Derains & Gharavi is a leading firm in investor-State disputes having acted as counsel or arbitrator in over 75 investment arbitrations under all major institutions and ad hoc rules arising out of foreign investment laws, bilateral and multilateral investment treaties, including the ECT and OIC, involving States in Western and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa, North and South America as well as Asia.
Co-founding partners Hamid Gharavi and Yves Derains are among the world’s most renowned counsels, arbitrators and scholars in this field assisted by a specialized team of partners, counsels and associates culturally and legally diverse, qualified in numerous jurisdictions, and fluent or native in many languages including Arabic, English, Farsi, French, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish and Turkish.
The firm has balanced mandates as counsel and arbitrator and similarly balanced appointments and/or instructions by States and investors with one of the most accomplished track records as counsel in terms of victories and collections for investors and States including landmark and precedent-setting awards in the industry.
The firm’s successful representation of sovereign States led by Hamid Gharavi includes (For full list see the CV of Hamid Gharavi):
- Successfully represented as lead counsel Romania against claims by a Dutch investor, the Nova Group Investments BV, in an ICSID arbitration in relation to the alleged expropriation of its investments in the insurance and media sectors, securing the complete dismissal of the EUR 300 million with costs (ICSID Case No. ARB/16/19);
- Successfully represented as lead counsel the Republic of Turkey against a USD 19 billion claim by a Dutch national, Saba Fakes, in an ICSID arbitration in relation to the alleged expropriation of an investment in the telecom industry, securing the dismissal of the case on jurisdiction and a full costs’ award (ICSID Case No. ARB/07/20);
- Successfully represented as lead counsel the Republic of Albania in three separate ICSID arbitrations securing the dismissal of all claims in all three arbitrations concerning various industries, such petroleum (Mamidoil Jetoil Greek Petroleum Products Société Anonyme S.A v. Albania (ICSID Case No. ARB/11/24)), construction (Pantechniki S.A. Contractors & Engineers v. Republic of Albania (ICSID Case No. ARB/07/21)), and gaming (Burimi S.r.l. & Eagle Games Sh.a v. Republic of Albania (ICSID No. ARB/11/18));
- Successfully represented as lead counsel the Republic of the Sudan in an ICSID arbitration initiated by US/Lebanese investor Michael Dagher concerning an alleged unfair treatment of an investment in the telecom sector, securing a favorable interim decision on jurisdiction refusing to give international effect to a nationality under one of the BITs, which led to the withdrawal of the case (ICSID Case No. ARB/14/2);
- Successfully represented as lead counsel the Arab Republic of Egypt in an ICSID arbitration initiated by a Dutch investor, Future Pipe International B.V., in relation to alleged acts and omissions of the Egyptian Ministry of Housing pertaining to the regulation of the Egyptian market for pipes used for sewage and potable water engineering projects that led to a settlement following the hearing (ICSID Case No. ARB/17/31); and
- Currently representing Romania as lead counsel in two other arbitrations initiated under the ECT in relation to investments in the renewable energy sector (EP Wind Project (Rom) Six Ltd. v. Romania, ICSID Case No. ARB/20/15, and Aderlyne Limited v. Romania, ICSID Case No. ARB/22/13);
The firm’s successful representation of Investors led by Hamid Gharavi notably includes (For full list see the CV of Hamid Gharavi):
- Successfully represented as lead counsel two Iranian banks, Bank Saderat and Bank Melli, each holding 33.33% of the Bahrain Banking joint venture Future Bank, against the Kingdom of Bahrain in an UNCITRAL arbitration, with Tribunal holding that the expropriation was politically motivated and issuing a EUR 200+ million favorable award (PCA Case No. 2017-25);
- Successfully represented as lead counsel two Turkish-State controlled companies, Rumeli Telekom and Telsim Mobil, against the Republic of Kazakhstan in an ICSID arbitration initiated under a bilateral investment treaty for expropriation of their investments in the telecommunication industry obtaining compensation for USD 175 million for expropriation (ICSID Case No. ARB/05/16);
- Successfully represented as lead counsel the members of the Iranian Dayyani family, who invested in one of the world’s largest home appliance companies, against the Republic of Korea in an UNCITRAL arbitration obtaining compensation for USD 68 million for pretextual expropriation (PCA Case No. 2015-38);
- Successfully represented as lead counsel US investors, Caratube International Oil Company LLP and Mr. Devincci Salah Hourani, against the Republic of Kazakhstan in an ICSID arbitration relating to the expropriation of an oil concession obtaining compensation for USD 50 million for expropriation (ICSID Case No. ARB/13/13);
