HVDB - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Partner
- Associate - Admitted in Brussels
- Honorary President of the International Council for Commercial Arbitration
- Member of the CIETAC International Advisory Board
- Partner - Admitted in Amsterdam and Registered in Brussels
Professor Albert Jan van den Berg is a partner in Hanotiau & van den Berg in Brussels, Belgium. He is and has been sole, presiding and party-appointed arbitrator in numerous international arbitrations (ad hoc, AAA/ICDR, CRCICA, DIAC, DRCAFTA, ECT, ICC, ICSID, LCIA, NAFTA, NAI, OHADA, SCAI, SCC, SIAC, and UNCITRAL), relating to, inter alia, airports, aviation, banking, broadcasting, construction, defense projects, distributorship, electricity and gas supply, fashion, futures and options, gambling, information technology, insurance and re-insurance, investments, joint ventures, licensing, media, mining, nuclear energy, oil and gas, pharmaceuticals, post M&A, post-privatization, professional associations, real estate, sales, satellites, shale gas, solar energy, sports, telecom, turnkey projects. Professor van den Berg also frequently acts as counsel in international commercial arbitration matters and in setting aside proceedings.
Professor van den Berg is on many panels of arbitrators, including the American Arbitration Association (AAA), New York; Arbitral Tribunal for Football, World Cup Division for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, Geneva; Asian International Arbitration Centre, Kuala Lumpur; Center for Arbitration and Conciliation, Bogotá Chamber of Commerce; Center for Arbitration and Mediation, Chamber of Commerce Brazil-Canada; China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC), Beijing; CPR International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution; Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC); Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Indonesian Board of National Arbitration (BANI), Jakarta; International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), Washington; Netherlands Arbitration Institute (NAI); and Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC); Vienna International Arbitral Center (VIAC). He is an arbitrator on the Arbitral Tribunal concerning the Bank for International Settlements (Hague Treaty of 20 January 1930).
Professor van den Berg is Honorary President of the International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA), having served as President from 2014 to 2016. He was also President and Secretary-General of the NAI and Vice-President of the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA). He is Emeritus Professor of Law (arbitration chair) at Erasmus University, Rotterdam. He is currently Co-Chair of the International Arbitration Program and Visiting Professor at the University of Miami School of Law. He is also a Visiting Professor at Georgetown University Law Center, Washington DC and Tsinghua University Law School, Beijing and member of the Faculty of the Geneva University Master of Laws in International Dispute Settlement (MIDS), Geneva. Professor van den Berg was General Editor of ICCA Publications from 1986 to 2018. He is a member of the Editorial Board of the Global Arbitration Review, London and the Tijdschrift voor Arbitrage, Rotterdam; and the Editorial Advisory Board of the Journal of World Investment & Trade; Advisory Board, Arab Yearbook of Public and Private International Law. He has extensively published and lectured on international arbitration and has founded and maintains a website on the New York Convention on the Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (www.newyorkconvention.org). His legal education includes law degrees from the University of Amsterdam (1973), University of Aix-en-Provence (1974) and New York University (1975), as well as doctoral degrees from the University of Aix-en-Provence (1977) and Erasmus University, Rotterdam (1981).
Professor van den Berg is a member of the CIETAC International Advisory Board; Commission on Arbitration and ADR of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), Paris; LCIA Company, London; ICCA; International Advisory Board of the HKIAC; Council, Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration (ACICA); Arbitrator Committee, Thailand Arbitration Center; Arbitration Court, Dubai International Arbitration Centre (DIAC); Advisory Board of the Geneva University MIDS; Board of Trustees of the Institute of International Commercial Law of Pace University School of Law; and Executive Committee, Asian Academy of International Law (AAIL). He is Awareness Ambassador of the ICC Task Force on Disability Inclusion in International Arbitration. Professor van den Berg was awarded "Arbitration Lawyer of the Year Award" by The International Who's Who of Business Lawyers in 2006, 2011, and 2017, and "Best Prepared and Most Responsive Arbitrator" by the Global Arbitration Review in 2013 and listed in Chambers, ranked Band 1 (2023) and Who's Who Legal, Global Elite Thought Leader (2023).
Albert Jan Jr. van den Berg was admitted to the Brussels Bar in 2017. He focuses his practice on commercial law, national and international commercial arbitration.
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Member of the Brussels
Bernard Hanotiau is a member of the Brussels and Paris Bars. Since 1978, Bernard Hanotiau has been actively involved in more than 500 international…
Job Titles:
- Counsel
- Counsel - Admitted in New South Wales and Registered in Brussels
Emily Hay joined the firm in 2014. She acts as arbitrator, counsel, tribunal secretary and assistant to the tribunal in international commercial and investment arbitrations, both ad hoc and under a wide variety of institutional rules, spanning various industry sectors (nuclear energy, hydropower, fuel cell technology, oil and gas, banking, construction, medical devices, real estate, military equipment, consumer appliances, fast food, and aviation). Ms. Hay is also involved in court litigation related to the set-aside and enforcement of arbitral awards.
