Christophe Bondy

Arbitral Appointments

• Appointed by a state in 2018 as its party-appointed arbitrator in an international investment arbitration pursuant to the Energy Charter Treaty.
• Appointed by Canada in February 2018 for a ten-year term to the NAFTA Chapter 19 (Trade Remedies) Roster of arbitrators.
• Appointed to the Panel of Arbitrators of the Korean International Arbitration
• Appointed to the Panel of Arbitrators of the London Court of International

Expert Witness Appointments

• Appointed by a state-owned entity to provide expert evidence on the implications of fork-in-the-road and waiver provisions in a Canadian Foreign Investment Protection and Promotion Agreement, in relation to parallel international investment treaty and international commercial arbitration proceedings (ongoing).

Representative Counsel Appointments

International Commercial Arbitration (selected matters)

• Counsel to a United Nations specialized agency and a South American public utility in connection with a claim pursuant to the rules of the International Chamber of Commerce for breach of contract relating to the delivery of telecommunications infrastructure upgrades and related services by a US multinational.
• Counsel to a Joint Venture comprised of a major US multinational, a European subsidiary of that multinational, and a leading Italian engineering consortium, in a Milan Chamber of Commerce arbitration relating to the construction of an oil and gas plant in Southern Europe.
• Counsel to a major US consumer goods company in a AAA arbitration against another major consumer goods company, regarding the measure of damages arising out of a finding of patent infringement.
• Counsel to two of Canada's major financial services companies in class action disputes relating to alleged misleading sales of financial services products.
• Counsel to a major Western European construction company in connection with an UNCITRAL arbitration regarding multiple claims relating to the construction of an airport in the Middle East.

International Investment Arbitration (selected matters)

• External counsel to the European Union in an Energy Charter Treaty investment treaty arbitration concerning the extension of EU Energy Market rules to the operation of a major new LNG pipeline. Nord Stream 2 AG v. EU. UNCITRAL arbitration. PCA Case No. 2020-07. Ongoing.
• Lead counsel to the investors (until April 2024) in an ongoing NAFTA Chapter Eleven arbitration concerning undue political interference in the environmental approvals process for a major LNG liquefaction facility and related pipeline. Ruby River v. Government of Canada. ICSID arbitration. ICSID Case No. ARB/23/5.
• Lead counsel to investors in a NAFTA Chapter Eleven arbitration arising out of the summary termination without compensation of Ontario's greenhouse gas emissions control cap-and-trade program. Koch Industries, Inc. and Koch Supply & Trading, LP v. Government of Canada. ICSID arbitration. ICSID Case No. ARB/20/52. Concluded, claims dismissed on jurisdictional grounds.
• Lead counsel to investors in an ICSID arbitration against an African State relating to the expropriation of a substantial aquaculture enterprise by The Gambia. West African Aquaculture Ltd v. The Republic of The Gambia. ICSID arbitration. ICSID Case No. ARB/18/10. Tribunal upheld our client’s claims and awarded 94% of damages claimed.
• Lead counsel to the investor in a NAFTA Chapter Eleven investment treaty arbitration relating to political interference in the approvals process for a major offshore resource development project. Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc. v. United Mexican States. UNCITRAL Rules. ICSID Case No. UNCT/20/1. Ongoing.
• Counsel to Croatia in the early stages of an ICSID claim brought pursuant to the Austria-Croatia bilateral investment treaty concerning the State conversion of home ownership loans from Swiss franc to Euro denominations as a protective financial services measure. UniCredit v. Republic of Croatia. ICSID arbitration. ICSID Case No. ARB/16/31. Settled.
• Counsel to Nigeria in an ICSID case brought pursuant to Nigeria's domestic investment protection law by international investors claiming State interference in their shareholding of a Nigerian oil development company. InterOcean v. Government of Nigeria. ICSID arbitration. ICSID Case No. ARB/13/20. The tribunal upheld Nigeria’s position, finding no breach on the merits.
• Counsel to Barbados in an UNCITRAL dispute brought under the Canada-Barbados bilateral investment treaty concerning alleged breaches of investment protections flowing from alleged State environmental mismanagement of a protected site owned by the investor.  Allard v. Government of Barbados. UNCITRAL arbitration. PCA Case No. 2012-06. Claims entirely dismissed with costs to the state. 
• Lead counsel to Canada in a NAFTA Chapter Eleven dispute involving issues of international intellectual property law (patents) and related claims of expropriation/violation of the international Minimum Standard of Treatment. Eli Lilly v. Canada. UNCITRAL arbitration. ICSID Case No. UNCT/14/2. Claims entirely dismissed with costs to the State.
• Lead counsel to Canada in a NAFTA Chapter Eleven dispute involving claims of expropriation and national treatment violations in relation to the environmental designation of lands acquired for a quarry development. St Marys Cement VCNA v. Canada. UNCITRAL arbitration. PCA Case No. 2012-19. Claims withdrawn with acknowledgement of lack of jurisdiction after document production evidenced intent to manufacture jurisdiction post-dating dispute.
• Lead counsel to Canada in a NAFTA Chapter Eleven dispute involving claims of expropriation, national treatment and Minimum Standard of Treatment violations in relation to the imposition of a ban on the pesticide Lindane. Chemtura (Crompton) v. Canada. UNCITRAL arbitration. PCA Case No. 2008-01. Claims entirely dismissed with millions of dollars in costs to the state.
• Lead counsel to Canada in a NAFTA Chapter Eleven claim concerning the economic impacts of environmental management measures adopted by the government of the North West John Andre v. Canada. The Claimant abandoned the claim after being convinced in consultations of insurmountable jurisdictional hurdles.
• Advising major funders on the merits of potential international investment arbitration claims. 

