Alfredo De Jesús O., Ph.D.
Founding Partner - Geneva
Education
Sorbonne University - Paris II
Ph.D. in Transnational Law and Arbitration, Summa cum laude, 2010
University of Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne
Master (D.E.A.) in Commercial and Economic Law, 2004
University of Paris II Panthéon-Assas
Master (D.E.A.) in General Private Law, 2003
Universidad Católica Andrés Bello
Abogado, cum laude, 2002
Admissions
Bar of Paris
Languages
English
French
Portuguese
Spanish
Professional Background
Dr. De Jesús O., the Founding Partner of ALFREDO DE JESÚS O. - TRANSNATIONAL ARBITRATION & LITIGATION and a recognized expert in transnational law and arbitration, has appeared as lead counsel in some of the world’s largest and most publicized international arbitrations of the last decade. He has successfully defended his clients in a series of billion-dollar Investor-State arbitrations and International Commercial Arbitration cases involving States or State entities in a number of different business sectors, incluing the Oil & Gas, Petrochemical, Mining and Infrastructure industries.
Dr. De Jesús O., regularly appears as lead counsel before both institutional and ad-hoc arbitral tribunals in cases administered by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague, the World Bank’s Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) in Washington, D.C. and the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Paris, among other international fora, as well as before national courts mostly in arbitration-related proceedings. In recent years, he has also been actively involved in the defense of a Sovereign State in a high-profile case brought before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague.
Dr. De Jesús O., currently leads the efforts of a Sovereign State to annul the largest arbitral award in the history of ICSID to date, a multi-billion dollar award relating to the nationalization of two major heavy crude oil projects, as well as an offshore crude oil project. He recently successfully defeated at ICSID the efforts of the subsidiaries of a major international oil company to obtain double compensation, valued in the billions of dollars, for the nationalization of its interests in a major heavy crude oil project. He also secured the first Investor-State arbitral award declining jurisdiction to hear an investment treaty claim at the PCA because of Claimants’ dual-nationality and also successfully resisted Claimants' efforts to have the award annulled by the Paris Court of Appeal.
In addition to his counsel work, Dr. De Jesús O. also sits as arbitrator in selected cases. He is currently hearing a high-profile, complex and multi-million dollar dispute at the ICC related to an offshore Oil & Gas exploration and production contract.
Dr. De Jesús O., is a Court Member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration, a Member of the Panels of Arbitrators and Presidents of Arbitral Tribunals of the MERCOSUR (Arts. 11.1 and 11.2 of the Olivos Protocol), an Associate Member of the Center for Research on International Markets and International Investment Law of the University of Burgundy, the cradle of the renowned “École de Dijon” of Transnational Law and a Member of the ICC Latin American Arbitration Group.
Academic Background
Since the years of preparation of his Ph. D. thesis at the Sorbonne University – Paris II, under the supervision of Professor Denis Mazeaud, Dr. De Jesús O.’s academic work has been focused on Lex Mercatoria, Transnational Law and Arbitration as part of the New World Order of Economic Relations.
His thesis, entitled “The Assignment of International Contracts. Contribution to the Study of Transnational Contract Law”, obtained the highest honors granted by the French Universities by a jury presided by Professor Eric Loquin, and composed of Professors Thomas Clay, Jean-Baptiste Racine, Rozen Noguelou and Christian Larroumet. He is also the author of “The Prodigious Story of the Lex Petrolea and the Rhinoceros. Philosophical Aspects of the Transnational Legal Order of the Petroleum Society” an essay on the origins and legal theory behind the idea of Lex Petrolea as a transnational legal system.
He is an Associate Member of the Center for Research on International Markets and International Investment Law (Centre de recherche sur le droit des marchés et des investissements internationaux - CREDIMI), the research unit of the University of Burgundy founded by Professor Philippe Kahn to develop the study of the fundamentals of the renowned “École de Dijon” of Transnational Law.
He has contributed extensively to specialized law journals on his areas of research and collaborated with several universities and think-tanks around the World. For approximately ten years, Dr. De Jesús O. taught the seminar on “Transnational Petroleum Law” and “International Arbitration in Latin America” in the Master of International Business Law (MDAI) of the University of Paris XI (now, Paris Saclay University) in which he also participated as Member of the Steering Committee. Also for ten years, he taught a seminar on the “Theory of International Arbitration” in the Master on Arbitration and International Business Law (MACI) of the University of Versailles (now, also part of the Paris Saclay University).
He has also taught as a Visiting Lecturer on Transnational Law and Arbitration at University of Paris II Panthéon-Assas and the University of Paris III Sorbonne Nouvelle (France), the Complutense University of Madrid (Spain), the Pontifical Catholic University of Chili (Chili), the University of the Pacific (Peru), the University of Rosario (Colombia) and the University of Monterrey (Mexico), among others. He has also taught Transnational Petroleum Law and Arbitration as a Guest Lecturer at the Centre for Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law and Policy (CEPMLP) of the University of Dundee where he was also an Honorary Associate, at the Environment, Energy & Natural Resources Center (EENR) of the University of Houston, the Paris Institute of Political Sciences (Sciences Po Paris), the Queen Mary University of London, the University of Paris I - Panthéon-Sorbonne, the Private University of Bolivia and the University of Sherbrooke.
