News 09 Apr. 2024
Curtis Announces New Partners and Counsels Across Offices in Spring 2024
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News 25 Jan. 2024
Counsel Mohannad A. El Murtadi Suleiman Addresses “Africanization” of International Investment Law
Event 18 Aug. 2023
Partner Borzu Sabahi Speaks at FDI Moot Shenzhen
News 25 Jul. 2023
Partner Eric Gilioli Ranked in Top 10 Influential Energy & Natural Resources Lawyers in Kazakhstan in Business Today
Client Alert 28 Dec. 2023
U.S. to Impose Secondary Sanctions on Non-U.S. Banks For Financing Russia’s Defense Industry
Event 22 Aug. 2023
Partner Dr. Claudia Frutos-Peterson to Speak at Arbitration and ADR Commission of the ICC Mexico
Event 11 Jul. 2023
Partner Elisa Botero Speaks on the Role of the ICC in Investment Disputes
News 15 Aug. 2023
Legal Reader Publishes Article on Dr. Majed Alotaibi’s Arrival as Senior Counsel in Curtis’ Riyadh Office
News 31 Jul. 2023
Curtis Welcomes Senior Saudi Advisor, Dr. Majed Alotaibi, to its Riyadh Office
News 24 Aug. 2023
Curtis Attorneys Quoted in CoinDesk on FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s Strategy Ahead of His Criminal Trial
Client Alert 26 Jun. 2024
The EU Adopts its 14th Sanctions Package Against Russia
Client Alert 03 May. 2024
The EU Adopts the Directive on Definition of Criminal Offences and Penalties for Violations of EU Restrictive Measures
news
Anna Kozmenko Appointed to the ICC International Court of Arbitration
Curtis Elevates Jacopo Cordiano to Partner in the Milan Office
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 is a partner in Curtis’ New York headquarters and also acts as Managing Partner of the Brussels office. A dual French-U.S. national, he works across New York, Brussels, and Paris.
Mr. Batifort has acted as counsel and advocate in over forty high-profile commercial and investment treaty arbitrations 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). He has represented clients in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East in cases involving a wide range of sectors, including oil and gas, mining, telecommunications, construction, joint ventures, real estate and taxation. He also represents and advises States in inter-State disputes and public international law matters.
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. Legal 500 Latin America praises his “encyclopedic knowledge of international arbitration cases and great advocacy skills.”
Alongside his practice, Mr. Batifort is an Adjunct Professor at Brooklyn Law School and at Université Paris Cité where he teaches advanced courses on investment treaty arbitration. A frequent author and speaker 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) and was the subject of an AJIL Unbound symposium.
He is a member of the Executive Council of the American Society of International Law (ASIL), co-chair of the 2024 ASIL Abroad Geneva Meeting Committee, and former co-chair of ASIL’s 2021 Annual Meeting Committee and of ASIL’s Dispute Resolution Interest Group (2020-2023). He also frequently serves as an ASIL delegate to UNCITRAL Working Group III on the reform of Investor-State Dispute Settlement. He previously served 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.
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.
The Meaning of Silence in Investment Treaties, 38(2) ICSID Review-Foreign Investment Law Journal (2023) 322 (co-author)
Reforming Substantive Investment Law: How Should We Do It?, Kluwer Arbitration Blog (June 2023) (co-author)
Affaires d’Etats Vol. 2 – Abusive Claims Against States and How to Fight Them, Kluwer Arbitration Blog (May 2023) (co-author)
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
News 18 Jun. 2024
Curtis Lawyers recognized across several practices in latest Legal 500 USA 2024 Edition
Event 24 Apr. 2024
Simon Batifort Speaks at 2024 Azerbaijan Arbitration Days
Who's Who Legal: Arbitration, 2023-2024
Legal 500 USA, 2022-2023
Who's Who Legal - Arbitration, 2023-2024
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