- Successfully represented as lead counsel two Turkish companies, Aktau Petrol Ticaret and Som Petrol Ticaret, against the Republic of Kazakhstan in an ICSID arbitration initiated under a bilateral investment treaty in relation to an unlawful expropriation of their investments in the oil transshipment industry obtaining compensation for 30 million USD for expropriation (ICSID Case No. ARB/15/8);
- Successfully represented as lead counsel US investor Charles Lemire in an ICSID arbitration against Ukraine obtaining compensation for over 10 million USD for FET violation in relation to tenders – a first in investment arbitration (ICSID Case No. ARB/06/18);
- Successfully represented as lead counsel an Omani company, Desert Line Projects, in an ICSID arbitration against Yemen, achieving a landmark victory with the first ever award of compensation for moral damages suffered by the investor and invalidating a settlement agreement based on State duress (ICSID Case No. ARB/05/17);
- Currently representing as lead counsel an Emirati company TRASTA Energy Limited against Libya in an ad hoc arbitration under the OIC for expropriation and breaches of other substantive and procedural standards, in relation to an investment in Libya’s largest oil refinery (PCA Case No. 2020-09); and
- Currently representing as lead counsel two Turkish investors against Libya in an investment arbitration initiated under a bilateral investment treaty in relation to the expropriation of their construction projects in Libya (PCA Case No. 2022-04); and
- Currently representing as lead counsel Naftiran Intertrade Co. (NICO) Limited against the Kingdom of Bahrain in relation to the blocking and freeze of its funds in Bahrain banks (ICSID Case No. ARB/22/34).
Yves Derains and Hamid Gharavi have been appointed to the ICSID Panel of Arbitrators by the Republic of Albania and the Kingdom of Cambodia and have extensive experience acting as President, Sole Arbitrator, and Co-Arbitrator in a large number of investment cases, which affords the firm the benefit of different perspectives from leading arbitrators, including the following cases (For full list see the CVs of Yves Derains and Hamid Gharavi):
- President of the Tribunal in an UNCITRAL arbitration between an Australian company and the Republic of Turkey, initiated pursuant to a bilateral investment treaty and in relation to Claimant’s investments in the State in question (PCA Case No. 2016-22) [Hamid Gharavi];
- President of the Tribunal in an ICSID arbitration between Karkey Karadeniz Elektrik Uretim A.S., a Turkish power generation company, and the State of Pakistan in relation to the expropriation of the claimant’s investment (ICSID Case No. ARB/13/1) [Yves Derains];
- President of the Tribunal in an ICSID arbitration between Belenergia S.A., a Luxembourg based renewable energy company, and Italy in relation to the allegedly adverse measures taken by Italy with respect to the claimant’s investment in photovoltaic power plants (ICSID Case No. ARB/15/40) [Yves Derains];
- President of the Tribunal in an ICSID arbitration between Helnan International Hotels A/S, a Danish hotel management and development company, and Egypt in relation to the alleged expropriation of the former’s investment due to the termination of the hotel management contract by the Egyptian Organization for Tourism and Hotels (ICSID Case No. 05/19) [Yves Derains];
- President of the Tribunal in an ICSID arbitration between BRIF TRES d.o.o. Beograd and BRIF-TC d.o.o. Beograd, two Serbian companies, and the Republic of Serbia in relation to a construction project in Serbia (ICSID Case No. ARB/20/12) [Yves Derains];
- Co-Arbitrator in an ICSID arbitration between EDF (Services) Limited, an English company, and Romania in relation to duty free services (ICSID Case No. ARB/05/13) [Yves Derains];
- Co-Arbitrator in an ICSID Arbitration between Shell and the Federal Republic of Nigeria in relation to the alleged expropriation of oil fields (ICSID Case No. ARB/07/18) [Hamid Gharavi];
- Co-Arbitrator in an UNCITRAL arbitration between a Ukrainian company and an Eastern European nation in relation to the expropriation of an investment in the electric grid and related exploitation and usage rights (PCA-2020-17) [Hamid Gharavi];
- Co-Arbitrator in an UNCITRAL arbitration between Mr. Yves Martine Garnier and the Dominican Republic in relation to an alleged expropriation of Claimant’s investment in the waste management industry (PCA Case No. 2022-01) [Hamid Gharavi]; and
- Co-Arbitrator in an ICSID arbitration between African Petroleum Senegal Limited, a Cayman Islands incorporated company, and the Republic of Senegal in relation to a dispute concerning performance of two oil research and production 6 sharing agreements concluded between the investor and the State (ICSID Case No. ARB/18/24) [Hamid Gharavi].
