With an unparalleled track record in arbitrations involving Latin America and proven ability to conduct disputes in Spanish and Portuguese, Derains & Gharavi has established a dedicated Latin America Desk to further solidify its presence and expand its services in the region.

The Latin America Desk is led by Yves Derains and Hamid Gharavi, with support from Partner Bertrand Derains and Counsel Romain Dethomas. Yves Derains, described as “one of the founders of arbitration in Latin America” (Chambers, Latin America, 2022), is a highly sought-after figure in the field. He is one of the most in-demand arbitrators in the region (Chambers, Latin America, 2025). He alone has acted as counsel and arbitrator in over 100 commercial or investment arbitrations involving Latin American parties.

Former Vice-President of the Arbitration and Mediation Centre of the Brazil Canada Chamber of Commerce (CAM-CCBC), he regularly organizes conferences and webinars in Spanish and Portuguese, such as the yearly Lusophones’ Arbitration Meeting at the Partis Arbitration Week, frequently publishes in Latin American law reviews and is also Honorary Professor at three Peruvian universities.

Hamid Gharavi is also very experienced as counsel and arbitrator involving Latin American parties.

Partner Bertrand Derains and counsel Romain Dethomas also are fluent in Spanish and have extensive experience in the region.

The firm and its partners have acted as counsel and arbitration in a large number of arbitrations in the region as non-exhaustively listed below (For full list see the CVs of Yves Derains and Hamid Gharavi):

• Successfully represented as lead counsel a major French construction company in several ICC arbitrations against a Central American public entity in relation to the construction of a bridge (ICC Case No. 20829/ASM/JPA);
• Successfully represented as lead counsel a European consortium in an ICC arbitration against a Latin American state public entity in relation to a dam construction contract (ICC Case No. 11841:KGA/CCO/JRF/CA);
• Successfully represented as lead counsel an American company in an ICC arbitration against several Brazilian companies in relation to a share purchase agreement concerning a Brazilian company (ICC Case No. 15585/VRO/JRF);
• President of the Tribunal in an ICC arbitration between the Mexican subsidiaries of a Dutch and of a Russian company ass claimants and a Mexican company in relation to the sale of natural gas (ICC Case No. 25514/PDP) [Yves Derains];
• President of the Tribunal in an ICC arbitration between three Mexican companies as claimants, and two Mexican companies and one Italian company as respondents, in relation to the construction and operation of solar parks (ICC Case No. 25587/ JPA) [Yves Derains];
• President of the Tribunal in an ICC arbitration between a Mexican company and a Mexican State agency in relation to the production and sale of electricity (ICC Case No. 15144/JRF) [Yves Derains];
• President of the Tribunal in an ICC arbitration between a Mexican company and an Italian company in relation to the production and sale of purified water (ICC Case No. 18795/CA) [Yves Derains];
• President of the Tribunal in an ICC arbitration between a Mexican, a US, a British claimant and a Mexican State agency in relation to the construction and installation of pipelines (ICC Case No. 23217/JPA) [Yves Derains];
• President of the Tribunal in an ICC arbitration between two Mexican companies in relation to the use of an area in a Mexican port (ICC Case No. 21909/ASM) [Yves Derains];
• President of the Tribunal in an ICC arbitration between a Brazilian Company and two Chinese companies in relation to a supply agreement for of the development of a long steel plant in Brazil (ICC Case No. 22680/ ASM/JPA) [Yves Derains];
• President of the Tribunal in an ICC arbitration between a Brazilian company and the subsidiary of a German constructor and its Brazilian subcontractor relation to the installation of a blast furnace. (ICC Case No. 21909/ASM) [Yves Derains];
• President of the Tribunal in an ICC arbitration between a Chilean company as claimant and an American company and two Chilean companies as respondents in the mining sector (ICC Case No. 260667/JPA) [Yves Derains];
• President of the Tribunal in an ICC arbitration between a Uruguayan company and a Latin American country in the natural gas sector (ICC Case No. 22753/ASM) [Yves Derains];
• President of the Tribunal in an ICSID arbitration between Argentine companies and Peru in relation to the construction of a motorway (ICSID Case No. ARB/10/2) [Yves Derains];
• Co-Arbitrator in an UNCITRAL arbitration between Mr. Yves Martine Garnier and the Dominican Republic concerning an alleged expropriation of Claimant’s investment in the waste management industry (PCA Case No. 2022-01) [Hamid Gharavi];
• Co-Arbitrator in an ICSID arbitration between a Spanish company and Bolivia in relation to duty free services (ICSID Case No. ARB(AF)/18/5) [Yves Derains]; and
• Co-Arbitrator in a large number of ICC Arbitrations involving leading South American commercial parties and/or State entities and/or transactions in South America in relation to a large number of dispute ranging from share purchase agreements to oil & gas industry, including in Venezuela, Brazil, Columbia, Dominican Republic (ICC Cases Nos. 27916/SP/ETT; 19839/ASM; 19182/CA/ASM; 27004/JPA; 17969/CA) [Hamid Gharavi].

The firm has built a working relationship with independent correspondents in South America on which it calls on an ad-hoc basis to ensure tailored/merits-based inputs in counsel cases depending on the specificities that may arise under the laws of these jurisdictions and whether judicial support is required.