Melanie van Leeuwen appointed as member of the SCAI Court of Arbitration
Melanie van Leeuwen has been appointed as member of the Swiss Chambers’ Arbitration Institution (SCAI) Court of Arbitration as of 1 June 2019. A press release from the SCAI detailing the composition of the Court is available here.
GAR also published an article on 9 May 2019 detailing the new composition of the Court which reads as follows:
“New faces at Swiss chambers
The Swiss Chambers’ Arbitration Institution, or SCAI, has announced seven new members of its Arbitration Court as well as the appointment of a new vice-president.
The new members joining the court as of 1 June include Alexandra C Johnson of Bär & Karrer in Geneva, Clarisse von Wunschheim of Altenburger in Zurich, Daniel Girsberger of the University of Lucerne and Wenger & Vieli in Zurich, and Harold Frey of Lenz & Staehelin in Zurich.
Also joining the court are Lukas Wyss of Bratschi in Bern, Matteo Galante of MAG Legis in Lugano and Melanie van Leeuwen of Derains & Gharavi in Paris.
The new arrivals will replace seven members of the board whose term has come to an end: Andrea Bonomi of the University of Lausanne, Fabio Soldati of Studio 1896 in Lugano, François Bohnet of KGG & Associés in Neuchâtel, Jürgen Brönnimann of Bratschi in Bern, Martin Burkhardt of Lenz & Staehelin in Zurich; and Thomas Burckhardt of Simonius & Partner in Basel.
Christopher Boog of Schellenberg Wittmer in Zurich and Singapore, who has been a member of the Arbitration Court since 2016, will also become one of its vice-presidents. He replaces Domitille Baizeau of Lalive in Geneva, who will remain a member of the court until the end of the year.
The Arbitration Court is presided over by Gabrielle Nater-Bass of Homburger in Zurich, with Cesare Jermini of Bär & Karrer in Lugano serving as its other vice-president.
Nater-Bass says the members of the Arbitration Court are “professional and highly motivated practitioners” who are “the driving force” behind many of the SCAI’s initiatives.
“It fills me with great satisfaction to know that the departing court members will continue to be loyal to the institution and to promote SCAI in Switzerland and abroad going forward.”
She adds that the new additions to the court mean the SCAI “now has an even broader group of experienced practitioners to rely on and to expand its position as a leading arbitration institution.”
Regarding Boog’s appointment she says: “Chris is an experienced practitioner with an outstanding track record for handling a variety of arbitration matters and a dynamic and charismatic colleague. I very much look forward to working with him and would like to thank Domitille Baizeau for her great support and sound judgment as vice-president in the past three years.”
The SCAI was established by the chambers of commerce and industry of Basel, Bern, Geneva, Lausanne, Lucerne, Lugano, Neuchâtel and Zurich as a non-profit organisation offering dispute resolution services based on the Swiss rules of international arbitration and commercial mediation.
Members of the Arbitration Court as of 1 June
Gabrielle Nater-Bass of Homburger (president)
Christopher Boog, Schellenberg Wittmer (vice-president)
Cesare Jermini, Bär & Karrer (vice-president)
Homayoon Arfazadeh, Python
Domitille Baizeau, Lalive (until end of 2019)
Philippe Bärtsch, Schellenberg Wittmer
Bernhard Berger, Kellerhals Carrard
Sébastien Besson, Lévy Kaufmann-Kohler
Christoph Brunner, Peter and Partners
Stefano Codoni, Walder Wyss
Sandra De Vito Bieri, Bratschi
Harold Frey, Lenz & Staehelin
Matteo Galante, MAG Legis
Daniel Girsberger, University of Lucerne and Wenger & Vieli
Dieter Gränicher, Wenger Plattner
Alexandra C Johnson, Bär & Karrer
Michael Kramer, Pestalozzi
Goran Mazzuchelli, Studio Legale e Notarile Cattaneo Bionda Mazzucchelli
Andrea Meier, Wartmann Merker
Christoph Müller, University of Neuchâtel
Christian Oetiker, Vischer
David Roney, Sidley Austin
Frank Spoorenberg, Tavernier Tschanz
Melanie van Leeuwen, Derains & Gharavi
Clarisse von Wunschheim, Altenburger
Urs Weber-Stecher, Wenger & Vieli
Lukas Wyss, Bratschi
Boris Vittoz, CPV Partners”.