Catharine Titi Receives IACNY Smit-Lowenfeld Prize

New York, February 9, 2016 – The International Arbitration Club of New York (IACNY) announced today that Catharine Titi is the recipient of the 2016 Smit-Lowenfeld Prize for best article in the field of international arbitration published in 2014. The prize is being awarded for the article, “Investment Arbitration in Latin America: The Uncertain Veracity of Preconceived Ideas,” which was published in Arbitration International, Volume 30, Issue 2. The article addresses whether Latin American states are in fact hostile environments for investment arbitration by considering compliance and enforcement in relation to recent awards, negotiations for a regional arbitration center, and public interest issues.

The prize was presented to Ms. Titi on Monday, February 8, 2016, at a dinner and program held in her honor in New York City. The article was chosen by an IACNY selection committee chaired by Rory O. Millson, a retired partner at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP. “Ms. Titi provides a thorough dissection of dispute resolution in Latin America with this article, diving into nuances and complexities that are often overlooked by the international arbitration community,” said Mr. Millson. “We are thrilled to include her in the canon of Smit-Lowenfeld award recipients.” The selection committee for the prize also included B. Ted Howes of McDermott Will & Emery LLP, Commercial Arbitrator, Mediator & Counsel James M. Rhodes, Daniel Schimmel of Kelley Drye & Warren LLP and Fred Sherman of Jones Day.

This is the fifth year the IACNY has awarded this prize, selecting one article annually. Prior honorees include Gary Born for his article “A New Generation of International Adjudication;” Professor Charles H. Brower II for his article “Arbitration and Antitrust: Navigating the Contours of Mandatory Law;” Stephen Fietta and James Upcher for their article “Public International Law, Investment Treaties and Commercial Arbitration: an emerging system of complementarity?” and Nicolas Ulmer of Budin & Associés in Geneva for his article “The Cost Conundrum.”

The annual Smit-Lowenfeld prize honors the late professors Hans Smit, former Stanley H. Fuld Professor Emeritus at Columbia Law School and Andreas Lowenfeld, former Rubin Professor Emeritus at the New York University School of Law, for their distinguished careers in the field of international arbitration, both as scholars and as arbitrators. Article selection is based on originality, quality, significance and scholarship, among other factors. Honorees are selected annually by the IACNY and are awarded an honorarium of $2,500.

The prize was presented at the February event by Lawrence W. Newman, Presiding Member of the IACNY and Of Counsel at Baker & McKenzie LLP. “This article sheds new light on the investor-state arbitration system in Latin America, dispelling the myth that this is a hostile environment for negotiations,” said Mr. Newman. “It is an important contribution to the broader understanding of international dispute resolution.” 

The International Arbitration Club of New York

The International Arbitration Club of New York was formed on June 25, 2010, by 70 founding members as a not-for-profit association. The Club now comprises 110 leading practitioners and scholars in the field of international arbitration who reside and/or work in the New York City area. The purposes of the Club include providing a forum for discussion of issues and problems in international arbitration and to foster recognition of New York City as a venue for international arbitration. Members of the group are drawn from several well-known law firms in addition to Cravath, Swaine & Moore and Baker & McKenzie and those of the members on the selection committee. These include Debevoise & Plimpton; Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton; Simpson Thacher & Bartlett; Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom; Sullivan & Cromwell; Weil, Gotshal & Manges and White & Case, among others. 

The 2016 Award Recipient

Catharine Titi 

Catharine Titi is a Research Scientist at the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) and Faculty Member of the CREDIMI, Law Faculty of the University of Burgundy. She also occasionally lectures at the University of Burgundy. She holds a PhD from the University of Siegen in Germany. Catharine has previously worked at the University Panthéon-Assas Paris II (CRED) and as a consultant for the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). She has published extensively in international law journals, such as Arbitration International, European Journal of International Law, Journal du droit international and Journal of World Investment & Trade, and contributed to edited volumes, such as the Yearbook on International Investment Law & Policy (Oxford University Press, 2015). Her monograph The Right to Regulate in International Investment Law (Nomos & Hart Pubishing) was published in 2014. She is currently co-editing a Latin America special issue in the Journal of Word Investment & Trade (with Katia Fach).

Those interested in submitting an article for consideration for the best article on international arbitration published in English in 2015, please visit The International Arbitration Club of New York’s website at www.arbitrationclub.org or contact Ted Lynch at telynch@jonesday.com or +1.212.326.3897