Laurie Achtouk-Spivak’s practice focuses on international arbitration and litigation, as well as public international law.

Laurie represents clients in commercial arbitrations as well as investors and sovereigns in investment treaty arbitrations under various arbitral rules including ICC, ICSID, UNCITRAL, SCC, and LCIA, among others. She has experience handling high-stake disputes in various sectors including energy and natural resources, infrastructure projects, financial services, and life sciences. She often provides companies with investment structuring advice, and she advises and lectures on sustainability matters. Laurie acts as an arbitrator and is a CEDR-accredited mediator.

Laurie joined the firm in 2006, became counsel in 2016, and became partner in 2023.

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Notable Experience

  • The Republic of Iraq in an ICC arbitration commenced against a sovereign state for breaches of an oil pipeline agreement.

  • The Republic of Côte d’Ivoire in an ICSID arbitration brought by Wise Solutions CDI, SA arising out of a dispute related to a concession contract for waste management services in Abidjan.

  • The Hellenic Republic in multiple ICSID arbitrations in the financial sector.

  • The Federal Republic of Nigeria in an ICSID arbitration brought by Shell under the Netherlands-Nigeria BIT.

  • Various investors in securing very favorable outcomes in UNCITRAL arbitrations over damages to their investments.

  • Various corporates in ICC arbitrations involving post M&A issues.

  • The Arab Republic of Egypt in several ICSID arbitrations in the energy and tourism sectors.

  • The Republic of Austria in an ICSID arbitration in the financial sector.

  • The French Republic in an ICSID arbitration under the French Republic-Turkey bilateral investment treaty.

  • DP World in an ICSID arbitration against the Republic of Peru under a concession agreement for the development and operation of the South Pier of the Port of Callao and the UK-Peru bilateral investment treaty. 

  • The Republic of Iraq in the successful dismissal of a VIAC arbitration involving financial sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council.

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Selected Activities

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  • ICC Commission on Arbitration and ADR (Member)
  • ICC Task Force on Addressing Issues of Corruption in International Arbitration (Member)

  • Yearly chronicle on “International Investment and Arbitration” in the Cahiers de l’arbitrage (Co-Director)
  • ICC Institute of World Business Law (Member)
  • International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA) (Member)
  • International Law Association, French Branch (Member)
  • Lecturer at the University of Poitiers (Investor-State dispute settlement)
  • LCIA Users’ Council (Member)
  • ArbitralWomen (Member)
  • ICC France (Member)
  • Peer Review Board, ICSID Review (Member)
  • Transnational Dispute Management (Associate Editor)
  • Comité français de l’arbitrage (Member)
  • Association française d’arbitrage (Member)

Publications

“U.S. Supreme Court Rules That Judges, Not Arbitrators, Decide If A Dispute Is Arbitrable When Multiple Agreements Conflict On The Question,” Cleary Gottlieb Alert Memorandum (May 2024)

Columbia FDI Perspectives: The Revised OECD Guidelines: A Strengthened Forum for Resolving ESG Disputes? (April 2024)

 

Young ICSID Profiles Part Eight – Focus on Europe (April 2024)

“International Bar Association Publishes Revisions to Guidelines on Conflicts of Interest in International Arbitration”

“Resolving Energy Disputes in Africa Through Arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution” (November 2023)

“ICSID Awards,” The Guide to Challenging and Enforcing Arbitration Awards - Third Edition (May 2023) 

“Action Filed in UK Against Shell’s Board Members Regarding Management of Climate Risk,” Cleary Gottlieb Alert Memorandum (February 2023)

“Five International Arbitration Trends And Topics For 2023,” Cleary Gottlieb Alert Memorandum (January 2023)

“OECD National Contact Point Specific Instances: When ‘Soft Law’ Bites?,” Journal of International Dispute Settlement, Oxford University Press (August 2022)

“Amended ICSID Arbitration Rules Enter Into Force,” Cleary Gottlieb Alert Memorandum (July 2022)

“U.S. Supreme Court Denies Applicability of Section 1782 Discovery Statute With Respect to Private Commercial and Treaty Arbitrations,” Cleary Gottlieb Alert Memorandum (June 2022)

“Current Trends in Sovereign Debt Dispute Resolution” (May 2022)

