MEET:
Prof Laurence Boisson de Chazournes
Laurence Boisson de Chazournes is an Arbitrator in investment, commercial and contractual cases. She also acts as Advocate and Counsel in inter-state disputes.
Laurence Boisson de Chazournes is an Arbitrator in investment, commercial and contractual cases. She also acts as Advocate and Counsel in inter-state disputes.
Laurence Boisson de Chazournes is an academic and a practitioner in international law and commercial law. She is the President of the Council of the Center for International Dispute Settlement (CIDS) and was the Director of the LL.M. in International Dispute Settlement (MIDS) until 2024. She is a Member of the Institute of International Law (IDI) and a Member of the Curatorium of the Hague Academy of International Law.
Following her career as Senior Counsel to the World Bank (1995 – 1999), she has been a professor at the Law Faculty of the University of Geneva and was the Head of the Department of Public International Law and International Organization (1999 – 2009). She has been and is a visiting professor at the University of Aix-Marseille III, the University of Paris I (Sorbonne), the University of Paris II (Panthéon-Sorbonne, the National University of Singapore (NUS), the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, the University of Tokyo, the Collège de France and Sciences Po Paris. She has been invited as a guest lecturer at numerous universities in Europe, North America, Latin America, Africa and Asia.
She acts as arbitrator for the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce (SCC), and the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). She was a member of the CAS ad hoc Division at the Winter Olympic Games in PyeongChang (2018). She is a judge at the Administrative Tribunal of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and she has served as chairperson of WTO arbitration panels on pre-shipment inspections.
Laurence Boisson de Chazournes also acts as advocate and counsel before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) and other dispute settlement fora.
Laurence Boisson de Chazournes has extensive practical experience in the field of international dispute settlement. She has acted as presiding arbitrator, sole arbitrator or wing arbitrator (appointed by claimants and respondents) in investment and commercial arbitration proceedings (ICSID, SCC, ICC, PCA), in pre-shipment inspection cases at the WTO and in other forms of arbitration (such as sports arbitration). She has served as counsel and advocate before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) and other international tribunals. She has also been appointed as an expert in various proceedings.
Her areas of specialization include, inter alia, energy and environmental issues, natural resources management, tax, sport, investment and public international law (including boundary and law of the sea issues).
Laurence Boisson de Chazournes is a member of the list of arbitrators of ICSID, the WTO indicative list of governmental and non-governmental panellists, the list of arbitrators under Annex VII of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the list of arbitrators of the French National Committee, International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the list of arbitrators of the Swiss National Committee, International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the general list of arbitrators of the Court of Arbitration for Sport, and a member of panels of experts for various free trade agreements concluded by the EU. She was a member of the PCA between 2008 and 2018. She has served as vice-president and a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council Advisory Committee between 2011 and 2017. Between 1995 and 1999 she was Senior Counsel to the World Bank.
Laurence Boisson de Chazournes has been a professor at the Law Faculty of the University of Geneva since 1999 and was the Head of the Department of Public International Law and International Organization (1999 – 2009). She is also a visiting professor at the Aix Marseille University and Sciences Po Paris.
During the summer of 2025 she gave the prestigious General Course of the Hague Academy of International Law.
She has been and is a visiting professor the University of Paris I (Sorbonne), the University of Paris II (Panthéon-Assas), the National University of Singapore (NUS), the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, the University of Tokyo and the Collège de France. She has been invited as a guest lecturer at numerous universities in Europe, North America, Latin America, Africa and Asia.
Laurence Boisson de Chazournes is a member of many editorial and advisory boards, including those of the American Journal of International Law, the International Organizations Law Review and the Law and Practice of International Courts and Tribunals. She was President of the European Society of International Law (ESIL) between 2012 and 2014. She has authored and edited 35 books and has written over 280 articles and contributions to edited volumes.
She holds a PhD in International Law from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva (Summa Cum Laude), a JD in Private Law from the University of Lyon III, a BA in Sociology from the University of Lyon II and a Diploma in Political Science from the Institute of Political Sciences (Lyon).
She took the French national bar exam in 1981.
She received the Elizabeth Haub Prize for Environmental Law in 2008, a Docteur honoris causa from Aix-Marseille University in 2014, the Louis B. Sohn Award for Public International Law from the American Bar Association International Law Section in 2025. She was made Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur by decree of the President of the French Republic in 2024.
