Event 14 Oct. 2022
Curtis Provides Capacity Training to the Government of Uganda
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Event 21 Sep. 2022
Kalidou Gadio Speaks at AIEN 2022 International Energy Summit
News 15 May. 2023
Curtis represents e-commerce retailer in its fight to recover monies withheld by PayPal, the global payment giant
News 16 Dec. 2022
Curtis Trade Team is top ranked in Chambers Asia-Pacific 2023
Event 08 May. 2023
Partner Irene Petrelli to Participate in ICC YAAF Event
News 02 May. 2023
Curtis Italy with DeA Capital in the Acquisition of Magic S.r.l
Event 23 May. 2023
Partners Luciana Ricart and Fernando Tupa Will Teach a Workshop on Hearings in Investment Arbitration for Arbanza School of Arbitration’s Online Program
Publications 23 Feb. 2023
Fernando Tupa Publishes Book on Forum-Specific Consent to International Arbitration in Investment Agreements
Event 03 May. 2023
Dr. Borzu Sabahi to Speak at ICSID-ADGM Joint Conference: Investment Protection and Armed Conflict
Event 19 Mar. 2023
Sebastiano Nessi speaks at Bahrain Business and Legal Landscape Conference
Event 01 Jun. 2023
Curtis Environmental Chair Charles Howland to Moderate Panel Discussion on Latest Developments in Environmental Due Diligence at ABA Masterclass on Environmental Transactions
News 25 May. 2023
Curtis Files SCOTUS Amicus Brief for Distinguished Law Professors in First Amendment Retaliatory Arrest Case
News 06 Mar. 2023
Russia Sanctions at the First Anniversary: An Overview of Current Sanctions in the US, UK, and EU and How Global Companies Can Navigate Evolving and Conflicting Sanctions Regimes
Client Alert 30 Aug. 2022
The EU Adopts the “Maintenance and Alignment” Sanctions Package
Client Alert 24 Jun. 2021
Update on Virtual Notarization (Executive Order 202.7) During the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Pandemic (Updated: June 24, 2021) — U.S. Insight
Update on Virtual Witnessing (New York Executive Order 202.14) During The COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Pandemic (Updated: June 24, 2021) — U.S. Insight
Partner, Managing Partner, Brussels
Brussels
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New York
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Paris
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Simon Batifort is recognized globally as a top practitioner and thought leader in international arbitration and public international law. He joined Curtis’ New York office in 2011, became a partner in 2019, and was named Managing Partner of the firm’s Brussels office in 2021. A dual French-U.S. national, he works across the New York, Paris, and Brussels offices.
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., 2nd Edition, 2017) (co-author)
Third-Party Funding: Security for Costs and Other Key Issues, in The Investment Treaty Arbitration Review 97 (Bart Legum ed., 1st Edition, 2016) (co-author)
Investment Arbitration: Jurisdiction and Procedure, in The International Arbitration Review 1 (James H. Carter ed., 6th Edition, 2015) (co-author)
Jurisdiction and Procedure in Investment Arbitration – New Developments, in The International Arbitration Review 1 (James H. Carter ed., 5th Edition, 2014) (co-author)
Recent Trends in Investment Arbitration, in The International Arbitration Review 1 (James H. Carter ed., 4th Edition, 2013) (co-author)
English
French
Spanish
International Arbitration
Commercial Disputes - Arbitration
Public International Law
Simon Batifort, Marie-Claire Argac and Cyprien Mathié published an article on “2023 PAW Recap: Affaires d’Etats Vol. 2 – Abusive Claims Against States and How to Fight Them”
Event 27 Mar. 2023
Four Curtis Attorneys Featured at ASIL 2023 Annual Meeting
Who's Who Legal - Arbitration: Future Leaders
Who's Who Legal - Arbitration: Future Leaders 2022, Most Highly Regarded
Legal 500: USA 2022 International Arbitration
Law360, 2020
Legal 500 USA, 2022
Who's Who Legal - Arbitration: Future Leaders, 2017-2020
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