“Trends in African Arbitration” (April 2022)

“A Social Taxonomy for Europe: Extending the EU ESG Framework to Socially Sustainable Activities and Companies’ Corporate Governance,” Cleary Gottlieb Alert Memorandum (March 2022)

“Investor-State Arbitration in the Energy Sector Likely as Green Transition Accelerates,” Cleary Gottlieb Alert Memorandum (February 2022)

Climate Change Litigation: Corporates at Risk (January 2022)

“Confirmation of English Law Approach to Law Governing the Validity of the Arbitration Agreement,” Cleary Gottlieb Alert Memorandum (December 2021)

“Trade and Foreign Direct Investment Stimulus In Africa: Impacts on Dispute Resolution,” International Bar Association, Arbitration Committee bulletin (November 2021)

“Dubai Enacts Sweeping Decree Reforming and Modernizing the Framework for Arbitration in the Emirate,” Cleary Gottlieb Alert Memorandum (November 2021) 

“The CJEU Finds Investor-State Arbitration Clause in the Energy Charter Treaty Inapplicable to Intra-EU Disputes,” Cleary Gottlieb Alert Memorandum (September 2021)

“Natural Resources Disputes in Africa,” Africa Outlook Quarterly Wrap (September 2021)

“The European Commission’s “Fit for 55” Legislative Package to Meet 2030 Emissions Target,” Cleary Gottlieb Alert Memorandum (August 2021)

“ICSID Awards,” The Guide to Challenging and Enforcing Arbitration Awards - Second Edition (June 2021) 

“Ethical Considerations in International Arbitration: Is It Time for a Uniform Code of Conduct for Arbitrators?,” 40 Under 40 International Arbitration 2021 (April 2021)

“Provisional Agreement On European Climate Law,” Cleary Gottlieb Alert Memorandum (April 2021)

“Trade and Foreign Direct Investment Stimulus In Africa: Impacts on Dispute Resolution?,” Africa Outlook Quarterly Wrap (March 2021)

“Recent Developments in Business and Human Rights Frameworks in Europe,” Cleary Gottlieb Alert Memorandum (January 2020) 

“2021 ICC Rules Of Arbitration Unveiled,” Cleary Gottlieb Alert Memorandum (November 2020) 

“U.K. Supreme Court Decision Answers the Question: What Law Governs Your Arbitration Agreement?,” Cleary Gottlieb Alert Memorandum (November 2020)

“In Annulment Proceedings Over ICC Award, Paris Court Rules on Nature of U.S., EU, and UN Sanctions,” Cleary Gottlieb Alert Memorandum (July 2020)

“Most EU Member States Agree to Terminate Their Intra-EU Bilateral Investment Treaties,” Cleary Gottlieb Alert Memorandum (May 2020)

“COVID-19: Public Health Emergency Measures and State Defenses in International Investment Law,” Cleary Gottlieb Alert Memorandum (April 2020)

“The Launch of the Hague Rules on Business and Human Rights Arbitration,” Cleary Gottlieb Alert Memorandum (January 2020)

Développement d’un code de conduite uniforme pour les arbitres d’investissement et jurisprudence récente en matière de « double hatting » (Development of a uniform code of conduct for investment arbitrators and recent case law on “double hatting”) Cahiers de l’arbitrage, p. 622 (2020)

“Banking and Financial Investment Arbitrations: Past, Present, and Future Post-Achmea and Opinion 1/17,” European Central Bank Legal Working Paper Series: The New Challenges Raised by Investment Arbitration for the EU Legal Order (October 2019)

“African States Launch the Operational Phase of the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement,” Cleary Gottlieb Alert Memorandum (July 2019)

ICSID Awards, The Guide to Challenging and Enforcing Arbitration Awards - First Edition, pp. 136-152, with C. Annacker and Z. Bouraoui (June 2019)

Cautio judicatum solvi: débats autour de la sanction de la partie défaillante et autres développements récents (Cautio judicatum solvi: debate surrounding sanctions for defaulting parties and other recent developments) Cahiers de l’arbitrage, p. 717 (2019)

Double nationalité des investisseurs personnes physiques: le débat continue (Dual nationality of investors: the debate continues) Cahiers de l’arbitrage pp. 722-727 (2018)