Laurence Boisson de Chazournes has authored ten books and edited twenty-four books (inter alia: Fresh Water in International Law, Oxford University Press, 2021, 2nd ed., 344 p.; Interactions between Regional and Universal Organizations. A Legal Perspective, Brill 2016, 384 p.; Diplomatic and Judicial Means of Dispute Settlement (with M. Kohen et J. Vinuales (eds.)), Brill, 2012, 356 p.; Les relations entre organisations régionales et organisations universelles, Recueil des Cours de l’Académie de droit international de La Haye, tome 347, Martinus Nijhoff, 2010, pp. 79-406.). She has also written over 280 articles in international law journal and collective books.
Prof. Boisson de Chazournes is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. In order to provide legal services to their clients, including advice and representation services, Prof. Boisson de Chazournes needs to collect and hold personal data. This includes their client’s personal data and the personal data of others who feature in the matter upon which they are instructed. To read Prof. Boisson de Chazournes’s privacy notice in full, please see here.
MAIN AREAS OF PRACTICE:
LANGUAGES:
- English
- French
- Spanish
+44 (0)20 7404 3447
Laurence Boisson de Chazournes is an Arbitrator in investment, commercial and contractual cases. She also acts as Advocate and Counsel in inter-state disputes.
MAIN AREAS OF PRACTICE
- International Arbitration
- Environmental Law and Natural Resources
- Sports Law
- International Law
Prof Laurence Boisson de Chazournes
Contact Prof. Boisson de Chazournes: laurenceboissondechazournes@matrixlaw.co.uk | +44 (0)20 7404 3447
Contact Prof. Boisson de Chazournes's Practice Team (Team T): TeamT@matrixlaw.co.uk
Laurence Boisson de Chazournes is an Arbitrator in investment, commercial and contractual cases. She also acts as Advocate and Counsel in inter-state disputes.
Laurence Boisson de Chazournes is an academic and a practitioner in international law and commercial law. She is the President of the Council of the Center for International Dispute Settlement (CIDS) and was the Director of the LL.M. in International Dispute Settlement (MIDS) until 2024. She is a Member of the Institute of International Law (IDI) and a Member of the Curatorium of the Hague Academy of International Law.
Following her career as Senior Counsel to the World Bank (1995 – 1999), she has been a professor at the Law Faculty of the University of Geneva and was the Head of the Department of Public International Law and International Organization (1999 – 2009). She has been and is a visiting professor at the University of Aix-Marseille III, the University of Paris I (Sorbonne), the University of Paris II (Panthéon-Sorbonne, the National University of Singapore (NUS), the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, the University of Tokyo, the Collège de France and Sciences Po Paris. She has been invited as a guest lecturer at numerous universities in Europe, North America, Latin America, Africa and Asia.
She acts as arbitrator for the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce (SCC), and the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). She was a member of the CAS ad hoc Division at the Winter Olympic Games in PyeongChang (2018). She is a judge at the Administrative Tribunal of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and she has served as chairperson of WTO arbitration panels on pre-shipment inspections.
Laurence Boisson de Chazournes also acts as advocate and counsel before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) and other dispute settlement fora.
Experience
Laurence Boisson de Chazournes has extensive practical experience in the field of international dispute settlement. She has acted as presiding arbitrator, sole arbitrator or wing arbitrator (appointed by claimants and respondents) in investment and commercial arbitration proceedings (ICSID, SCC, ICC, PCA), in pre-shipment inspection cases at the WTO and in other forms of arbitration (such as sports arbitration). She has served as counsel and advocate before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) and other international tribunals. She has also been appointed as an expert in various proceedings.
Her areas of specialization include, inter alia, energy and environmental issues, natural resources management, tax, sport, investment and public international law (including boundary and law of the sea issues).
Laurence Boisson de Chazournes is a member of the list of arbitrators of ICSID, the WTO indicative list of governmental and non-governmental panellists, the list of arbitrators under Annex VII of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the list of arbitrators of the French National Committee, International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the list of arbitrators of the Swiss National Committee, International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the general list of arbitrators of the Court of Arbitration for Sport, and a member of panels of experts for various free trade agreements concluded by the EU. She was a member of the PCA between 2008 and 2018. She has served as vice-president and a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council Advisory Committee between 2011 and 2017. Between 1995 and 1999 she was Senior Counsel to the World Bank.
