This ranking was featured in our 2023 Mining Arbitration Report, which is part of a series of industry-focused arbitration reports edited by Jus Mundi and Jus Connect.
This issue explores the mining industry and presents a goldmine of information based on data available on Jus Mundi and Jus Connect as of February 2023. Discover updated insights into mining arbitration and exclusive statistics & rankings, as well as in-depth global and regional perspectives on mining projects, disputes, & arbitration from leading lawyers, arbitrators, experts, and in-house counsel.
The selection of arbitrators is a crucial step in the arbitration process. Mining arbitration is a technical sector with capital-intensive and long-term projects, which requires arbitrators to have specific expertise in the field. However, finding the right arbitrator can be a cumbersome task, especially in such a specialized industry.
At the time of writing this Report, Jus Connect contains over 9,000 arbitrator profiles, of which 734 have appeared in mining arbitration cases available on our platform.
Gender equality and diversity in arbitration have been hot topics for a few years now. While many initiatives have been created to effect change in the legal profession and arbitral community, ICSID reports a fairly unchanged number of female arbitrators appointed in ICSID cases. To be fair, ICSID only started gathering this data in 2019. For the most part, however, the lack of diversity in international arbitration is still a great concern. Tribunals should represent the broad spectrum of stakeholders impacted by their decisions. This also goes for counsel teams.
Still, the same few women tend to be appointed and the cliché of the “male, pale, and stale” arbitrators has been hard to shake. ICSID reports in its all-time statistics, i.e., data from 1966 to 2022, that the most appointed arbitrators are American, British, or French. In 2022, it is fair to say that not much has changed as arbitrators, albeit now including some female arbitrators, still are mostly from North America or Europe.
Key Takeaways
- Our top 5 contenders (inc. ex aequo) for the most selected arbitrators all have a heavy caseload in mining arbitration.
- Brigitte Stern is an extremely active arbitrator with a range of expertise: she is the most active arbitrator in mining arbitration, according to our data.
- She was also in the top 5 most appointed arbitrators in our Oil & Gas Arbitration Report and Electricity & Renewables Arbitration Report.
- She arbitrated more mining disputes than any other economic sector, according to our data.
- She is exclusively appointed in the mining sector for investor-State arbitrations, according to our data. She is also the most active female arbitrator in these three economic sectors.
- The vast majority of her appointments came from States.
Find all these insights and more on her Jus Connect profile.
The same few female arbitrators seem to be appointed in Oil & Gas, Electricity & Renewables, and Mining arbitrations. While they are remarkable arbitrators, the strides made are not as great as hoped. That being said, this tendency is also true of male arbitrators.
The uptick in Latin American arbitrations has led to a natural increase in arbitrations conducted in Spanish. Argentinian arbitrators now appear in the top 5 of nationalities most represented in arbitrators, according to ICSID.
Two of the top 5 most appointed arbitrators in mining arbitration, according to our data, illustrate this trend, namely Horacio A. Grigera Naón & Guido Santiago Tawil.
Horacio A. Grigera Naón is, in fact, the most-appointed male arbitrator and second-most-appointed overall arbitrator in mining arbitration.
- Most of the cases he arbitrated were mining disputes.
- He is appointed by investors in most cases.
Charles N. Brower and Bernard R. Hanotiau are the most appointed arbitrators in commercial arbitration of mining disputes, according to our data.
Find more data-backed insights in our 2023 Mining Arbitration Report
