MEXICO

HERFRIED WOSS

hwoss@cdrsllc.com

GENERAL OVERVIEW

RELEVANT PUBLICATIONS

• The ICC Model Turnkey Contract for Major Projects, Construction Law International, International Bar Association, orthcoming.

• Techniques for Controlling Time and Cost in Arbitration (in Spanish), La Barra, Journal of the Mexican Bar Association, No. 63, July-September 2007, p. 5‑7.

• Spotlight on the DRBF’s Representative in Mexico, Dispute Boards in Mexico, The Dispute Resolution Board Foundation, Forum, May 2007, p. 6-7.

• Multi-tier dispute resolution clauses in public works contracts in Mexico - system or pathology?, (in Spanish), in: Dispute Resolution in Infrastructure Projects, Wöss & Partners, Newsletter June 2007, p. 1-5.

• Dispute Adjudication Boards (in Spanish), ICC Mexico, Pauta 50, June 2006, p. 12-20.

• The Consortium Privilege in Corporate Restructurings in Mexico (in Spanish), ICC Mexico, Pauta 49, November 2005, p. 41-48.

• Consolidation of arbitration proceedings and joinder of new parties by the respondent under the ICC Rules, IBA Arbitration Committee Newsletter, September 2005, p. 55 to 58.

• Commercial Arbitration – an instrument for risk management in international trade (in Spanish), Euronegocios, November 2005, p. 12.

• The Protection of Commercial Arbitration in Mexico (in Spanish), Euronegocios 2 (Mayo-Junio 2004) 7, p. 21.

• The Application of TRIPS to the Authorization by Health Authorities of the Using, Making and Selling of Pharmaceutical Drugs, Journal of International Trade Law & Regulation, Sweet & Maxwell, London, 3 (2002) 79-84.

• E-Commerce and Electronic Document Management Systems in Mexico, International Business Lawyer (February 2002) 61-64.

• Rules of origin in international trade and under NAFTA (in Spanish), “El Foro”, Law Review of the Mexican Bar Association, 2 (October 1999) 159-174.

• Dispute Resolution in International Economic Law and under the North American Agreement on Labor Co-operation, dissertation (in Spanish), National Autonomous University of Mexico, 1999.

• The legal benefits of NAFTA for German enterprises (in German), in: Legal Aspects of Foreign Trade between Germany, Mexico and Argentina, Roland Bomhard/Heinrich Dörner (eds.), Schriftenreihe der Universität Düsseldorf, Nomos-Verlagsgesellschaft Baden-Baden, 1998, 101‑118.

• The application of the UN-Sales Law by courts and arbitral tribunals in Mexico (in German), in: Legal Aspects of Foreign Trade between Germany, Mexico and Argentina, Roland Bomhard/Heinrich Dörner (eds.), Schriftenreihe der Universität Düsseldorf, Nomos-Verlagsgesellschaft Baden-Baden, 1998, 43‑56.

• The New World Economic Order and the Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations (in Spanish), Journal of the Faculty of Law XLV, UNAM, Mexico, 203-204 (1995) 131 et seq.; and Phoenix 4 (Journal of the Association of the Former Trainees of the European Union), Brussels 1996, 95 et seq.

• The legal status of Voluntary Restraint Agreements on the Steel Sector with particular emphasis on the Associated Financing of Exports (EC-US Steel and Consensus Agreements), doctorate thesis, 1995, sold to: Österreichische Kontrollbank AG (Austrian Eximbank), Finanzierungsgarantie-GmbH (Austrian Export Guaranty Institution) and Bank Austria Handelsbank AG. 

LANGUAGES

German (mother tongue), English, Spanish and French (read only)

ARBITRAL ASSOCIATIONS AND LISTINGS

• Founder of the Investment Arbitration Forum

• Fellow of the Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration (ACICA)

• Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, London (MCIArb.)

• Dispute Resolution Board Foundation (Country Representative)

•  ICC Arbitration Commission (Austria and Mexico Sections)

• “Rapporteur” of the Dispute Resolution Committee of the International Construction Projects Committee of the International Bar Association

•  Member of the panel of international arbitrators of the International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR) of the American Arbitration Association

• London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA)

• Arbitration Committee of the International Bar Association

• Arbitration Section of the Mexican Bar Association (Member, October 2004)

• Austrian Arbitration Association (ARBAut)

• Swiss Arbitration Association (ASA)

• German Institution of Arbitration (DIS)

• Vienna International Arbitration Centre (VIAC)

• Mexican Arbitration Centre (CAM)

• National Chamber of Commerce of the City of Mexico (CANACO)