Bridgestone Arbitral Tribunal Rules That Trademarks and Trademark Licenses May Constitute Protected Investments, Oxford Business Law Blog (May 2018)

Thorny Questions for IP Rights Under Investment Treaties, Law360 (March 2018)

Procédures multiples et abus de droit (« abuse of process »), (Multiple procedures and abuse of process) vol. 4 Cahiers de l’arbitrage 628-634 (2017)

Reasserting Control Over State Consent to Investment Arbitration – Some Recent Trends in Treaty-Making, The European Arbitration Review 2017, pp. 20-26 (with P. von Mühlendahl)

Compétence des tribunaux arbitraux d’investissement et différends fiscaux : quelques développements récents, (Jurisdiction of investment treaty arbitral tribunals and tax disputes: some recent developments) vol. 4 Cahiers de l’arbitrage (2016)

Mélanges offerts à Charles Leben, Droit international et culture juridique, ouvrage collectif, 2015, éd. Pedone, 592, vol. 1 Cahiers de l’arbitrage (2016)

Cautio judicatum solvi et arbitrage d’investissement: développements récents et perspectives,(Cautio judicatum solvi and investment arbitration: recent developments and perspectives) vol. 4 Cahiers de l’arbitrage 697-703 (2015)

Le droit applicable dans l’arbitrage d’investissement (Applicable Law in Investment Arbitration), in Charles Leben (ed.), Droit International des Investissements et de l’Arbitrage Transnational (2015) pp. 813-860

Les voies de recours contre les sentences en matière d’investissement (Post-award Remedies in Investment Arbitration), in Charles Leben (ed.), Droit International des Investissements et de l’Arbitrage Transnational (2015) pp. 885-940

Reconnaissance et exécution des sentences arbitrales en matière d’investissement (Recognition and execution of arbitral awards in investment arbitration), in Charles Leben (ed.), Droit International des Investissements et de l’Arbitrage Transnational (2015) pp.999-1026  (with A. Ben Mansour)

Landmark Sovereign Debt Restructuring Award, Opinio Juris, available at http://opiniojuris.org/2015/04/30/guest-post-landmark-sovereign-debt-restructuring-award/ (with P. Barker) (2015/4)

Interprétation des traités et consentement de l’Etat (Treaty Interpretation and State Consent), Cahiers de l’arbitrage 697 (2014/4)

Droit pénal et droit de l’investissement (Criminal Law and Investment Law), Cahiers de l’arbitrage 74 (2013/4)

Consentement à l’arbitrage et lois d’investissement (Consent to Arbitration and Investment Laws) Cahiers de l’arbitrage 893 (2012/4)

Notion de siège social et protection des traités d’investissement (Notion of Seat and Investment Treaty Protection) Cahiers de l’arbitrage 1032 (2011/4)

Article 41(5) du règlement d’arbitrage CIRDI et objections préliminaires à la compétence (Article 41(5) of the ICSID Arbitration Rules and Preliminary Jurisdictional Objections), Cahiers de l’arbitrage 1034 (2010/4)

Infrastructure in the Mediterranean Basin: PPPs, InfraMed and Treaty Protection, IBA Conference Paper, available at http://www.int-bar.org/shop (with C. Annacker and D. Hashish)

Entités infra-étatiques et consentement à l’arbitrage sur le fondement de traités d’investissement (State Entities and Consent to Investment Treaty Arbitration), Cahiers de l’arbitrage, Gazette du Palais 30 (2009/4)

L’affaire Pantechniki ou la renaissance de la clause electa una via dans l’arbitrage d’investissement? (The Pantechniki Case or the Rebirth of the Fork-in-the-Road Clause in Investment Arbitration) Cahiers de l’arbitrage, Gazette du Palais 24 (2009/4)

La réparation du préjudice moral dans l’arbitrage sur le fondement de traités d’investissement: premiers développements, premiers désaccords (Reparation for Moral Damages in Investment Treaty Arbitration: First Developments, First Disagreements), Cahiers de l’arbitrage, Gazette du Palais 48 (2008/4)

Arbitrage en matière d’investissement et crise argentine (Investment Arbitration and the Argentina Crisis), Cahiers de l’arbitrage, Gazette du Palais 55 (2007/4)

Events