GBS Disputes

Mikaël is or was part of the team advising and/or representing:

• An international logistics company in an ICC arbitration in Paris brought against the Port Authority of an African State. The dispute arises from a concession agreement related to the management and operation of a container terminal.
• Dassault Aviation S.A., Respondent in an ICC arbitration brought by Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co., Ltd. The dispute arose out of an insurance policy and related to delays in the delivery of an aircraft and related supplies to an Asian distributor. English law applies.
• The Republic of Georgia, Respondent in an SCC arbitration initiated by Mr. Zaza Okuashvili under the Georgia-U.K. bilateral investment treaty. The dispute relates to taxes owed to the State by various companies owned by the Claimant.
• The majority shareholders in the former Yukos Oil Company in relation to the recognition and enforcement proceedings initiated in multiple jurisdictions for the enforcement of the USD 50 billion awards rendered in the arbitrations brought by the shareholders against the Russian Federation concerning the unlawful treatment and expropriation of their investments in Yukos.
• Pharmaceutical group Sanofi in an ICC arbitration in Geneva initiated by Boehringer Ingelheim that arose out of an acquisition and concerned liability relating to third party claims. Swiss law applied. The Tribunal fully dismissed the claims against Sanofi seeking indemnification for potential losses in connection with ongoing mass tort litigation in the United States.

Advisory work

• Advising a mining company affiliated to a prominent sovereign wealth fund in relation to a multi-billion-dollar refinery project in Africa. This high-stakes engagement involved navigating complex legal issues common in mining disputes, including tax and customs regimes, reassessments of royalties, stabilization clauses, and economic equilibrium clauses.
• Advising on the legal consequences of the COVID-19 crisis, especially with regard to the force majeure and hardship clauses contained in various agreements.

Education

• Institut d’Études Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po), Ph.D. in Law
• Columbia University School of Law, LL.M., Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar
• University of Cambridge, LL.B., John Eliot Harvard-Cambridge Scholar
• Harvard University, B.A., magna cum laude with highest honors

Admissions & Courts

• Paris
• New York

Languages

• English
• French

Nationalities

• French
• U.S.
• Brazilian

• Visiting Lecturer (International Arbitration Practice in Perspective: History, Sociology, and Legal Theory), Sciences Po Law School, Master 2
• Guest Lecturer (History of International Arbitration), University of Montpellier, Diplôme Universitaire Droit de l’arbitrage
• Member, International Law Association (French branch)
• Member, Paris Place de Droit
• Member, American Society of International Law (ASIL)
• Former Treasurer of the Harvard Club of France and Co-Chair of the Harvard French Scholarship Fund

• “English Court of Appeal Introduces Uncertainty as to the Scope of Commercial Anti-Assignment Provisions,” Kluwer Arbitration blog, 20 March 2024 (with J. Herbert)
• “Diversity and Inclusiveness in International Arbitration,” in Arbitration Beyond Borders: Essays in Memory of Guillermo Aguilar Álvarez 469 (W.M. Reisman and N. Blackaby eds., Kluwer, 2023) (co-author)
• “The Stop-and-Go Rise of France’s Pro-Arbitration Regime: A Play in Five Acts,” in “Pro-Arbitration” Revisited: A Tribute to Professor George Bermann from his Students over the Years 407 (K. Duggal et. al. eds., Juris, 2023)
• The Three Ages of International Commercial Arbitration (Cambridge University Press, 2022). To find out more about this book, see here (print version) and here (online version).
• “Towards a Global History of International Arbitration,” in Liber Amicorum Emmanuel Gaillard (Y. Banifatemi, M.-E. Ancel, J.-B. Racine and M. Wu eds., forthcoming)
• “Jalons pour une histoire contemporaine de l’arbitrage commercial international,” 2022(3) Cahiers de l’Arbitrage / Paris Journal of International Arbitration 789
• “Book review – T. Schultz and F. Ortino (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of International Arbitration,” 2021(1) Journal du droit international – Clunet 419
• “The Three Ages of International Commercial Arbitration and the Development of the ICC Arbitration System,” 2020(2) ICC Dispute Resolution Bulletin 63
• “Book review – P. Sands, East West Street: On the Origins of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity,” 2018(1) Revue critique de droit international privé 170
• “Note – Stone Sweet and F. Grisel, The Evolution of International Arbitration. Judicialization, Governance, Legitimacy,” 58 American Journal of Legal History 159 (2018)
• Mikaël has also acted as peer reviewer for book proposals and articles submitted to Cambridge University Press, Journal of International Economic Law, The Law & Practice of International Courts and Tribunals, and other

• “One Hundred Years of ICC Arbitration: How the Past Informs the Present,” ICC online event, 29 September 2023
• “The Construction of the Contemporary Regime of International Commercial Arbitration in France and England (17th-20th centuries),” Société de Législation Comparée conference, Paris, 26 September 2023
• “The Changing Sociology of the International Legal Community,” Conference organized by Paris Place de Droit, Paris, 7 July 2023 (Moderator)
• “Investigating the Many Lives of International Arbitration,” NOVA Arbitration Talks, NOVA School of Law, Lisbon, 15 May 2023
• “Building Bridges: Crafting a Blueprint for the Future of Dispute Resolution,” 7th ICC European Conference, Paris, 27 March 2023 (Panelist)
• “The Three Ages of International Commercial Arbitration,” Third Sorbonne Arbitrage’s Rendez-vous des auteurs de l’arbitrage, Université Panthéon-Sorbonne (Paris 1), Paris, 26 October 2022
• “Researching the Modern History and Evolution of International Commercial Arbitration,” Columbia International Arbitration Association seminar, Columbia Law School, New York, 30 August 2022
• “The Modern History of International Commercial Arbitration,” Kobe Seminars on Asian Law and Dispute Management, Kobe University (online event), 27 August 2022
• “The Three Ages of International Commercial Arbitration,” Harvard International Arbitration Law Students Association (HIALSA) Book Talk, Harvard Law School (online event), 6 April 2022
• Book Launch for The Three Ages of International Commercial Arbitration, Gaillard Banifatemi Shelbaya Disputes and Sciences Po Arbitration Society (online event), 1 March 2022
• “The Twin Genealogies of International Arbitration,” Oxford University Conference titled “Why Arbitration? History, Theory and Practice” (online event), 1 October 2021
• “The ICC: One Hundred Years of Arbitration (1919–2019),” Geneva Center for International Dispute Settlement (CIDS) Executive Course on “ICC Arbitration: Current Developments,” Geneva, 13 September 2019
• “The Evolution of the Arbitral Case Law of the International Chamber of Commerce in the 1920s and 1930s,” Ecole Normale Supérieure Conference on Historical Perspectives on International Commercial and Investment Treaty Arbitration, Paris, 13 June 2017