• Spanish Arbitration Club

ARBITRATION EXPERIENCE

• Innumerable consultations on topics related to arbitration issues and interventions in arbitration and pre-arbitration procedures as counsel to the parties and arbitrator
• Current cases:
  • Arbitrator in ICC case 15256/JRF.
  • Counsel to contractor in expert procedures against the Mexican Federal Electricity Commission as regards thermo-electrical power plants.
  • Counsel to Respondent/Counter Claimant in ICC case 12949/KGA/CCO (complex arbitration; financing of capital goods, joinder of new parties, parallel litigation, remission to arbitration, CISG, UNIDROIT-Principles, bad faith, etc.); successfully closed on October 26, 2007 (see note in Global Arbitration Review, online edition)
  • Counsel to claimant in case No. 144 of the National Chamber of the City of Mexico (UNCITRAL-rules), (complex arbitration; CISG vs. domestic law, UNIDROIT-Principles, parallel litigation including referral to arbitration, know how license agreement, bankruptcy, etc.); recognition and execution proceedings.
• Application of the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts 1994/2004 in order to improve the legal situation of a party in international arbitrations
• Execution of pre-arbitral/judicial provisional measures (including non-competition clauses, restitution of machines and parts produced by such machines)
• Remission to arbitration of preparatory means to mandatory actions and of mandatory actions; as well as defense against requests for the remission to arbitration in case of mandatory actions based on promissory notes
• Legal opinion on possible investment arbitration with respect to the seizure by a criminal judge of US$300 million of an international insurance company in Mexico

·         NAFTA Panel candidate for several NAFTA panels, proposed by the Mexican government

• Creation of the first Mexican Dispute Resolution Board in order to resolve a dispute between the Mexican oil company PEMEX and a supplier of sub-maritime oil tubes in the amount of US$200 million

·         La Costeña, S.A. de C.V. (Mexico) vs. LANIN, S.A. (Argentina), BANCOMEXT

·         Member of the translation team of the ICC Dispute Board Rules

CONFERENCES AND ACADEMIC ACTIVITIES

• Speaker on topics such as:

o        “Dispute Resolution and Infrastructure Projects” (Mexican Arbitration Centre/World Bank seminar, Mexico-City, 2002)

o        “Online Arbitration”, International Technology Law Conference (ITAM, Mexico-City, 2003)

o        “Dispute Resolution in the Construction Sector” (Mexican Arbitration Centre, Mexico-City, yearly seminar as part of the arbitration diploma course, 2003-)

o        “Case Analysis in Arbitration” (Mexican Arbitration Center, arbitration moot, Mexico-City, 2004)

o        “ICC Dispute Review Boards” (ICC Mexico, Arbitration Commission, 2004)

o        “Remission of judicial actions to arbitration” (Superior Court of Justice of the City of Mexico, 2005)

o        “Nullity, Recognition and Execution of Arbitral Awards” (Mexican Arbitration Centre/PEMEX, Mexican oil company, Villahermosa, Mexico, 2005)

o        “The role of Dispute Boards in international dispute resolution” (Conference on ICC Dispute Boards, ICC, Mexico-City, February 2006).

o        “Performance Monitoring” (International Bar Association Construction Law Conference, Public-private partnerships - the road ahead in Latin American construction projects, Mexico, May 2006).

o        “Adaptation of Contracts and International Commercial Arbitration” (Mexican Association for International Private and Comparative Law, Mexico, August 2006).

o        “Enforceability of Pre-arbitral procedures” (International Bar Association Chicago Conference, Arbitration and International Construction Projects Committees, September 2006).

o         “Arbitration Interactive” (Mexican Arbitration Centre/PEMEX; Villahermosa, Mexico, November and December 2006; Mexico-City, April and May 2008)

o        “ICC Final report on construction industry arbitrations” (Arbitration and Dispute Resolution in the Construction Industry, ICC Mexico/Mexican Arbitration Center, Mexico City, June 2007)

o        “The Benefit of ICSID Arbitration” (Best practices in developing and protecting investments in privately financed infrastructure projects, International Bar Association, International Construction Projects Committee, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, August 2007)

o        “Public-Private Partnerships in the Mexican Hospital sector” (Best practices in developing and protecting investments in privately financed infrastructure projects, International Bar Association, International Construction Projects Committee, Rio de Janeiro, August 2007)

o        “The ICC Turnkey Projects Model Contract” (ICC Mexico, ICC Model Contracts Seminar, Mexico City, October 2007)

o        “Compensation in International Investment Protection Law” (Investment Arbitration Forum, Legal Research Institute, UNAM, Mexico City, June 2008)

• Lecturer on international and national arbitration, claim management, pre-arbitral dispute resolution (Dispute Boards, expert proceedings, etc.) and public (WTO, NAFTA, FTAs, etc.) dispute resolution at the following institutions: ICC Mexico, Mexican Arbitration Centre, Wöss & Partner Dispute Resolution Services (in house seminars)