Derains & Gharavi, created only in 2009, is already ranked as one of the best Paris based arbitration and public international law practices, see The Legal 500 Paris.

Recent decisions

Derains & Gharavi obtained on March 28, 2011, an Award (ICSID Case No. ARB/06/18) in favour of Joseph Lemire, an American investor, in the amount of USD 8,717,850, with partial legal costs in the amount of USD 750,000. It is the first international award holding a State liable for breach of international law in relation to tenders, namely in the case at hand for the award of frequencies in the radio industry (see "Award Joseph Lemire v. Ukraine").

Derains & Gharavi obtained on July 14, 2010 an Award on Jurisdiction (ICSID Case No. ARB/07/20) in favor of the Republic of Turkey, with full legal costs, dismissing all claims brought by a Dutch individual under the Turkey-Netherlands BIT for the alleged expropriation of a telecom investment worth approximately USD 19 Billion. (see "Award Saba Fakes v. Turkey.pdf").

Derains & Gharavi obtained on March 25, 2010 the dismissal of an application for annulment against an Award (ICSID Case No. ARB/05/16) in favor of two Turkish companies against Kazakhstan for about USD 175 million inclusive of interests for expropriation under the Turkey-Kazakhstan BIT of an telecom investment (see "Decision Rumeli v. Kazakhstan.pdf").

Conferences

Hamid Gharavi will speak at the conference "Contrats de partenariat public-privé : Enjeux et Perspectives" on the subject of "Les rapports entre le Conseil d'Etat et les Tribunaux Arbitraux en matière d'investissement" on February 7th, 2012 in Beirut, Lebannon.

Yves Derains will speak at the Third International Arbtiration Symposium in Costa Rica "Costa Rica sede de arbitrajes internacionales" on the subject of "Análisis del nuevo reglamento de arbitraje de la CCI" in San José, Costa Rica, on February 13th and 14th, 2012.

Hamid Gharavi will speak at the C5 Global Communication conference "International Dispute Resolution involving Russian and CIS companies, Practical issues faced by external legal advisers and in-house counsels involved in cross-border dispute resolution", on the subject of "Structuring the Investment in the Target Country to Take Advantage of Protection Offered by Investor-State Arbitration", in London, United Kingdom, on February 24th, 2012.

Melanie van Leeuwen will speak at the ICC Training on the 2012 ICC Rules of Arbitration on the subject of "Provisions on the emergency arbitrator in the ICC 2012 Rules of Arbitration" in Paris, France, on February 27th, 2012.

Hamid Gharavi will speak at the "Generations in Arbitration Conference VI - Road map: lessons from the past and visions for the future of international arbitration" on the topic of "Investment Arbitration: Tips and traps when challenging states" in Hong Kong, on March 19th, 2012.