Expertise

Dr. Ioana Knoll-Tudor is a partner in the Paris office and member of the International Arbitration Practice. 

Ioana has over 15 years of experience with arbitral practice and procedure, both in commercial and investment arbitration. She has represented and advised clients in numerous international and domestic arbitrations (both institutional and ad hoc), with a particular focus on the energy, construction, competition & distribution and post-M&A sectors. She also acts in post-arbitration proceedings (annulment and enforcement of arbitral awards) before French courts.

She is regarded as a Next Generation Partner in international arbitration by The Legal 500 - International Arbitration (2023).

Dr. Knoll-Tudor has an extensive knowledge of the CEE region, having dealt and worked with every Eastern European jurisdiction, and having spent 10 years in the Warsaw and Budapest offices of an international law firm.

Ioana regularly seats as arbitrator (chair, co-arbitrator, sole arbitrator) before major arbitral institutions, both international (such as ICC, ICSID and VIAC) and regional (CICA-CCIR, CCIJ), including with States and State-owned parties. She is the first Romanian arbitrator appointed on an ICSID panel (ICSID Case No. ARB/19/30).

She also speaks regularly on international arbitration at conferences and seminars, and frequently publishes on topical issues of arbitration and international law. Her book « The Fair and Equitable Treatment Standard in International Foreign Investment Law » (Oxford University Press, 2008) is a reference in the field of international arbitration, with a second edition expecting publication by 2024.

Ioana is currently the Secretary General of the Paris Arbitration Week and a member of the international board of the Vienna International Arbitration Centre (VIAC). Prior, she was appointed by the ICC as YAF Representative for the period 2019-2021. Ioana also co-founded the Romanian chapter of the Club Espanol de Arbitraje (CEA) in 2019, for which she is acting as vice-president.

Ioana is a qualified lawyer in France and Spain. Prior to joining Addleshaw Goddard, she worked for eight years in one of France’s largest international law firms where she launched and spear-headed the creation of a fully dedicated international arbitration stand-alone practice.

Experience

Experience as counsel:

  • Representing a leading energy provider in two ad-hoc arbitration procedures initiated by its distributors following the termination of their distribution agreements
  • Representing a company active in the automotive sector in an ICC arbitration related to the violation of a contract for the delivery of spare parts by a Chinese contractor
  • Representing a German aluminium company in an ICC arbitration resulting from an M&A transaction, related to the interpretation of the Seller’s representations and warranties
  • Representing a Swiss company in an ad-hoc arbitration against its Belgian business partner and connected to a distribution contract in the railway industry
  • Representing a Swedish investor in an ICC arbitration in a post-M&A dispute in relation to the warranties given by the Seller
  • Represented a leading French pharmaceutical group in an ICC arbitration related to the representation and warranties given by the seller following the purchase of a company in Nigeria
  • Represented a German investment fund in an ICC administered procedure related to the adjustment of the purchase price following an M&A transaction
  • Representing an Egyptian company in an arbitration administrated by the Hungarian Court of Arbitration of Budapest against a Hungarian company following the termination of its agency agreement
  • Represented a Romanian company in an annulment procedure initiated by an Indian company before French courts, against an ICC arbitral award relating to a supply contract in the energy sector
  • Represented a major French agri-food group in an arbitration administered by the International Seed Federation against one of its Russian distributors, in relation to the violation of a distribution agreement
  • Advised a Dutch investment fund in a dispute administered by the Court of Arbitration of the Polish Chamber of Commerce in relation to the violation of an investment contract in the real estate sector
  • Advised a Franco-Dutch investment fund in an arbitration proceeding relating to the execution of its share purchase right in a group of shopping centres in Warsaw
  • Advised a Polish automotive distribution group in an ICC arbitration against its Chinese counterpart
  • Advised a Ukrainian automotive distribution company in an arbitration proceeding conducted under the UNCITRAL Rules, on the basis of an international sale contract
  • Advised a Danish bank in an arbitration proceeding administered by the ICC resulting from an M&A operation in Poland
  • Advised a French energy distribution company in an arbitration proceeding against the Polish authorities

Experience as arbitrator:

