ICC Court sets its sights on Latin America

Attitudes to international commercial arbitration in Latin America are changing. As local economies open up to world trade, the importance of arbitration as an effective means of resolving international business disputes is more and more widely acknowledged. This has led to an increasing demand for ICC arbitration. The number of Latin American parties in ICC arbitral proceedings has grown by almost 50% in the last five years.

To encourage and support this trend, the ICC International Court of Arbitration has created a new post of regional director for Latin America, to which it has appointed Ms Dyalá Jiménez Figueres. In this capacity, Ms Jiménez Figueres will be responsible for organizing and coordinating events designed to increase awareness and understanding of ICC dispute resolution services locally.

Ms Jiménez Figueres has been with ICC since the year 2000, first as a member of the Secretariat of the International Court of Arbitration and more recently as special counsel for ICC ADR and expertise. A Costa Rican attorney, Ms Jiménez Figueres began her career working for the government in her native country. She then moved to the USA, where she obtained an LLM from Georgetown University.

In her new position with ICC, Ms Jiménez Figueres is based in Santiago, Chile, where she may be contacted at the following address:

c/o Edificio del Comercio
Monjitas 392, piso 3
Santiago, Chile
Telephone: (56 2) 360 7081
Fax: (56 2) 638 1862
E-mail: Click here to send a mail

Two major conferences will take place later this year as part of the Court’s outreach in Latin America. On 17 September, a one-day event in Curitiba, Brazil, will look at aspects of arbitration procedure and the validity and enforcement of awards in Latin America’s current legal and political context. On 26-28 October, the ICC Court will again hold a conference in Miami, which will be an opportunity to hear experienced practitioners discuss topics of central importance to arbitration in Latin America. More details on both events will shortly be available from ICC Conferences.