Derains & Gharavi has extensive experience in East, South and South-East Asia.
Hamid Gharavi is on the panel of arbitrators of HKIAC and SIAC and has been designated by the Kingdom of Cambodia on the ICSID panel of arbitrators and conciliators.
The firm and its partners have acted as counsel and arbitrator in a large number of arbitrations involving parties from these regions as non-exhaustively listed below (For full list see the CVs of Yves Derains and Hamid Gharavi):
- Successfully represented as lead counsel an Asian energy company in an ICC arbitration in Paris against a Mauritanian company for breach of an energy related contract (ICC Case No. 17248/ND);
- Successfully represented as lead counsel Qatar as respondent in an ICC arbitration in Paris against a leading Korean engineering company arising out of the design and construction of a solid waste management facility leading to the dismissal of a large portion of the claims (ICC Case No. 20997/ZF/AYZ);
- Successfully represented as lead counsel the Dayyani family against the Republic of Korea in an UNCITRAL arbitration initiated under a bilateral investment treaty in relation to the expropriation of an investment in home appliance industrial company that led to a favorable Award for USD 68 million against the Republic of Korea on June 5, 2018 (Mohammad Reza Dayyani, et al. v. The Republic of Korea, PCA Case No. 2015-38);
- Successfully represented as lead counsel a leading European Tennis federation in an ICC arbitration against an Indian company in relation to the breach of broadcasting rights of a major sport event (ICC Case No. 13373/EC);
- Currently representing as the lead counsel the Central Bank of Iran in an UNCITRAL arbitration against the Republic of Korea initiated under a bilateral investment treaty in relation to an investment in Korean banks and over 2 billion USD in damages;
- Currently representing as a lead counsel Malaysian subsidiary of National Iranian Oil Company, 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);
- Advised a leading Korean automobile group in relation to its dispute as the pre arbitration stage with an Iranian buyer on issues of sanctions and Iranian law;
- President of the Tribunal in a SIAC arbitration between multiple Indian claimants and a Japanese company in relation to the interpretation and execution of a shareholders’ agreement (SIAC Case No. 371/2017) [Hamid Gharavi];
- Sole Arbitrator in an ICC arbitration under Swiss law between an individual and a group of companies who own and operate one of the largest and most important cryptocurrencies and online platform, regarding the trade of cryptocurrency on the platform and an alleged violation of the terms of use (ICC Case No. 26306/PAR) [Hamid Gharavi];
- President of the Tribunal in an LCIA arbitration under English law between two Mauritius and Cayman claimant companies, and six respondents of Indian and other nationalities, in relation to the breach of a shareholder and subscription agreement in a major Indian group (LCIA Case No. 183927) [Hamid Gharavi];
- President of the Tribunal in an ICC arbitration under Qatari law between a German company and a Malaysian Company related to the performance of a contract for the supply, manufacture and construction of a cart transport system for an airport located in Qatar (ICC Case No. 22144/ZF/AYZ) [Hamid Gharavi];
- President of the Tribunal in a DIAC arbitration between a Singaporean company and an Emirati company for alleged breaches of a consultancy contract (DIAC Case No. 123/2010) [Hamid Gharavi];
- Co-arbitrator and President of the Tribunal in three ICC arbitrations involving a global technology, construction and manufacturing giant based in Asia in relation to construction projects and the agreements for the supply of technological goods (ICC Case Nos. 23176/AYZ; 28337/KFH; 28207/KFH) [Hamid Gharavi]; and
- Co-Arbitrator in an ICC arbitration between a French State Defense Group against an Asian government for alleged breach of a contract for the sale of military equipment (ICC Case No. 14575/JB/JEM/MLK/ARP) [Hamid Gharavi].