ICC confirms diverse Centre for ADR Standing Committee to bolster expertise and dispute boards

16 April 2021

ICC has announced new additions to the Standing Committee of its International Centre for ADR (Centre), including a new president and vice-presidents.

The Standing Committee supports the ICC International Centre for ADR in administering ADR cases filed under ICC Expert Rules and ICC Dispute Board Rules. This includes aiding in the selection of experts and dispute board members and deciding challenges filed against them; scrutinising expert reports and reviewing decisions of Dispute Adjudication Boards or Combined Dispute Boards; and helping fix fees of experts and dispute board members.

Secretary General of ICC’s International Court of Arbitration and Director of ICC Dispute Resolution Services, Alexander G. Fessas said: “In today’s ever-changing and complex business environment, the new Standing Committee members will champion our Centre for ADR, helping to ensure ICC provides the best quality service possible through their wide and varied expertise.”

New York lawyer Victoria R. Orlowski has been appointed as the next president of the Standing Committee and assumed the position on 15 April, replacing James Nicholson.

Ms Orlowski is Of Counsel in the New York office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, where her practice focuses on commercial and investment-treaty based international arbitrations, enforcement of arbitral awards and foreign judgments, and commercial litigation matters.

Familiar with ICC’s Dispute Resolution Services, she has been a member of the Standing Committee since 2013 and Vice-President since 2015. She has also worked as Counsel for the North American Case Management team and Managing Counsel within the Secretariat of the ICC International Court of Arbitration in Paris.

“Victoria’s inside knowledge of ICC Dispute Resolution Services is a valuable asset to the Committee and its work,” said Mr Fessas.

As President, Ms Orlowski also becomes an ex officio member of the Steering Committee of the ICC Commission on Arbitration and ADR.

Joining current Vice-President Fernando Cunado Garcia-Bernalt, KPMG Spain’s Global Dispute Advisory Services Leader, are Cecilia Misu and Paul Tichauer.

Ms Misu is the CEO of CMSQUARE in Germany. She is an electrical engineer with more than 38 years of experience in high-profile, complex engineering projects, as well as claims and contract management and the design and commissioning of power plants, transmission lines and oil and gas projects. Ms Misu has been a member of the Committee since 2016. Her input will continue to be vital in the selection of experts and dispute board members, as well as for the scrutiny of expert reports.

An independent arbitrator and mediator based in Canada, Mr Tichauer, FCIArb, specialises in ADR for the materials, industrial, and technology sectors. He is the founding Chair of the Canada Branch of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and has held senior leadership positions with public, private, and not-for-profit companies and institutions in Canada, the United States and Europe. Mr Tichauer also has an active practice as an International Executive Mentor. He has been an invaluable member of the Committee since 2016, assisting the Centre in finding suitable candidates and scrutinising reports.

In line with the Centre’s growth, including a record caseload in 2020, ICC has appointed nine additional members, bringing the total number of legal and technical experts in the eminent group up to fourteen. The highly qualified and renowned body sees gender, expertise, and regional diversity with representation from Asia, Africa, the Americas, Europe, and the Middle East. All appointments are for a three-year renewable term.

The new representatives will be joined by existing member Richard Appuhn (Italy) and include:

Khaled Abou El Houda (Senegal)
Funke Agbor (Nigeria)
Helena Chen (Taiwan)
Yasemin Cetinel (Turkey)
Omar Isam Al-Taher (Jordan)
Xavier Leynaud (France)
Ziad Obeid (France/Lebanon)
Lindy Patterson (United Kingdom)
Gustavo Scheffer da Silveira (Brazil)

Commenting on the new Standing Committee, ICC International Centre for ADR Manager Alya Ladjimi said: “We are honoured to welcome the new members of the Standing Committee and very pleased to continue our collaboration with our current members. The input of this high-calibre group, with their diverse backgrounds and extensive experiences, will be instrumental in driving the growth of the Centre and the promotion of ICC expertise and dispute boards as trusted dispute resolution mechanisms for everyone, everywhere.”