Members of the GIAC Arbitration Council

Mariam gotsiridze

Mariam Gotsiridze, Principal Research Fellow, Singapore International Dispute Resolution Academy

Mariam Gotsiridze is a lawyer specializing in international dispute settlement.

Mariam is a Principal Research Fellow at SIDRA and her main focus of research is on the Belt & Road Initiative, while she also engaged in research and development projects in relation to international dispute resolution survey and investor-state mediation.

Prior to joining SIDRA, Mariam worked for the government of Georgia. For over 10 years (2012-2022) she was a Head of Arbitration Department in the Ministry of Justice in charge of state representation in international arbitration. Mariam has been involved in major investment and commercial arbitration matters before ICSID, ICC, SCC arbitrations, as well as before ad hoc arbitration under UNCITRAL rules. She has negotiated number of Bilateral Investment Treaties and Free Trade Agreements on behalf of Georgia. Mariam was the Head of Delegation for Georgia in UNCITRAL Working Group III, in ICSID Rule amendment process and in Modernization of the Energy Charter Treaty. Mariam has contributed to legislative reforms and other developments in arbitration and mediation in Georgia.

 

FRANCISO A. AMALLO

Francisco A. Amallo is a founding partner of MHR | Martinez de Hoz & Rueda. He specializes in international dispute settlement and international business law, with experience in foreign investment, oil and gas, construction, international sale and transportation of goods, sports, and general commercial and financial transactions.

He is a Professor of international arbitration and private international law at Universidad Católica Argentina. He has been invited to lecture at different universities in Latin America and he is often invited to speak at international arbitration conferences.

He holds a law degree and an LLM in Economic Business Law from Universidad Católica Argentina, as well as an LLM in International Dispute Settlement from the University of Geneva and the Graduate Institute (MIDS).

He is listed as an arbitrator in different arbitral institutions. He is a member of the Appeals Panel of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and of the FIVB Tribunal of the International Volleyball Federation.

He has been recognized by Who’s Who Legal and Chambers & Partners as a leading attorney in the field of international arbitration. He was a member of the Global Advisory Board (2014-2016) and the Executive Board (2017-2019) of ICDR Y&I. He leads the young practitioner group of the Latin American Arbitration Conference.

Giorgi Batlidze

Giorgi Batlidze has been engaged in the legal practice since 2005. He joined BLC in 2008 and was promoted to a partnership in 2012. His practice areas include civil and corporate law, M&A, energy and project financing. Giorgi is also heavily involved in litigation and commercial arbitration. He has experience of acting as an arbitrator on various commercial disputes. Giorgi was a lead partner in various significant corporate and M&A transactions and several large-scale renewable energy projects. Giorgi is also actively engaged in policy studies and legal drafting.
Giorgi Batlidze is one of the best-recognised names in the market in terms of energy law expertise. He also assists with litigious issues and general transactional instructions. "He's eager to jump in," a client says, adding: "He has very good communication skills and is very responsive." He is praised as “knowledgeable, competent and trustworthy” by Legal 500 and is said to be “an increasingly recognized name in the area of dispute resolution” by Chambers Europe.
Prior to joining BLC, Giorgi served as paralegal in a law firm in Göttingen (Germany) and as an international legal advisor to a leading Georgian construction company.
Giorgi Batlidze has been actively involved in the legislative drafting process. He is member of the working group for corporate law reform, insolvency law reform, Civil Procedures Code, etc. Giorgi is also co-author of new edition of Civil Law Commentary (law of damages).  
Apart from his extensive legal practice, Giorgi Batlidze is a member of the Board of Directors of German Business Association (DWV), Georgian Association of Arbitrators (GAA) and Co-Founder and Member of the Board of German International School Tbilisi (DIST).
 

Yas Banifatemi

Dr. Yas Banifatemi is a founding partner of Gaillard Banifatemi Shelbaya Disputes. Prior to founding the firm, she served as Global Co-Head of Shearman & Sterling’s International Arbitration practice, Public International Law Team Leader, and Lead Industry Coordinator for Energy. She is widely recognized as one of the most prominent international arbitration and public international law specialists worldwide.
 
