Julie Spinelli

Publications

• Chapter “France”, in GAR Know-How Litigation, Global Arbitration Review Insight 2024 (with Jean-Luc Larribau et Anne-Claire Hans)

• Chapter “France”, in Arbitration Handbook 2023 (Global Legal Post), edited by Three Crowns

• CEPANI Newsletter, Stories from a Young Arbitrator: “Walking on thin ice when addressing corruption as an arbitrator”

• Chapter “France”, in Getting the Deal Through “Sovereign Immunity”, Lexology 2020, 2021 and 2022 (with Yann Dehaudt-Delville)

• « ‘Avant l’heure, ce n’est pas l’heure ; après l’heure, ce n’est plus l’heure’ ou de l’effectivité du second alinéa de l’article 1526 du Code de procédure civile », CAPJIA 2020-4, co-authored with Yann Dehaudt-Delville

• Chapter “France”, in The International Comparative Legal Guide to Investor State Arbitration, ICLG 2020 and 2021 (with Yann Dehaudt-Delville)

• “The gathering and taking of evidence under the IBA Guidelines on party representation in international arbitration: civil and common law perspectives” (2014) 8 Dispute Resolution International 37 (with Gisele Stephens-Chu)

• “La réforme du droit de l’arbitrage, sous le double signe de la lisibilité et de l’efficacité”, Gazette du Palais, 2011, n° 26-27, p. 9 (with Elie Kleiman)

Languages Spoken

French; English

Expert in these Jurisdictions

France and any civil-law jurisdiction

Work Highlights

Experiences as arbitrator

• Presiding arbitrator in a CMAP arbitration in the software and insurance industry

• Sole arbitrator in an ICC Arbitration between a Spanish company and an Algerian company, regarding an alleged force majeure event due to the suspension by Algeria of the treaty of friendship and co-operation between Spain and Algeria, affecting the performance of contracts for the sale and supply of cement

• Sole arbitrator in an ICC case between a North-African water and electricity state entity and a contractor relating to a construction dispute in the context of a public works agreement for a water supply project in the region

• Sole arbitrator in an ICC case related to the alleged wrongful termination of three consultant agreements concluded between a Korean and a French company in the submarine/defense industry

• Co-arbitrator in a CMAP case relating to the abrupt termination of a franchise agreement between two French companies in the construction industry

• Commercial arbitration

• Advising and representing a French company that designs, supplies and installs components, fuel, and control systems for nuclear power plants, in ICC arbitration proceedings against a French industrial group specialized in metallurgy and its applications, operating in the nuclear and naval energy industry in a dispute stemming from a disagreement over the selling price of business assets determined by an independent expert

• Advising and representing two US companies created to design, build, launch and operate a constellation of linked communications satellites in lower earth orbit in ICC arbitration proceedings against a leading company in the space industry

• Advising and representing one of the world’s largest beauty companies in an ICC arbitration relating to the wrongful termination of a distribution agreement against the licensor of the luxury brand

• Advising a biomass-fuelled thermal power plant in Mauritius, which has been producing renewable energy against the electricity state-entity regarding a force majeure dispute triggered by the sudden increase in the price of coal due to the Ukraine war

• Advising and representing a French world-leading hospitality company in a Geneva-seated ICC arbitration proceedings against the owner of a five-star hotel in Morocco in relation to the violations of a management contract and a trademark license agreement

• Advising and representing a Dubai-based subcontractor company against one of the largest company specialized in entertainment in Paris in a fast track ad-hoc arbitration in relation to wrongful termination of contractual relationship

• Advising and representing a Dutch company specialised in the construction of steel structures in the context of an ICC arbitration against the largest European company specialised in the steel production relating to allegations of design defects on a tandem mill

• Advising and representing a European chemical company in ICC arbitration proceedings launched against a French pharmaceutical company relating to a claim for breach of representations and warranties in a post-merger dispute

• Advising and representing an American pharmaceutical company in ICC arbitration proceedings launched against a French pharmaceutical company in a post-M&A dispute relating to representations and warranty in a license agreement dispute (seeking a price reduction for the entry on the market of a competing generic product)