The firm’s founding partners have significantly shaped the field of investment arbitration through their extensive publications addressing a wide spectrum of investment arbitration related issues (For full list see the CVs of Yves Derains and Hamid Gharavi):
- “The Conduct of International Arbitration Proceedings” Elgar Arbitration Law and Practice, 2024 [Yves Derains];
- “Tribunal dynamics and arbitral deliberations” in “The award in international investment arbitration” edited by Katia Fach Gómez et Catharine Titi, Oxford University Press 2024 [Yves Derains];
- “Essays on Investment Arbitration, Experience of an Iranian Arbitrator” published by Sanglaj Publications (2019) (in Farsi) [Hamid Gharavi];
- “Discord Over Judicial Expropriation”, ICSID Review – FILJ, Vol. 33 (2018) [Hamid Gharavi];
- “Introduction to investor-state arbitration”, Wolters Kluwer, 2018 [Yves Derains, co authored with Ms. Josefa Sicard Mirabal];
- “Le financement par un tiers dans l’arbitrage d’investissement”, Revue belge de l’Arbitrage, 2017/1, p. 67 [Hamid Gharavi];
- “The Advantages of the ICC over ICSID in Investment Arbitrations, International Arbitration under Review,” in “Essays in honour of John Beechey”, ICC publication No. 772 E, 2015 [Hamid Gharavi];
- “ICSID and its Monarch”, in “Festschrift Ahmed Sadek El-Kosheri: From the Arab World to the Globalization of International Law and Arbitration”, Kluwer, 30 June 2015 [Hamid Gharavi];
- “Un demi-siècle de jurisprudence : à la croisée des chemins”, in “L’arbitrage relatif aux investissements : Nouvelles dynamiques internationales” Journée d’Études du 4 mars 2011, Dossier d’Orientation, Convention. [Yves Derains]; and
- “Le Secrétaire Général du CIRDI”, in “CIRDI, 45 ans après, Bilan d’un système”, Editions A. Pedone, 2011 [Hamid Gharavi].
Hamid Gharavi has been teaching since 2014 Investment Arbitration in the Master program “Droit International Économique” at the University of Paris II Panthéon-Assas in Paris (He has taken on the mentorship of the 2024-2025 graduates) and as a Visiting Professor at the University of Galatasaray for the academic years 2025-28.
As a recognized thought leaders in the field, the firm’s Partners are regularly invited to share their expertise and insights as panelist, chair or keynote speaker at high-profile arbitration conferences in France and worldwide. Recent speaking engagements include :
- 5 February 2025 Tehran – Hamid Gharavi, Keynote speaker at Iran Chamber of Commerce on bilateral and multilateral investment treaties to counter political expropriations and sanctions that violate international law safeguards;
- 28 November 2024 Paris – Hamid Gharavi, Panelist at the 2nd MENA Arbitration Forum at Sciences Po Law School on the topic “Investment arbitration: the high and lows from a MENA perspective”;
- 22 November 2024 Dublin – Emmanuel Foy, Panelist on “Intra-EU arbitration under the ECT: where does it stand?” at the 2024 Dublin International Arbitration Week.
- 13 June 2024 Milan – Hamid Gharavi Panelist on “Geography in International Arbitration” organized by the Milan Arbitral Chamber and the Italian Association of Arbitration;
- 6 June 2024 Amsterdam – Hamid Gharavi, Keynote speaker “Arbitration for the next Generation” organized by the Dutch Arbitration Association with focus on Investment arbitration;
- 19 April 2024 Istanbul – Hamid Gharavi, Panel Chair at ISTAC International Arbitration Day in Istanbul on topic “New Trends in Investment Arbitration”;
- 13 October 2023 Tbilisi – Emmanuel Foy, Panelist on “Commencing Investment Arbitration Proceedings (what are the difference between commencing proceedings in investment and commercial arbitration)”, at the 2023 GIAC Arbitration Days; and
- 31 March 2022 Paris – Emmanuel Foy, Host and Speaker on the “Investment Arbitration as an Avenue of Combatting Internet Censorship?” Panel, held during the 2022 Paris Arbitration Week.