and has represented clients in civil and criminal proceedings before Swiss courts, including acting as counsel for the enforcement of CAS awards.
  • Mr. Langer obtained his law degree from the University of Geneva, and his LLM in International Law and Ph.D. in International Law (summa cum laude with honors) from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva. He also obtained a degree (licence) in international relations from the Graduate Institute. Prior to joining LKK, Mr. Langer was a teaching and research assistant at the Graduate Institute in the fields of international law-making, international law enforcement, international dispute settlement, and international environmental law.
  • He is a member of the Swiss Arbitration Association (ASA) and the Swiss Branch of the International Law Association (ILA). He speaks English, French, German, Spanish and Italian fluently.
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Emilia Onyema

CIMAC Court Member

Emilia Onyema (Nigeria – United Kingdom)

  • Emilia Onyema is a Professor of International Commercial Law at SOAS University of London. She holds a PhD in international commercial arbitration from Queen Mary University of London. 
  • Pr. Onyema acts as an arbitrator and expert witness. She has long standing experience as presiding, co and sole arbitrator in more than 17 international commercial arbitration cases in various sectors such as Construction, shareholder's disputes, real estate investment, social and charity contract, commodities, financial services and debt recovery.
  • Her research and teaching focus on international commercial arbitration, international investment law, law and development, with regional focus on Africa. She convenes the “SOAS Arbitration in Africa” conference series and leads the Arbitration in Africa biennial survey research project. She co-published the African Promise and founded the Arbitration Fund for African Students charity. She has authored several articles and books, including ‘Rethinking the Role of African National Courts in Arbitration’ (Kluwer Law International, 2018) and ‘The Transformation of Arbitration in Africa: The Role of Arbitral Institutions’ (Kluwer Law International, 2016).
  • Pr. Onyema is qualified to practice law in Nigeria and as a Solicitor in England & Wales, and has 32 years’ experience of working on international legal and dispute resolution matters across various common law jurisdictions. She is also a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and serves on the Advisory Committees and courts of numerous arbitration centres in Africa. 
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Nhu-Hoang Tran Thang

CIMAC Court Member

Nhu-Hoang Tran Thang (Switzerland– Vietnam)

  • Nhu-Hoang Tran Thang is a French trained lawyer registered with the Paris bar and a Swiss national with Vietnamese roots.
  • She practices international arbitration, covering both investment and commercial arbitration. She has acted as arbitrator, counsel or assistant to the arbitral tribunal in over thirty arbitrations conducted under various frequently applied rules and related to a variety of industries. She has developed solid expertise in energy-related disputes and has practiced extensively under Swiss, French and other civil laws. Having Vietnamese roots, Nhu-Hoang is also well versed in the development of Investor-State disputes in Southeast Asia.
  • Before joining Peter & Kim, Nhu-Hoang practiced international arbitration at LALIVE and at the office of renowned arbitrator Pierre Tercier. Prior to that, she gained experience in the arbitration teams of magic circle firms in Paris and at arbitration boutiques in Geneva and London.
  • Nhu-Hoang is a former co-chair of the young branch of the International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA) and regularly speaks and publishes in the field of international arbitration. She is a member of the Executive Committee of the Rising Arbitrators’ Initiative (RAI), and a co-founder of the Energy Related Arbitration Practitioners (ENERAP)’s Geneva Chapter.
  • In 2023, she was selected as one of the 21 Who’s Who Legal Arbitration Thought Leaders Global Elite Under 45 (non-partner category), where she is described by peers and clients as “reliable and very thorough”, “a pleasure to work with”, who “has excellent judgment in arbitration cases” and “provides excellent legal analysis”; she “always delivers on time and does not leave any relevant stone unturned”, and “has strong expertise in oil and gas disputes”.
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Dr. Hassan Arab

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Ina Popova

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Dorothy Ufot S.A.N

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Michael Black QC

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Maxi Scherer

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MAMADOU KONATE_WEBSITE CIMAC_05032019

Mamadou Ismaïla Konaté

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Juan Fernández-Armesto

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Dr. Nikolaus Pitkowitz

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Thomas Clay

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COMPOSITION
of the
New Court

  • Ms. Ina Popova (Bulgarie)
  • Ms. Maxi Scherer (Allemagne)
  • Ms. Dorothy Ufot (Nigéria)
  • Ms. Niuscha Bassiri (Allemagne-Iran)
  • Ms. Nadia Baroudi (Maroc)
  • Ms. Kawtar Jalal (Maroc)
  • Ms. Nhu-Hoang Tran (Vietnam)
  • Mr. Jalal El Ahdab (Liban)
  • Mr. Hassan Arab (Emirats Arabe Unis)
  • Mr. Michael Black (Angleterre)
  • Mr. Thomas Clay (France)
  • Mr. Juan Fernandez-Armesto (Espagne)
  • Mr. Mamadou Ismaila Konaté (Mali)
  • Mr. Tarik Mossadek (Maroc)
  • Mr. Nikolaus Pitkowitz (Autriche)
  • Ms. Emilia Onyema (Nigéria)
  • Mr. Thomas Granier (France)
  • Mr. Magnus Jesko Langer (Suisse)
  • Mr. Jimmy Kodo ( Benin)
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