  • Co-arbitrator in an ICSID arbitration initiated by several German investors against the Kingdom of Spain in the field of renewable energy
  • Chairman in an ICC arbitration between a consortium of construction companies and an Eastern European State entity relating to the construction of highway infrastructures
  • Co-arbitrator in a VIAC case between an individual and an Eastern European State entity relating to the termination of a mandate contract
  • Co-arbitrator in a FIDIC case administered by the Court of Arbitration of the Romanian Chamber of Commerce (CCIR) and initiated by a Spanish/Italian consortium against a Romanian State entity
  • Co-arbitrator in an ICC case between a Spanish company and a Romanian State entity related with the construction of a highway in Romania
  • Sole arbitrator in an ICC case between a German investor and an Eastern European State entity entity relating to the construction of municipal waste management station
  • Co-arbitrator in a procedure administered by the Court of Arbitration of the Cluj Chamber of Commerce (Romania) relating to an important real estate project to be completed in the city of Cluj (Romania)
  • Sole arbitrator in an ICC case between an Italian company and an Eastern European State entity in a dispute in connection with the construction of a highway in Romania
  • Co-arbitrator in a case administered by the Court of Arbitration of the Romanian Chamber of Commerce (CCIR) between a Romanian company and a Hungarian company and relating to the execution of a commercial contract on the basis of CISG
Education
  • Member of the Paris and Madrid Bars
  • Doctorate in Law – European University Institute in Florence, 2006
  • Law Degree – Autonomous University of Barcelona, 2006
  • Master’s Degree in European Law – College of Europe, 2002
  • Master’s Degree in Law – University Paris II Panthéon-Assas, 2001
Languages
  • Romanian: native
  • French: spoken: excellent; written: excellent
  • English: spoken: excellent; written: excellent
  • Spanish: spoken: excellent; written: excellent
  • Italian: spoken: excellent; written: very good
  • German: beginner
Professional Memberships
  • International Bar Association (IBA)
  • Member of the board of the Paris Arbitration Week – PAW (2021-2023)
  • Founder and Vice-President of the Romanian Chapter of the Club Espanol de Arbitraje (CEA)
  • ICC YAF Former Representative of Europe and Russia (ICC Young Arbitration Forum) (2019-2021)
Publications
  • Provision of Legal Services Under the Sanctions Regime Against Russia: The Exception of Arbitration (Cahiers de l’arbitrage, 01/01/2023) - view here >
  • 2023 PAW Recap – Day 3: Arbitrating Renewable Energy Disputes in the CEE Region (Kluwer Arbitration Blog, 04/04/2023) - view here >
  • Recognition or Enforcement and Annulment of Arbitral Awards in France: An Analysis of the Kluwer Research Results (Journal of International Arbitration, 06/01/2022) - view here >
  • The French Court of Cassation’s Perspective Over Consequences of Respondent’s Refusal to Pay its Share of the Advance on Costs under ICC Arbitration Rules (Romanian Arbitration Journal, 01/04/2022) 
  • Paris Arbitration Week Recap: The Fair and Equitable Treatment Standard – Update and Perspectives (Arbitration blog, 04/14/2022) - view here >
  • Paris Arbitration Week Recap: Do and Don’t’s When Choosing a Seat and Enforcing in CEE/CIS/Russia: State of Play (Kluwer Arbitration Blog, 07/14/20)
  • State of emergency and commercial leases: dispute resolution in the service of emergency (La Tribune, 20/05/2020) - view here >
  • Romania: National Courts Take a Conservative Position towards Emergency Arbitrator Orders, International Chamber of Commerce Dispute Resolution 2020 Bulletin - view here >
  • Arbitrating in CEE & CIS: Transparency, Accountability and Choice of Arbitrators (Kluwer Arbitration Blog, 16/05/2019) - view here >
  • Emergency arbitration: evidence and practice from seven arbitral institutions (Austrian Yearbook of International Arbitration, Vol. 2019) 
  • The European and Singapore International Commercial Courts: several movements, a single symphony (Kluwer Arbitration Blog, 06/03/2019) view here
  • Les chambres internationales européennes et de Singapour : plusieurs mouvements, une seule symphonie (Le Monde du Droit, 21/01/2019) - view here>
  • The Standard of Fair and Equitable Treatment in the International Law of Foreign Investment (Oxford University Press, 2008) 
  • Fair and Equitable Treatment and Human Rights, in Human Rights, International Investment Law and Investor-State Arbitration (ed. E-U Petersmann, Oxford University Press, 2009) - view here >
  • Le droit des investissements et le droit de l’OMC, in Les mutations du droit de l’Organisation Mondiale du Commerce entre influences internationalistes et nécessaires réformes sectorielles (eds. Chaisse and T.Balmelli, EDIS, September 2007)
Testimonials

“Ioana Knoll-Tudor is a formidable opponent, you would not want her on the other side. She is highly skilled, a strategic thinker and an excellent debater.”

“Ioana Knoll-Tudor and her team provided us with excellent, prompt and pertinent advice and service.”

The Legal 500 (2023) - International Arbitration (EMEA)

Listed as “Next Generation Partner”

The Legal 500 (2023) - International Arbitration (EMEA)

Listed as “Rising Star Partner”

IFLR1000 - 2023

International Arbitration – Excellent (2022)

Commercial Litigation – Excellent (2022)

Mediation – Strong Reputation (2022)

Décideurs Magazine - 2022

Arbitration and Mediation

Best Lawyer (2021 > 2024)