Mélanie van Leeuwen

Melanie van Leeuwen is a founding partner of Vanguard International Dispute Resolution.

Since 1996, Melanie has been practising international arbitration exclusively. She has solid experience as counsel and arbitrator in both commercial and investment arbitration, conducted under all major sets of arbitration rules (ICC, LCIA, LCIA-MIAC, ICSID, SCC, ICDR, UNCITRAL, PCA, DIAC, NAI, SIAC, CEPANI and Swiss Rules) and governed by various procedural and substantive laws. She has handled over 150 arbitrations as counsel and arbitrator concerning disputes arising out of international commercial contracts, cross-border investment, joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, construction projects and investment protection under international law. She has been particularly active in the sectors of energy, mining, media, information and communication technology, construction and engineering, real estate, aviation and infrastructural and defence projects. She also regularly represents clients in annulment, enforcement and consolidation proceedings before the Netherlands state courts.

Melanie has been appointed to the ICSID panel of arbitrators by the Kingdom of the Netherlands. At present, she is serving as chair of the ICC Commission on Arbitration, as co-chair of the ICCA-IBA Joint Task Force on Data Protection in International Arbitration, and as a board member of the Swiss Arbitration Association.