Yas advises and represents States, State-owned entities and companies on both public international law and international arbitration issues. She acts as both counsel and arbitrator in arbitrations conducted pursuant to the ICSID, UNCITRAL, ICC, LCIA, SCC, SIAC, HKIAC, CRCICA, DIS, NAI and the Swiss Arbitration Rules, with particular focus on investment protection, oil & gas and general commercial matters.
 
Yas Banifatemi served as Vice-President of the ICC Court of Arbitration, member of the LCIA Court of International Arbitration and currently is a member of the SIAC Court of Arbitration. She has featured on a number of arbitrator panels, including the ICSID Panel of Arbitrators, appointed by the Chairman of ICSID’s Administrative Council.
 

HELENE GOGADZE

Helene Gogadze is an International Arbitration and Litigation Special Counsel in the Washington, D.C. office of an international law firm Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP. Originally from Georgia, Ms. Gogadze is a native Georgian speaker. She is admitted to practice in New York and the District of Columbia.

Ms. Gogadze's practice focuses on international commercial and investment arbitration and complex commercial litigation. She advises and represents clients in commercial and investment arbitration disputes, including disputes involving state governments or state-owned entitles, and in actions before US courts in relation to arbitration proceedings. Ms. Gogadze represents and advises clients in a wide variety of matters and disputes and has extensive experience in the oil and gas, energy, construction, real estate, tax and aerospace and defense industries, among others.

Some of her recent representations include:
1.representing Total E&P Uganda B.V in an ICSID arbitration proceedings against the Government of Uganda under the Netherlands-Uganda Bilateral Investment Treaty and the contract;  
2. representing a major Italian energy company Eni S.p.A. in litigations in New York courts in relation to claims under parent guarantee agreements, valued at over 1 billion USD;  
3.representing a large consortium of energy companies in an ICDR arbitration, valued at over 2 billion USD, in relation to its long-term U.S. LNG supply agreement;
 4.representing a large consumer technology company in two ICC arbitrations, valued at over 1 billion USD in relation to compensation under manufacturing and supply agreements and related issues;
 5. representing a large European LNG producer and supplier in ICDR arbitration in connection with long term LNG services agreement, valued at over 1 billion USD;
6. representing a large European aluminum company in an ICC arbitration in Zurich arising out of a long-term lease agreement;
7. representing the Brazilian subsidiary of an Indian company in an ICC arbitration in Sao Paulo against the Brazilian subsidiary of a U.S. company arising out of a supply contract for aluminum products;
 8.advising a large French company in an ICC arbitration in Geneva against a South American company in a dispute over ownership of an ICSID claim against the government of a country in South America;
9. representing a European manufacturer of satellites in an ICDR arbitration in New York arising out of a contract for the design and supply of a constellation of satellites to a US based customer.

Ms. Gogadze is an adjunct professor at the International Law Institute in Washington, D.C. where she teaches courses and seminars, and conducts trainings on international investment and commercial arbitration as part of various programs for foreign government officials, investors and lawyers. She also was an Adjunct Professor of Law at the Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law, in Washington, D.C. where she taught international arbitration courses.
 

PATRICIA SHAUGHNESSY

Professor Patricia Shaughnessy specializes in international disputes and commercial law at Stockholm University, where she created the Master of International Commercial Arbitration Law Program. She is a member of the ICC Court of Arbitration and the ICC Commission. She was a Board member of the SCC Arbitration Institute from 2006, and the Vice-Chair of the Board from 2012 – 2018. She was a government-appointed expert on the legislative committee for the revisions to the Swedish Arbitration Act. Patricia acts as an arbitrator, expert, and consultant, and leads projects related to commercial law and dispute resolution in many countries. She has served as a fellow to the US Supreme Court. Prior to her academic career, she practiced law for ten years in the US, specialized in commercial law and litigation. She publishes extensively and is a frequent speaker at leading universities and international conferences.  She is the President of the Vis Moot Organization.