Trade & Policy Negotiations 

• The UK Government on the conduct of international trade and investment negotiations.
• The Government of Canada on the negotiation of the Canada - European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), with particular emphasis on the investment and financial services chapters, in addition to international maritime transport services, cross-border trade in services, temporary entry, monopolies and State enterprises, intellectual property, telecommunications, mutual recognition agreements, and domestic regulation obligations.
• The Government of Canada in connection with the negotiation of multiple Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements, with counterpart States in EMEA and South/Central America a major publicly-traded natural resources company on potential avenues for asserting investment treaty claims in Eastern Asia, the implications of a new domestic arbitration law, and related restructuring and sovereign immunities advice.
• Bespoke training to states in Latin America, Asia, Europe and Africa on the handling of investment treaty disputes and on the negotiation of trade and investment treaties.

Public International Law (selected matters)

• The United States Government on issues of sovereign immunity, diplomatic immunity and immunity from execution, in connection with several different civil claims brought before Western European courts.
• A Gulf state on prospects for challenging a domestic law violating principles of sovereign immunity before international tribunals.
• A Mediterranean state on Law of the Sea issues relating to marine spatial planning.
• International cable companies regarding Law of the Sea and other international legal instruments relevant to subsea cable operations.

• Concluding Remarks, Forty-Third ITF Public Conference: Geopolitics and International Investment Law, British Institute of International and Comparative Law, London, April 25, 2025
• Co-Organizer, Candid Reflections on Resource-Based Development: Speaker Series on Critical Minerals Governance, Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment joint webinar series, April - June, 2025
• "Working Group III: its progress to date and the outlook of its future work," presentation to Her Majesty's Treasury Legal Department, April 2024
• Representative of the British Institute of International and Comparative Law at UNCITRAL Working Group III (Investor-State Dispute Settlement Reform), January 22-26, 2024
• British Institute of International and Comparative Law and Steptoe International (UK) LLP, Launch event presentation, "Empirical study on performance requirement prohibitions (PRPs) in international investment agreements (IIAs)", January 18, 2024
• "What Does the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership Mean for Investment?, Steptoe joint webinar, November 29, 2023
• Concluding Remarks, Thirty Ninth ITF Public Conference: Energy Disputes in ISDS, British Institute of International and Comparative Law, London, April 21, 2023
• "Understanding Free Trade Agreements and International Trade Policy Developments", Chemicals Industries Association webinar, May 12, 2022
• "Jurisdiction Ratione Temporis and Substantive Protection Ratione Temporis," Investment Treaty Forum for the British Institute of International and Comparative Law, October 22, 2022  
• Invited to give an oral evidence on July 12, 2021, to The UK House of Commons European Scrutiny Committee in an enquiry into The institutional framework of the UK/EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement.
• "Canadians Here & There," International Criminal Court Session, June 10, 2021
• “The Protection of Intellectual Property Rights Under International Investment Law,” Oxford International Arbitration Series, May 27, 2021
• "Doing Business in China," University of Turin Master’s Programme in International Trade Law / International Training Centre of the ILO, March 5, 2021
• Invited to give evidence at an official session of the UK Parliament's Sub-Committee on EU Goods, January 18, 2021
• "The Future of Investment Law in Latin America," International Dispute Resolution Friends of DC, July 9, 2020. Bondy appears in Part 3. View Part 1 & Part 2.
• Invited to give evidence at an official session of the UK Parliament's Committee on the Future Relationship with the European Union, London, UK, March 17, 2020
• "The Future of UK-EU Trade and Beyond," City, University of London, London, UK, February 2020
• "UK Investment Protection Policy Post-Brexit," The British Institute of International and Comparative Law (BIICL), London, UK, February 2020
• "Prospects for UK International Trade Agreements post-Brexit" Institute of International and European Affairs, Dublin, Ireland, October 2019
• "International Investment Protection and the Blue Economy," Africa Blue Economy Forum, Tunisia, Africa, June 2019
