Yas BANIFATEMI

Yas Banifatemi is a founding partner of Gaillard Banifatemi Shelbaya Disputes. She is widely recognized as one of the most prominent international arbitration and public international law specialists worldwide.

Dr. Banifatemi advises and represents States, State-owned entities and companies on both public international law and international arbitration issues. She has secured many landmark victories for her clients, including a USD 50 billion award for the majority shareholders of the former Yukos Oil Company, the largest investment award in history.

Dr. Banifatemi acts as both counsel and arbitrator in arbitrations conducted pursuant to the ICSID, UNCITRAL, ICC, LCIA, SCC, SIAC, HKIAC, CRCICA, DIS, NAI and the Swiss Arbitration Rules, with particular focus on investment protection, oil & gas and general commercial matters.

Dr. Banifatemi is a member of the SIAC Court of Arbitration and the GIAC Arbitration Council. She is a former Vice-President of the ICC International Court of Arbitration as well as a former member of LCIA Court. She is listed on a number of arbitrator panels, including the ICSID Panel of Arbitrators, appointed by the Chairman of ICSID’s Administrative Council.

Dr. Banifatemi is the President of the International Arbitration Institute (IAI), succeeding the late Emmanuel Gaillard in that capacity.

Dr. Banifatemi teaches at Harvard Law School, Yale Law School and Panthéon-Sorbonne University. In the Summer 2019, she gave a course at The Hague Academy of International Law on the powers of the arbitrator. She researches in the areas of public international law and international arbitration, and has authored numerous publications in, and regularly speaks about, both these fields.