Before joining Hanotiau & van den Berg Ms. Hay advised on issues of public international law, data protection and privacy at an international law firm in Brussels. Ms. Hay also spent two years in Egypt providing legal aid to refugees and asylum seekers, and has undertaken internships with Human Rights Watch and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
In 2012 Ms. Hay obtained her LLM in Advanced Studies in Public International Law (cum laude) from Leiden University. She completed Bachelors of Arts and of Laws (First Class Honours) at Macquarie University in 2008. Ms. Hay was admitted in the Supreme Court of New South Wales in 2013, and is registered to practice in both New South Wales and Brussels (B-list).
Ms. Hay speaks English, French and Spanish.
Job Titles:
- Counsel - Admitted in Paris and England & Wales and Registered in Brussels
- Member of CEPANI - 40 's Steering Committee
Iris Raynaud specialises in international arbitration. She acts as arbitrator and assists arbitral tribunals in the management of complex disputes.
Over the last 10 years, Iris has been involved in 30 international arbitration proceedings as counsel (collective experience), as assistant to the Tribunal (under the Presidency of Prof. Bernard Hanotiau) and most recently as arbitrator.
Her experience covers complex commercial disputes and investor-state disputes (ad hoc, ICC, ICSID, PCA, LCIA, SIAC, DIA, SCAI, CEPANI, KCAB) relating to the following industries: nuclear, oil, gas, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, microelectronics, banking, insurance & reinsurance, broadcasting rights, precious metal, commodity trading, telecommunication, logistics, waste management, automotive, shipping, construction.
Iris is known for her strong analytical and communication skills, her pragmatism and result driven approach. She enjoys working on complex disputes and believes that efficient dispute resolution is key to a healthy and active international business environment.
Iris works in English and French and understands well Spanish. She is qualified in France (Paris) and England & Wales (Solicitor) and is registered with the Brussels Bar (E List). She has worked in the United Kingdom, Belgium, France and South Korea.
Iris is an active member of CEPANI-40's Steering Committee. She also publishes in Les Cahiers de l'Arbitrage and Kluwer Arbitration.
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Member of the ICC Commission
- Partner - Admitted in Bucharest and Registered in Brussels
Ms. Iancu has over fourteen years of experience in international arbitration. She has acted as arbitrator (presiding, party-appointed, sole arbitrator, emergency arbitrator), counsel and tribunal secretary. Her experience includes several dozen high-stakes, high-value and complex international commercial and investment arbitrations, both ad hoc and under a variety of arbitration rules (CEPANI, ICC, ICSID, LCIA, NAI, Polish Chamber of Commerce, Swiss Arbitration Centre, UNCITRAL, VIAC). These spanned various industry sectors, such as banking, telecommunications, insurance, energy, infrastructure, information technology, construction, mining, distribution, luxury and pharmaceuticals. Ms. Iancu's arbitration experience includes disputes involving both States and private parties, as well as various procedural and substantive laws. Ms. Iancu is also a lecturer at the University of Bucharest's International Arbitration LL.M., teaching Comparative International Commercial Arbitration.
Ms. Iancu is a member of the ICC Commission on Arbitration and ADR, ICCA and the CEPANI. She was a member of the ICC Working Group on Leveraging Technology for Fair, Effective and Efficient International Arbitration Proceedings. Ms. Iancu is a founder and Vice-Chair of the Board of ArbCEE (the Arbitration Association for Central and Eastern Europe), an ICC YAAF representative for Europe, a co-founder of the Young Romanian Arbitration Practitioners and of the ARBinBRIEF initiative. Ms. Iancu cooperates with multiple other international arbitration groups (Young ICCA, Young ITA, Arbitral Women, AIJA, CEPANI40) through various diversity initiatives and mentoring programs. Ms. Iancu is also a founding member of the Romanian Chapter of the Spanish Arbitration Club and the Vice President of the Belgian Chapter of the Spanish Arbitration Club.
Ms. Iancu has been praised by Who's Who Legal - Arbitration 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 as one of the Future Leaders in the arbitration community, with peers describing her as "one of the rising stars of the new generation of arbitrators", "a brilliantly talented attorney with deep knowledge of international commercial and investment treaty arbitration", "sharp under pressure and very skilled at managing with complex matters" and a "super-prepared and very clear lawyer".
Ms. Iancu holds an LL.M. degree from Columbia Law School (2012, Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar). She is admitted to practice in Bucharest and is registered with the Brussels Bar. She speaks English (bilingual), French (fluent) and Romanian (native).
Job Titles:
- Associate
- SENIOR ASSOCIATE - Admitted in Colombia and Registered in Brussels
Juan Camilo Jiménez-Valencia joined the firm in 2018. He acts as tribunal secretary in complex international commercial and investment arbitrations, both ad hoc and under a variety of arbitration rules, spanning various industry sectors.
Mr. Jiménez-Valencia holds a law degree from the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana of Bogotá (ranked top 5 of his class) and obtained his LL.M. in International Dispute Settlement (MIDS) from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies and the University of Geneva in 2018, were he was awarded a full merit-based scholarship.
