Dr. Odysseas G. Repousis is an Associate in Quinn Emanuel’s New York office and a member of the international arbitration and transnational litigation groups. His practice focuses on international commercial arbitration, investor-state disputes, and business litigation.
Odysseas is recognized by all major directories as a future leader in the fields of international arbitration and cross-border business litigation. Who’s Who Legal (2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023), describes him as a “first-class legal mind”, “a superb lawyer of tremendous intellectual integrity” and “a dedicated and effective communicator”, with clients noting in particular that they are “impressed by his diligence and legal expertise”, “his creativity, attention to detail and ability to handle complex issues”, and his “devotion to the client’s interests”. Legal 500 (2020, 2021 and 2022) recognizes him as a “key lawyer” in international arbitration, investment treaty arbitration proceedings and claims involving sovereigns and notes his “particular expertise in investor-state disputes”. Euromoney’s Rising Stars Awards 2022 recognizes Odysseas as a “rising star” for litigation and commercial arbitration and Who’s Who Legal 2020 Legal Marketplace Analysis (2020,2021, 2022) notes that he impresses with his “meticulous attention to detail and ability to grasp, strategize, and respond to an ever increasingly complex litigation landscape”. He is also endorsed by Financier Worldwide, which recognizes him as a “Future Star and Power Player” in Complex Disputes.
Odysseas acts in arbitration and litigation cases spanning a broad range of industry sectors, jurisdictions, procedural rules and applicable laws. His common law and civil law backgrounds allow him to effectively advise on disputes involving parties across jurisdictions. He regularly represents clients in, among others, the transportation, banking and financial services, mining, telecommunications, infrastructure and utilities sectors, and has particular expertise in matters involving complex, fact-heavy and cross-border commercial disputes and claims involving state parties or governments, including claims under concession agreements and international investment treaties.
Odysseas received his Master of Laws Degree from Harvard Law School and his Ph.D. from the University of Hong Kong. He has received several prizes and awards, including the Harvard University Scholarship and the Li Ka Shing Prize (also known as the Best Ph.D. Thesis Award). A dual Australian and Greek national, he is qualified in New York, England & Wales and Greece.
Prior to joining the firm, Odysseas taught and conducted research at Harvard Law School and the University of Hong Kong, worked at the International Chamber of Commerce and the European Commission (at the Directorate General for Trade) and held research positions with the British Institute of International and Comparative Law, the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre and the United Nations International Law Commission. Odysseas has spoken and written extensively on international arbitration and litigation topics, and has delivered lectures at universities in the United States, Europe and Asia. Odysseas is also a Board Member of the Harvard Law School Association of the U.K.
- Harvard Law School
(LL.M., 2016)- Harvard International Law Journal:
- Editor
- Harvard University Scholar
- Gerondelis Foundation Scholar
- Harvard International Law Journal:
- The University of Hong Kong
(Ph.D., International Investment Law, 2016)
(LL.M., Arbitration and Dispute Resolution, distinction, 2013)- Li Ka Shing Prize (Best Ph.D. Thesis Award)
- Hong Kong University Scholar
- University Research Committee Scholar
- Hague Academy of International Law
(Certificate, Private International Law, 2014) - Arbitration Academy
(Certificate, International Arbitration, 2014)- Scholarship of the Academy
- Scholarship of the Academy
- Erik Castrén Institute of International Law
(Diploma, International Investment Law, 2014) - University of Athens
(B.A./J.D., magna cum laude, 2012)- Greek State Scholar