• "The USCMA: Relabelled Wine in Borrowed Bottles?," British Institute of International and Comparative Law Annual WTO Conference, London, UK, May 2019
• "International Investment Protection and Investments in Subsea Cables," Annual Plenary of the International Cable Protection Committee, San Diego, CA, May 2019
• "OECD Freedom of Investment Roundtable," Summit on International Investment Restrictions, Paris, France, March 2019
• "Who's Afraid of International Investment Law?," University of Turin Faculty of Law, Turin, Italy, March 2019
• "Understanding Brexit," Centre for Transnational Legal Studies, London, UK February 2019
• Launch of Briefing Paper on Services in Free Trade Agreements, United Kingdom Trade Policy Observatory, London, UK, November 2018
• "International Investment Law and Sub-Marine Cables," ABLOS Conference, Doha, Qatar, October 2018
• Columbia Centre for Sustainable Investment training program for state officials on the management of investment treaty arbitrations, New York, NY, August 2018
• "The Current Challenge to the Appellate Body at the World Trade Organization," Annual WTO Conference of the British Institute for International and Comparative Law (BIICL), London, UK, June 2018
• "EU Response to US Steel and Aluminium Tariffs," Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's "Power & Politics," June 2018
• Centre for International Governance Innovation consultation with the Canadian Government on the Canada-UK relationship post-Brexit, addressing UK investment treaty policy post-Brexit, Ottawa, Canada, May 2018
• "The State of the NAFTA Negotiations," National Public Radio, April 2018
• "State Reform of Investment Treaty Obligations," International Council of Commercial Arbitration (ICCA) World Congress, Sydney, Australia, April 2018
• "The Long View: Hamilton and Tariffs," BBC Radio Four, April 2018
• "UK Trade Deals Post-Brexit," BBC World News, March 2018
• "EU Proposed Counter-Measures against US Tariffs," BBC News, March 2018
• Release of the UK Trade Policy Observatory's paper examining CETA as a model for UK-EU services trade, British Academy, London, UK March 2018
• "Prospects for a UK-EU Deal," ITV News, January 2018
• United Kingdom Select Committee on Exiting the EU, January 2018 
• "The Boeing-Bombardier Dispute," BBC World News, January 2018
• APEC Member Economy Capacity-Building Workshop on Avoiding International Investment Disputes, Beijing, China, December 2017 
• Centre for International Governance Innovation Consultation with Latin American States on Investment Treaties, Bogota, Columbia, December 2017 
• APEC Member Economy Capacity-Building Workshop on Investment Treaty Arbitration, Washington, DC, October 2017
• Energy Charter Treaty Secretariat training for State and corporate officials on the management of investment treaty claims under UNCITRAL Rules, Brussels, Belgium, October 2017
• "Bombardier-Boeing Dispute – Theresa May's Canada Visit," BBC World News, September 2017 
• "NAFTA Renegotiation: Key Issues," International Law Association (UK Branch) Annual Conference, London, UK, September 2017
• "Evidence and Document Production in International Investment Arbitration," Columbia University, New York, NY, August 2017 
• "The Historical Development of Investment Treaty Protection," Dutch Arbitration Association, Amsterdam, Netherlands, June 2017
• "Comprehensive UK Trade Deals in the Post-Brexit Era: Lessons from Recent Agreements," UK Trade Policy Observatory Roundtable on Trade Standards and Brexit, University of Sussex, June 2017 
• "The Interaction of International Investment and International Intellectual Property Law," University of Cambridge Lauterpacht Centre on International Law, Cambridge, UK May 2017 
• Government of Canada consultation on potential reforms to NAFTA, Ottawa, Canada, May 2017 
• "The Investment Chapter of CETA: the Next Generation of Investment Treaties," Queen Mary University, London, UK, February 2017

• Chambers Global, Dispute Resolution: International Arbitration, UK (2025)
• Chambers UK, International Arbitration (2025)
• Legal 500 UK, "Leading Lawyer," International Arbitration (2025)
• Who's Who Legal, Trade & Customs (2022-2024)
• Best Lawyers in the United Kingdom, International Trade Law (2025)

• Member of the Advisory Board of the Investment Treaty Forum of the British Institute of International and Comparative Law 
• Adjunct Professor of International Investment Law and International Dispute Resolution, Centre for Transnational Legal Studies (Georgetown University – London campus)
• Member of the London Court of International Arbitration 
• Member of the ICC Canada Arbitration Committee
• Member of the UNCITRAL Practitioners Group, Working Group III: Investor-State Dispute Settlement Reform
• Member of the European Society of International Law
• Chartered Institute of Arbitrators
• International Association of Economic Law
• International Arbitration Institute (Paris)
• Advocate's Society (Ontario)