Eric De Brabandere
Eric De Brabandere is an international lawyer, with special expertise in international investment law and arbitration, and international dispute settlement. He holds a Cand. Jur. and Lic. Jur. degree from Ghent University, an LL.M. (DEA) in International Law from the University of Geneva, and a PhD from Ghent University. He is fluent in French, Dutch and English. He was admitted to practice in Belgium in 2002.
He holds the chair of international dispute settlement at Leiden University, where he also serves as Director of the Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies. He is Visiting Professor at the University of Makeni in Sierra Leone (teaching international dispute settlement and international investment law and arbitration), and formerly was a Visiting Professor of International Investment Law and Dispute Settlement at the Universities of Lille (2010-2015), Trento (2014-2017) and Groningen (2013).
Eric De Brabandere’s practice focuses on serving as arbitrator. He has been appointed as presiding arbitrator, sole arbitrator, and co-arbitrator in international commercial arbitrations. He acts as expert in international proceedings, and advises on international commercial arbitration, investment law and arbitration, and international dispute settlement. He has previously acted as counsel in investment treaty arbitrations under the ICSID Convention and the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules. He is listed as arbitrator suitable for appointment in bilateral disputes under the EU’s trade agreements with third countries established by European Commission Decision C(2020) 8905 of 16.12.2020. He is listed as arbitrator with the Netherlands Arbitration Institute (NAI), is a member of the Belgian Centre for Arbitration (CEPANI). He also is a Member of the International Advisory Council and appointed to the list of international arbitrators of the Centro Internacional de Arbitraje Cámara de Bélgica y Luxemburgo en el Perú.
He has published seven books (as sole author and as editor), including the 7th edition of the leading handbook in international dispute settlement originally written by the late Professor John Merrills (Merrill’s International Dispute Settlement, Cambridge University Press, 2022), and over 100 articles and book chapters, relating to international investment law, arbitration, dispute settlement and international law. As an academic, he has vast experience in cooperating with governmental agencies and international institutions to conduct training sessions and capacity-building projects for government officials, attorneys, and lawyers in international investment law and arbitration, and corporate social responsibility.