- The State Bar of New York
- England & Wales
- Greece
- Greek
- French
- Recognized by Who’s Who Legal as a Future Leader in International Arbitration (2023)
- Recognized by Euromoney’s Rising Stars for Litigation and Commercial Arbitration (2022)
- Recognized by Who’s Who Legal, Legal Marketplace Analysis (2020, 2021, 2022)
- Recognized by Who’s Who Legal as a Future Leader in Litigation (2019, 2020)
- Recognized by Who’s Who Legal as a Future Leader in Commercial Litigation (2021, 2022)
- Recognized by Legal 500 (2020, 2021, 2022) as a “key lawyer” in investment treaty arbitration proceedings and in claims involving sovereigns
- Recognized by Legal 500 (2021, 2022) as a “key lawyer” in international arbitration proceedings
- Recognized by Financier Worldwide as a Future Star and Power Player in Complex Disputes
Books
- Multilateral Investment Treaties (forthcoming, 2024)
- Getting The Deal Through: Sovereign Immunity (Law Business Research, 2018-present) (co-editor)
Articles and Book Chapters
- “Assignment of Investment Treaty Claims”, in International Comparative Legal Guide: Investor-State Arbitration (Global Legal Group, 2019) (with Stephen Jagusch KC)
- “Court or other authority for certain functions of arbitration assistance and supervision (Article 6)”, in The UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration: A Commentary (Cambridge University Press, 2019) (with Shahla Ali)
- “Arbitration agreement and interim measures by court (Article 9)”, in The UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration: A Commentary (Cambridge University Press, 2019) (with Shahla Ali)
- “Appointment of arbitrators (Article 11)”, in The UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration: A Commentary (Cambridge University Press, 2019) (with Shahla Ali)
- “Court assistance in taking evidence in international arbitration (Article 27)”, in The UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration: A Commentary (Cambridge University Press, 2019) (with Shahla Ali)
- “Introduction”, in Getting the Deal Through: Sovereign Immunity (Law Business Research, 2018-2021) (with Stephen Jagusch KC)
- “United Kingdom” Chapter, in Getting the Deal Through: Sovereign Immunity (Law Business Research, 2018-2021) (with Stephen Jagusch KC)
- “United States” Chapter, in Getting the Deal Through: Sovereign Immunity (Law Business Research, 2018-2021) (with David Orta)
- “Signatories to the Energy Charter Treaty (Article 38)”, in Rafael Leal-Arcas (ed.) Commentary on the Energy Charter Treaty (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2018)
- “Ratification, Acceptance or Approval of the Energy Charter Treaty (Article 39)”, in Rafael Leal-Arcas (ed.) Commentary on the Energy Charter Treaty (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2018)
- “The territorial application of the Energy Charter Treaty (Article 40)”, in Rafael Leal-Arcas (ed.) Commentary on the Energy Charter Treaty (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2018)
- “Accession to the Energy Charter Treaty (Article 41)”, in Rafael Leal-Arcas (ed.) Commentary on the Energy Charter Treaty (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2018)
- “Giving away home field advantage: The misguided attack on confidentiality in international commercial arbitration”, The Arbitration Brief (2018) (co-author)
- “CEAC v. Montenegro: What is the “seat” requirement for nationality of corporate investors?”, 33 ICSID Review-FILJ 81 (2018) (co-author) (Oxford University Press)
- “The use of trusts in investment arbitration”, 34 Arbitration International 261 (2018) (Oxford University Press)
- “State succession and devolution agreements revisited: A note on Sanum v. Laos”, 21 Max Planck Yearbook of United Nations Law 353 (2017)
- “Yukos and the Provisional Application of the GATT: An (im)perfect analogue?”, Kluwer Arbitration Blog (2017)
- “An Overview of Provisional Measures in ICSID Proceedings”, 32 ICSID Review-FILJ 431 (2017) (Oxford University Press) (with Anthony Sinclair)
- “Multilateral Investment Treaties in Africa and the Antagonistic Narratives of Bilateralism and Regionalism”, 52(3) Texas Int’l L. J. 313 (2017) (lead article)