Education and Teaching Activities
Laurence Boisson de Chazournes has been a professor at the Law Faculty of the University of Geneva since 1999 and was the Head of the Department of Public International Law and International Organization (1999 – 2009). She is also a visiting professor at the Aix Marseille University and Sciences Po Paris.
During the summer of 2025 she gave the prestigious General Course of the Hague Academy of International Law.
She has been and is a visiting professor the University of Paris I (Sorbonne), the University of Paris II (Panthéon-Assas), the National University of Singapore (NUS), the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, the University of Tokyo and the Collège de France. She has been invited as a guest lecturer at numerous universities in Europe, North America, Latin America, Africa and Asia.
Laurence Boisson de Chazournes is a member of many editorial and advisory boards, including those of the American Journal of International Law, the International Organizations Law Review and the Law and Practice of International Courts and Tribunals. She was President of the European Society of International Law (ESIL) between 2012 and 2014. She has authored and edited 35 books and has written over 280 articles and contributions to edited volumes.
She holds a PhD in International Law from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva (Summa Cum Laude), a JD in Private Law from the University of Lyon III, a BA in Sociology from the University of Lyon II and a Diploma in Political Science from the Institute of Political Sciences (Lyon).
She took the French national bar exam in 1981.
She received the Elizabeth Haub Prize for Environmental Law in 2008, a Docteur honoris causa from Aix-Marseille University in 2014, the Louis B. Sohn Award for Public International Law from the American Bar Association International Law Section in 2025. She was made Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur by decree of the President of the French Republic in 2024.
Scholarship
Laurence Boisson de Chazournes has authored ten books and edited twenty-four books (inter alia: Fresh Water in International Law, Oxford University Press, 2021, 2nd ed., 344 p.; Interactions between Regional and Universal Organizations. A Legal Perspective, Brill 2016, 384 p.; Diplomatic and Judicial Means of Dispute Settlement (with M. Kohen et J. Vinuales (eds.)), Brill, 2012, 356 p.; Les relations entre organisations régionales et organisations universelles, Recueil des Cours de l’Académie de droit international de La Haye, tome 347, Martinus Nijhoff, 2010, pp. 79-406.). She has also written over 280 articles in international law journal and collective books.
Prof. Boisson de Chazournes's Privacy Notice
I am a full-time law professor based in Geneva, Switzerland. who does not serve as a barrister or solicitor in the United Kingdom. As a member of Matrix Chambers, I occasionally serve as counsel or arbitrator for inter-State, investor-State disputes and commercial disputes. As such, my practice mostly does not involve the use of personal data and any such data typically is processed in Switzerland and not by Matrix Chambers. However, to the extent that I receive personal data (such as contact details), I may provide it to Matrix Chambers, in which case it is possible that Matrix Chambers would be a “data processor” and I would be the “controller” of the data within the meaning of the U.K. Data Protection Act 2018. The legal bases for any personal data processing that I carry out, under applicable Swiss or U.K. data protection laws, are that the processing is necessary for the legitimate interests pursued by me in the course of my work as counsel or arbitrator; is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which I am subject; and/or has been consented to by the data subject. I will not keep any personal data for longer than is necessary for the purposes set out in this notice or as required by law. For data falling within the scope of U.K. data protection legislation, you have the following rights: the right to be informed about the collection and use of your personal data the right of access to your personal data, and the right to request a copy of the information that I hold about you and supplementary details about that information the right to have inaccurate personal data that I process about you rectified in certain circumstances, the right to have personal data that I process about you blocked, erased or destroyed (right of erasure) the right to object to, or restrict the processing of personal data concerning you for direct marketing, and continued processing of your personal data in certain circumstances, the right of portability of your data If you have questions about this notice, or have a concern or complaint about the way that I handle your personal data, please contact me at laurenceboissondechazournes@matrixlaw.co.uk. Should you find it necessary, for data falling within the scope of U.K. data protection legislation, you have a right to raise a concern with or make a complaint to the U.K. Information Commissioner’s Office: https://ico.org.uk. END OF PRIVACY NOTICE