NATA GHIBRADZE

Nata Ghibradze is a Counsel at International Arbitration Group of Hogan Lovells International LLP in Munich. She focuses on international commercial arbitration and regularly represents clients as counsel in arbitrations primarily in the in the energy (oil & gas, renewables), construction, infrastructure, and engineering industries. Nata has particular focus on the CEE region as well as Turkey and Central Asia.
Nata has experience in handling arbitrations under the major sets of arbitration rules (ICC, UNCITRAL, SIAC, DIS, Swiss Rules, DIA rules, etc.) seated in various jurisdictions. She also has experience representing clients before Dispute Avoidance/Adjudication Board proceedings for construction projects. Nata acts as an arbitration in international arbitration disputes.
Before Hogan Lovells, Nata worked at the Ministry of Justice of Georgia, where she was part of the Department of State Representation to International Courts and at the Department of Legal Affairs of the Chief Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia. She also practiced at an eminent Georgian law firm in Tbilisi. Nata studied law in Germany as well as in Georgia. Nata regularly speaks and publishes on current issues regarding International Arbitration and is an active member of several professional associations
 

Markiyan Kliuchkovskyi

Markiyan Kliuchkovskyi serves as Executive Director of the Register of Damage Caused by the Aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine
The Register of Damage has been established in May 2023 under the umbrella of the Council of Europe, and it has its seat in The Hague. Its function is to serve as a record of claims and evidence on damage, loss, or injury caused by the Russian aggression against Ukraine. It is the first component of a comprehensive international comprehensive compensation mechanism that is meant to ensure full and effective reparation to Ukraine for Russian aggression. 43 states, as well as the European Union, are members of the Register as of October 2023.

Markiyan Kliuchkovskyi was appointed as Executive Director of the Register of Damage in July 2023. He is a recognized expert with 19 years of experience in international arbitration and cross-border litigation, he has been consistently ranked in the top tier of arbitration practitioners in Ukraine by various international rankings. He has also been recognized by GAR100. In May 2022, Markiyan was appointed a member of the working group on the development and implementation of international legal mechanisms for compensation for damage caused by Russia's war against Ukraine. Previously, worked on the concept of an international reparations mechanism for Ukraine and he participated in negotiations that resulted in the adoption by the United Nations General Assembly of the resolution endorsing such a mechanism on 14 November 2022.

 

MAIA BAKRADZE

Maia Bakradze has 21 years of professional experience. Among them, for ten years she was a judge in the civil and administrative courts of first and second instance, and for eleven years she was a lawyer in the direction of administrative and civil law, specializing in juvenile cases.
Maia Bakradze gave lectures on civil procedural law at the University of Georgia, and is also an invited trainer at the Georgia Bar Association and Justice Training Center. She Has the experience of preparing legal conclusions, participating as an arbitrator in arbitration disputes. Within the framework of the activities of the association "Union of Judges of Georgia", as the chairman of the organization and member of the executive board, she carried out expert activities, researches of legislation, in the direction of administration of justice. On the order of the German Cooperation Society, she worked on the project of amendments to the Code of Civil Procedure and the manual for judges "Techniques of Decision Making". she is also the co-author of the book "Manual for Judges, Peculiarities of Magistrate Judges' Consideration of Cases in Administrative Proceedings" (published by the Supreme Court of Georgia), practical guide for prosecutors and judges, "Ensuring Women's Access to Justice".
 

STEVEN FINIZIO

Steven Finizio is recognized as one of the leading international arbitration lawyers in London in the Chambers UK Guide, named in the Euromoney Guide to the World’s Leading Experts in Commercial Arbitration and recognized for his standing in the field of international arbitration in Legal 500, Chambers Global, Chambers Europe, Global Arbitration Review’s Who’s Who in International Arbitration, PLC Which Lawyer? and Legal Media Group’s The Best of the Best. Mr. Finizio has been resident in the firm’s London office since 2000.

Mr. Finizio’s practice includes international arbitration and alternative dispute resolution, general commercial litigation, and internal investigations, focusing on complex commercial and regulatory issues. Mr. Finizio also serves as an arbitrator.

Mr. Finizio has particular experience with shareholder, oil and gas, telecommunications, financial services, joint venture and M&A issues.