Mr. Batifort’s practice focuses on investment treaty arbitration, international commercial arbitration, and public international law. He has acted as counsel in over forty commercial and investment treaty arbitrations involving multimillion- and multibillion-dollar claims under various rules, including those of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). His cases have involved a wide range of sectors, including oil and gas, mining, telecommunications, construction, joint ventures, real estate and taxation. He also sits as an arbitrator.

He acted for the winning parties in many high-profile disputes, including Venezuela Holdings v. Venezuela, in which Curtis secured the largest annulment in ICSID history. He is currently representing clients in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East in arbitrations arising under bilateral and multilateral investment treaties and cross-border contracts.

Who’s Who Legal – Arbitration has recognized him as a Global Leader in international arbitration and as a Global Elite Thought Leader under 45, referring to him as a “household name” and a “formidable practitioner when it comes to investment treaty arbitration.” Clients and peers highlight his “first-rate strategy and legal expertise” as well as his “‘exceptional diplomatic skills and cultural understanding’ in high-stakes international investor-state disputes.” He is recognized as a Rising Star in International Arbitration by Law360, as a Rising Star in Commercial Arbitration by Euromoney Legal Media Group’s Expert Guides, and as a Next Generation Partner by Legal 500 USA. He is also ranked by Legal 500 Latin America, which praises his “encyclopedic knowledge of international arbitration cases and great advocacy skills.”

Mr. Batifort publishes and speaks regularly on issues of international arbitration and public international law. He was awarded the 2019 Smit-Lowenfeld Prize for Best Article in International Arbitration for “The New Debate on the Interpretation of MFN Clauses in Investment Treaties: Putting the Brakes on Multilateralization,” which was published in the American Journal of International Law (AJIL), was the subject of an AJIL Unbound symposium, and is one of the top 5 most downloaded AJIL articles of all time.

He is a member of the Executive Council of the American Society of International Law (ASIL), a former co-chair of ASIL’s Dispute Resolution Interest Group, and served as co-chair of ASIL’s 2021 Annual Meeting Committee and co-chair of ASIL’s 2022 Midyear Meeting Practitioners’ Forum. He serves as co-chair of the Insolvency and Arbitration Working Group of the Arbitration Committee of the International Bar Association (IBA) and as a member of the Arbitration Committee of the New York City Bar Association. He is also an Adjunct Professor at Brooklyn Law School and at Université Paris Cité, where he teaches advanced courses on investment treaty arbitration.

Admitted to the bar in New York, Paris and Brussels, Mr. Batifort holds degrees in public and private international law, civil law, common law and comparative law from Université Panthéon-Assas (Paris II) (First in Class), Université de Montpellier and NYU School of Law, where he served as research assistant to Professor José E. Alvarez and as a graduate editor for the Journal of International Law and Politics. Prior to joining Curtis, he worked as in-house counsel for one of the world’s largest construction companies and interned at both the ICC International Court of Arbitration and the International Court of Justice.

Affaires d'Etats: Practical Considerations When Defending States In International Arbitration, Kluwer Arbitration Blog (May 2022) (co-author)

Unearthing FET: What Did States Intend, and Does It Matter? Kluwer Arbitration Blog (May 2022) (co-author)

5 Coming Trends to Watch For in Intra-EU Investment Claims, Law360 (February 2022) (co-author)

Psychology in Oral Advocacy: Using Science to Persuade International Tribunals, Kluwer Arbitration Blog (September 6, 2021) (co-author)

The Future of Investor-State Dispute Settlement under the Energy Charter Treaty, Kluwer Arbitration Blog (March 29, 2021) (co-author)

The Right to Raise New Arguments on Jurisdiction in Annulment Proceedings, 1 ICC Dispute Resolution Bulletin 29 (February 2021) (co-author)

Commentary of Articles 56-58 of the ICSID Convention (Replacement and Disqualification of Conciliators and Arbitrators), in The ICSID Convention, Rules and Regulations: A Commentary (Elgar Publishing, December 2019) (co-author)

The Once and Future Law of Non-Discrimination: Revisiting Most Favored Nation and National Treatment, ASIL Proceedings (March 2019)

Third-Party Funding in Investment Disputes, Chapter 16, Business Guide to Trade and Investment, Vol 2 (October 2018) (co-author)

The New Debate on the Interpretation of MFN Clauses in Investment Treaties: Putting the Brakes on Multilateralization, 111(4) American Journal of International Law 873 (2018) (co-author)

Third-Party Funding: Security for Costs and Other Key Issues, in The Investment Treaty Arbitration Review (Bart Legum ed., 2^nd Edition, 2017) (co-author)

Third-Party Funding: Security for Costs and Other Key Issues, in The Investment Treaty Arbitration Review 97 (Bart Legum ed., 1^st Edition, 2016) (co-author)

Investment Arbitration: Jurisdiction and Procedure, in The International Arbitration Review 1 (James H. Carter ed., 6^th Edition, 2015) (co-author)

Jurisdiction and Procedure in Investment Arbitration – New Developments, in The International Arbitration Review 1 (James H. Carter ed., 5^th Edition, 2014) (co-author)

Recent Trends in Investment Arbitration, in The International Arbitration Review 1 (James H. Carter ed., 4^th Edition, 2013) (co-author)