• Advising and representing a Spanish distribution company in an ICC arbitration against a French luxury cosmetics company in a commercial dispute under French law relating to the abrupt termination of a long-standing business relationship

• Advising and representing a French hotel management company in ad hoc arbitration proceedings against the owner of a luxury hotel in French Polynesia in relation to the wrongful termination of a management contract due to the COVID-19 crisis

• Advising and representing a French hotel management company in ICC arbitration proceedings against the owner of a famous five-star hotel brand in French Polynesia in relation to the wrongful termination of a management contract for alleged material breach

• Advising and representing a French armament company (in bankruptcy) in an ICC arbitration against another Germano-Italian armament company in a commercial dispute relating to alleged violations of IP rights arising out of the sale of bomb shells

• Advising and representing a Lebanese company in an ICC expedited arbitration proceedings against a European aeronautical company in relation to a EUR 60 million claim for the wrongful termination of three different contracts governed by French and Spanish law due to allegations of corruption in the context of the aeronautical industries (both civil and military) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

• Advising and representing the former shareholders of an Egyptian company that represented the French military aeronautical industry in Egypt in ICC arbitration proceedings against a French aeronautical group for the wrongful termination of contracts governed by Spanish law

• Advising and representing a group of multinational companies in ICC arbitration proceedings against a French aeronautical group for the wrongful termination of three different contracts governed by French law due to allegations of corruption in the context of the civil aeronautical industry in Russia and CIS countries

• Advising and representing several European energy companies in arbitrations (CCI/SCC/UNCITRAL) relating to the revision of gas prices in long-term gas sales contracts

• Advising and representing a European oil company in several ad hoc (UNCITRAL) arbitration proceedings against a North African State-owned oil and gas company relating to contractual and technical disputes in relation to a production sharing agreement

• Advising and representing the Cuban State telecommunication company in ICC arbitration proceedings against a Spanish telecommunication company in relation to a contract subject to French law

• Investment arbitration

• Member (and lead counsel) of the team which represented Iranian investors against the Republic of Korea in an UNCITRAL arbitration initiated under the bilateral investment treaty between Iran and Korea in relation to the expropriation of an investment in home appliance industrial company (Mohammad Reza Dayyani, et al. v. The Republic of Korea, PCA Case No. 2015-38) that led to a favourable award for 68 million USD against the Republic of Korea on June 5, 2018

• Member (and lead counsel) of the team which represented Muhammet Cap & Sehil Inşaat Endustri ve Ticaret Ltd. Sti. against Turkmenistan in an ICSID arbitration initiated pursuant to a bilateral investment treaty in relation to 31 disputed construction projects in Turkmenistan

• Experience before domestic courts

• Assisting the Ukrainian oil and gas state-owned company in its efforts to have two arbitral awards for approximately USD 5 billion recognized and enforced against the Russian Federation’s assets located in France

• Advising and representing one of the world’s largest beauty companies before French courts to resist the application for provisional measures made the licensor of the luxury brand

• Advising and representing a Cypriot company against a Russian oligarch and his Cypriot investment vehicle to enforce a EUR 20 million LCIA arbitral award

• Advising and representing a Dubai-based subcontractor company against one of the largest company specialized in entertainment in Paris in an action to set aside against an arbitral award rendered in a fast track ad-hoc arbitration in relation to wrongful termination of contractual relationship

• Advising and representing a Middle-Eastern state in an action to set aside an ICC award rendered against a French equipment manufacturer and industrial assembler, which alleged that the recognition and the enforcement of the award would violate international public policy and resisting a stay of enforcement

• Advising and representing the Cuban telecommunications company in the context of an action to set aside an ICC arbitral award against a Spanish telecommunications company

• Advising and representing two Indonesian companies in an action to set aside an ICC award rendered against a European aeronautical group, which alleges that the recognition and enforcement of the award would violate international public policy on account of allegations of corruption and resisting a stay of enforcement

Education

Awards