Robert DANON

Robert J. Danon is a tenured Professor of International Tax Law at the University of Lausanne (Switzerland) and currently also serves as the Chairman of the Permanent Scientific Committee (PSC) of the International Fiscal Association (Global IFA) founded in 1938 at the Peace Palace (the Netherlands) and having a presence in more than 72 countries.

Professor Danon has widely published in all areas of Swiss and international tax law and is in particular the co-editor of forthcoming volumes on "Tax Issues in International Investment Arbitration" (Kluwer) and "Tax Treaty Interpretation in light of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties" (International Fiscal Association)

Next to his academic duties, Professor Danon is a founding partner of DANON, an independent firm with a predominant focus on international tax law, cross-border tax disputes and international arbitration. Professor Danon is widely recognized by professional rankings, for example by Who's Who Legal (WWL) which considers that he is: "the top expert to go to for highly technical matters" thanks to his "proficiency in international tax law".

Professor Danon’s expertise concentrates in particular on the interaction between investment arbitration and tax-related disputes. He is regularly called to give evidence as an expert witness or to act as a consultant in the framework of domestic and foreign court proceedings, mutual agreement and arbitration procedures, including those involving non-tax agreements such as bilateral investment treaties or the Energy Charter Treaty. He has served as an expert witness in international and comparative tax law in several high-profile arbitration cases under the arbitral rules of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) and the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL).

He is also on the list of possible arbitrators under the mandatory binding arbitration clauses provided by selected bilateral tax treaties.

More broadly, Professor Danon’s international tax practice focuses on tax treaties and their interpretation, non-discrimination, MFN treatment, abuse of rights by taxpayers and States (including State responsibility), dispute resolution, comparative taxation and transfer pricing.

Professor Danon has also advised governments on tax reforms and has testified on multiple occasions before Parliamentary Committees.