Melanie van Leeuwen reappointed Chair of the ICC Commission on arbitration and ADR

Melanie van Leeuwen has been reappointed Chair of the ICC Commission on arbitration and ADR.

This nomination was reported in the press in a GAR article dated 26 July 2024 :

“Van Leeuwen to serve second term as ICC commission chair

The ICC commission on arbitration and ADR has reappointed Derains & Gharavi partner Melanie van Leeuwen as its chair, while also appointing 12 new vice-chairs to its steering committee.

The commission – which serves as a think-tank and rule-making body for the ICC’s dispute resolution services – announced the composition of its committee for the 2024-2027 term earlier this month.

Van Leeuwen is tasked with leading the commission for a second term. The Paris-based Dutch practitioner first took over as chair in 2021 from Finnish arbitrator Carita Wallgren-Lindholm.

The commission has also appointed 12 new vice chairs to its steering committee, which it says reflects the ICC’s “ongoing commitment to ensuring balanced representation of established and emerging jurisdictions in dispute resolution, as well as to promoting regional diversity.”

Seven of the new vice-chairs are women: Squire Patton Boggs partner Sabrina Aïnouz, Cecilia Azar of Galicia Abogados in Mexico, Dentons partner Rachel Howie, Marily Paralika of Fieldfisher, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas partner Shaneen Parikh, Nathalie Voser of Schellenerg Wittmer and Justyna Szpara, head of dispute resolution at Polish firm Łaszczuk & Partners.

The other vice-chairs are Brazilian academic Cristiano de Sousa Zanetti; Boeing’s senior counsel Peter Durning; White & Case’s head of arbitration in Asia Matthew Secomb; Patrick Ikwueto SAN of Nigeria and Patrick Leonard SC, the vice-chair of Arbitration Ireland.

The new vice-chairs join six existing vice-chairs who will serve a second term.

The ICC Court’s president Claudia Salomon and secretary general Alexander Fessas also sit on the steering committee as ex officio members, as do Gibson Dunn of counsel Victoria Orlowski, who is president of the standing committee of the ICC International Centre for ADR; Wordstone partner Eduardo Silva Romero, who is chair of the ICC Institute of World Business Law; and the Commission secretary Hélène van Lith.

Van Leeuwen says that the commission owes a “great debt of gratitude” to its outgoing vice-chairs and members who have been “instrumental in providing the thought leadership necessary to ensuring that the practice of arbitration and ADR is attuned to the needs of its users and in sync with the rapidly changing economic environment.”

But she says she is also “delighted the steering committee will be reinforced by such a diverse group of eminent practitioners and corporate representatives.”

Van Lith says: “The new composition of the Commission and its leadership for 2024-2027 is marked by increased corporate and regional engagement and reflects Melanie van Leeuwen’s vision and perseverance, as well as the strength of ICC’s global network.”

She praises the commission’s work from the previous term, including its guide on effective conflict management and report on facilitating settlement in international arbitration. The commission also published a guide on disability inclusion in arbitration, which won GAR’s Equal Representation in Arbitration Pledge award.

Van Lith says the upcoming term “promises both the completion of ongoing work on anti-corruption and expedited proceedings as well as the creation of new task forces to provide guidance and thought leadership on important topics in international dispute resolution.”

Earlier this week, the ICC Court’s under-40s group revealed its largest ever group of regional representatives across 65 countries“.