The International Court of Arbitration, the leading institution under the auspices of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), has announced the appointment of Helen Shi as its new vice president, making her the first Chinese lawyer to take up this position in the organisation’s almost 100-year history.
Before Shi’s three-year mandate, she was named in July 2016 as an ICC court member for China, also a first at the time.
“It is a great honour to be elected,” said Shi. “I look forward to working with the new president of the ICC Court and continuing my efforts to further promote the ICC and enhance its position as a leading arbitral institution worldwide, including in China.”
Shi is a partner at Fangda Partners’ Beijing office, and has acted in more than 100 cases, representing many multinational companies and large domestic enterprises in a wide range of disputes arising from equity acquisitions, oil and gas projects, hotel management, aircraft leasing and construction sectors.
“The appointment demonstrates the high regard in which Helen is held by this leading international arbitral institution, as well as Chinese lawyers’ increasing influence in the global legal industry,” said Michael Han, chairman of Fangda’s management committee.
Claudia Salomon took the reins from former ICC Court president Alexis Mourre as the institution’s first woman president elected on 11 June, leading the batch of appointments with 12 new vice presidents and 68 court members from around the world.
Among them was Sun Wei, a Beijing-based equity partner at Zhong Lun Law Firm, who was elected as the new court member for China, and Simon Chapman, Herbert Smith Freehills’ regional head of dispute resolution in Asia, as a Hong Kong member.
The ICC Court is set up to ensure proper application of the ICC rules, as well as assist parties and arbitrators in overcoming procedural obstacles.