Prior to joining HVDB, Mr. Jiménez-Valencia was an associate in an international law firm in Bogotá for over 3 years. He represented clients in civil, administrative, and unfair trade litigation before local courts, and domestic and international arbitration tribunals. Mr. Jiménez-Valencia was a Professor of Roman Law at his former law school in Bogotá for 2 years. Furthermore, he co-founded Colombian Very Young Arbitration Practitioners in 2015.
Mr. Jiménez-Valencia is admitted to practice in Colombia since 2013 and is currently registered with the Brussels Bar. He is native speaker of Spanish, fluent in English, and conversant in French.
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Partner at Hanotiau
Maarten Draye is a partner at Hanotiau & van den Berg in Brussels. Since 2007, he has built up a solid track record advising and representing clie…
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Partner at Hanotiau
Niuscha Bassiri is a partner at Hanotiau & van den Berg in Brussels. For more than two decades, she acts as arbitrator and counsel in numerous…
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Partner - Admitted in Brussels
A member of the Brussels bar, Pascal Hollander represents clients in complex arbitration and litigation, and also regularly acts as arbitrator in international and domestic disputes, in areas such as commercial distribution, trade practices, corporate disputes, intellectual property.
Mr. Hollander regularly writes articles and gives lectures on these topics. He teaches arbitration law at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB).
He is a past-Chair of the IBA Subcommittee on Recognition and Enforcement of Arbitral Awards and a current Vice-Chair of the IBA Arbitration Committee.
He is consistently ranked as a top practitioner in the area of arbitration, dispute resolution and commercial distribution by all major legal publications and directories, such as Chambers Global, European Legal Experts, Who's Who Legal, PLC Which Lawyer?, Cross Border Dispute Resolution Handbook or Best Lawyers.
For Chambers Global 2015: "Sources describe Pascal Hollander as a "fabulous arbitrator who is really brilliant". He represents clients in arbitration on a national and international level, with a specific experience in areas such as corporate disputes, commercial distribution and IP".
For Who's Who Legal Commercial Arbitration 2015, Pascal Hollander "represents clients in complex arbitration cases and is a "marvellous advocate". He also acts as arbitrator and is "greatly respected"". And for Who's Who Legal Franchise 2014, "the "splendid" Pascal Hollander is the "top practitioner in Belgium" according to lawyers around the globe. They especially single out this "sterling" dispute work, calling him "one of the best informed arbitrators in this field"." In its 2015 edition, the same publication stressed that "he is a superb negotiator" and ranked him as one of the 10 Most Highly Regarded Individuals in Europe, the only one from Belgium.
He graduated from the University of Brussels (ULB) and also obtained a LL.M. degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.
He is fluent in English, French and Dutch.
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Partner - Admitted in Brussels
Pierre is regularly involved in arbitration cases, both as counsel and as arbitrator.
He assists clients drafting and negotiating commercial contracts, and regularly provides legal opinions on commercial law.
Pierre was admitted to the Brussels Bar in 2000 and joined Hanotiau & van den Berg in 2005.
He has been appointed since 2015 as the Belgian expert for commercial litigation by IR GLOBAL. He is also a member of AIJA, IDI, and CEPANI 40.
He is bilingual French and Dutch, which enables him to handle cases before both French and Dutch speaking Courts. He is also fluent in English, and has a good knowledge of German.
Pierre Vermeire specializes in cross-border and domestic dispute resolution. He has extensive experience in complex litigation, with special focus…
Samia is admitted to the Brussels Bar. She focuses her practice on international arbitration and dispute resolution within the team of Pascal Holla…
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Associate - Admitted in Maharashtra & Goa ( India ) and Registered in Brussels
Shyam Balakrishnan joined Hanotiau & van den Berg in 2020. His practice is focused on international commercial and investment arbitration, both ad hoc and under a variety of institutional rules. He acts as tribunal secretary or assistant to the tribunal in international arbitrations spanning various industry sectors.
Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Balakrishnan practised as an Associate in the dispute resolution team of Veritas Legal, Mumbai. In this capacity, Mr. Balakrishnan regularly advised and represented clients in complex civil and commercial cases before the Bombay High Court, and also in ad hoc and institutional arbitrations.
Mr. Balakrishnan graduated with a Bachelors of Arts and of Laws (B.A.LL.B (Hons.)) from the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata, India, in 2016. In 2019, he obtained his LL.M in International Dispute Settlement (MIDS) from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies and the University of Geneva.
Mr. Balakrishnan is admitted to practice with the Bar Council of Maharashtra & Goa and is registered with the Brussels Bar (B-list). He is a native English speaker but is also fluent in Hindi, Marathi and Tamil.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- SENIOR ASSOCIATE - Admitted in India ( New Delhi ) and Registered in Brussels
Tarunima Vijra joined Hanotiau & van den Berg in 2017. Her practice is focussed on international commercial and investment arbitration, both ad ho…