Changes at the Secretariat of the Court

Secretary General

On 30 September 2001, Horacio Grigera Naón relinquishes his position as Secretary General at the ICC International Court of Arbitration. His place will be taken by Anne Marie Whitesell. Here, Robert Briner, Chairman of the Court, pays tribute to the outgoing Secretary General and introduces his successor.

After almost five years at the helm of the Secretariat of the ICC International Court of Arbitration, Horacio Grigera Naón has decided to return to private practice as an independent arbitrator and as counsel to one of the leading international law firms in the United States. His successor will be Anne Marie Whitesell.

Mr Grigera Naón was Secretary General at the ICC International Court of Arbitration at a time of change and challenge. Between 1996 and 2001, the Court's caseload rose sharply, with the annual number of arbitration requests filed topping 500 in 1999. At the same time, cases grew in complexity, and parties became more demanding of the arbitral process. Arguably the most important event of this period was the introduction in 1998 of a new version of the ICC Rules of Arbitration. Mr Grigera Naón rose to all these challenges and steered the Secretariat into the new century, attentive both to the need for modernization and the importance of respecting traditions.

He directed both internal and external matters with skill and discipline. Under his leadership, the Secretariat has developed considerably in size and structure. It now has seven teams in charge of cases, a well-stocked documentation centre and library and a tailor-made computerized case management system. Mr Grigera Naón also gave much time and energy to promoting ICC arbitration in various parts of the world, including his native Latin America. He was instrumental in setting up the Court's annual seminar in the USA and was and is himself a committed contributor to symposia on international trade law.

Ms Whitesell will be known to many already, as she was previously Deputy Secretary General and prior to that Counsel in charge of one of the Court's teams. She is the first woman to hold the position of Secretary General. It also worth noting that the appointment has been made internally, which will help to ensure continuity Ms Whitesell graduated in law from the University of Virginia and was subsequently awarded a doctorate by the University of Paris, Panthéon-Sorbonne, for her research on remedies for breach of contract in international arbitration. She has practised as a lawyer on both sides of the Atlantic and has lectured in law schools in Paris.

On behalf of the ICC Court and its Secretariat, I welcome Ms Whitesell to her new <page nr="6" /> post and wish Mr Grigera Naón well for his continuing career in international law and arbitration.

Robert Briner

Chairman

ICC International Court of Arbitration

Other Secretariat appointments

In addition to the change of Secretary General, a number of other key appointments have been made within the Secretariat of the Court. Eduardo Silva Romero has been promoted from his position as Counsel to that of Deputy Secretary General, replacing Anne Marie Whitesell. Mr Silva Romero's former position as Counsel has been taken by Matthew Secomb, and that of Brooks W. Daly, who has left the Secretariat, by Spencer P. Boyer.

Eduardo Silva Romero is a Colombian citizen and joined the ICC Court Secretariat as Assistant Counsel in 1998. He was promoted to the position of Counsel in 1999. He has studied and practised law in both Colombia and France and speaks English, French and Spanish. His research on legal philosophy and language earned him a doctorate in law from Paris II University (Panthéon-Assas) in 2000. Mr Silva Romero is visiting lecturer on international arbitration at Paris IX University (Paris-Dauphine).

Spencer P. Boyer is a native of Washington, D.C. After receiving his Bachelor of Arts degree in English, he obtained his Juris Doctor at New York University School of Law, where he specialized in public international law and the work of international organizations. He began practising law with an international law firm in Washington, D.C. Subsequently, he was appointed law clerk to the President of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague, Netherlands, and then staff attorney at the Claims Resolution Tribunal for Dormant Accounts in Switzerland, in Zurich. Prior to his appointment as Counsel within the Secretariat of the Court, Mr Boyer was a corporate affairs director at a leading financial services corporation in San Francisco, California. Mr Boyer speaks English and French.

Matthew Secomb is an Australian lawyer. After graduating in law from Deakin University and in commerce from the University of Melbourne, he spent three years working for one of Australia's largest law firms, where his main practice area was construction law and his speciality large construction arbitrations. As a student he distinguished himself by being a member of a winning team at the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot in Vienna.[Page7:]

Launch of ICC ADR

ICC's new ADR Rules came into force on 1 July 2001. They constitute the latest addition to ICC's range of dispute resolution services. Like Expertise and DOCDEX, ADR is distinct from arbitration and will be administered by a separate secretariat, ensuring confidentiality and efficiency in the handling of cases. Elodie van Sytzama has been appointed to manage the ADR Secretariat, as well as the International Centre for Expertise.

Ms van Sytzama is a Dutch lawyer. After completing her legal studies at Leiden University, she worked for one of the leading international law firms in the Netherlands. She subsequently held the position of senior relationship manager and legal counsel within a major European financial company, where she was responsible for giving legal support and advice to corporate clients. Immediately prior to joining ICC, Ms van Sytzama worked freelance as a mediator and intermediary in cross-border mergers and acquisitions. She has travelled widely, having grown up in Costa Rica and studied in Spain and China. She is fluent in Dutch and English and has a working knowledge of Spanish and French.

The expansion of ICC's dispute resolution services has led to a restructuring of the ICC Court's web site. ADR, Expertise and DOCDEX now each have a web page of their own, accessed by an individual URL, distinct from that of the Court, and each service also has its own e-mail address:

Service Web pages E-mail

Arbitration www.iccarbitration.org arb@iccwbo.org

ADR www.iccadr.org adr@iccwbo.org

Expertise www.iccexpertise.org expertise@iccwbo.org

Docdex www.iccdocdex.org docdex@iccwbo.org