- “Investor-State Mediation and the Rise of Transparency in International Investment Law: Opportunity or Threat?”, 45(2) Denv. J. Int’l L. & Pol’y 225 (2017) (with Shahla Ali)
- “The Application of Investment Treaties to Overseas Territories and the Uncertain Provisional Application of the Energy Charter Treaty to Gibraltar”, 32(1) ICSID Review-FILJ 170 (2017) (Oxford University Press)
- “Why Russian investment treaties could apply to Crimea and what would this mean for the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian territorial conflict”, 32 Arbitration International 459 (2016) (Oxford University Press)
- “Armed Conflict and State-Succession in Investor-State Arbitration”, 22(3) Columbia J. Eur. L. 421 (2016) (with James Fry)
- “Standing of Locally Incorporated Entities in International Investment Law and the Notion of ‘Foreign Control’”, 24(2) Tulane J. Int’l & Comp. L. 327 (2016) (lead article)
- “Transparency, the UNCITRAL Rules and the Mauritius Convention: Towards a newer world for investor-State arbitration?”, 48(3) NYU J. Int’l L. & Policy 796 (2016) (with James Fry)
- “On Territoriality and International Investment Law: Applying China’s Investment Treaties to Hong Kong and Macao”, 37(1) Michigan J. Int’l L. 113 (2015)
- “Intertemporality and international investment arbitration: Protecting the jurisdiction of established tribunals”, 31(2) Arbitration International 213 (2015) (Oxford University Press) (with James Fry)
- “Investment Arbitration in the Nuclear Energy Sector: Environmental Protection versus Investor Protection”, in Yulia Levashova et al. (eds.) Bridging the Gap between International Investment Law and the Environment (2015) (with James Fry)
- “Overlapping investor-State arbitration clauses for energy and environmental disputes in the Energy Charter Treaty Area”, 8(2) World Arb. & Mediation Rev. 181 (2014)
- “Investment Arbitration in the Nuclear Energy Sector: A Brief Note on Investors and Investments”, Kluwer Arbitration Blog (2014)
- “Multiple Investment Treaties between the Same States?: The Case of the ECT”, Kluwer Arbitration Blog (2014)
Lectures
- Investor-State Arbitration: Trends, Challenges and Opportunities, Global Legal Group, London (2021)
- The interaction between International Investment Law and the EU Renewable Energy Industry, Jean Monnet Chair Workshop, Queen Mary University of London, Centre for Commercial Law Studies (2018)
- International investment law and territoriality, Harvard Arbitration Discussion Series, Harvard Law School (2016)
- Suing states under pre-succession or secession investment treaties, ESIL Research Forum, European University Institute, Florence (2015)
- Territoriality in international investment law, Workshop for Junior Scholars, Université de Louvain, Belgium (2014)
- From the UNCITRAL Rules to the Mauritius Convention: Review, treaty interpretation and comparison, 2014 UNCITRAL-UM Asia-Pacific Fall Conference, Macau (2014)
- African regional investment treaties as a means to promote human rights?, 2014 AHRI Human Rights Conference, Copenhagen, Denmark (2014)
- Perspectives on jurisdictional overlaps in the enforcement of awards and decisions against sovereigns, ILA Regional Conference in Lisbon, Portugal (2014)
- New paradigms and remnants of the past: Assessing co-existence over unity, ESIL 10th Conference, Vienna, Austria (2014)
- Regionalism in international investment law and the combating forces of parallelity and codification, SIEL, Bern, Switzerland (2014)
- State-owned enterprises as investors in the nuclear energy industry: ICSID and non ICSID Considerations, SIEL, São Paulo, Brazil (2014)
- Overlapping investor-State arbitration clauses for energy and environmental disputes in the Energy Charter Treaty Area, ITA-IEL Joint Winter Forum, Houston (2014)
- Investment treaties as a pattern of dominance: Another pitfall for the African States?, Young Scholars Workshop on International Law, Trento, Italy (2013)
- China’s FTAs and corresponding BITs: Parallel, overlapping or dissimilar investor protection regimes?, Student Workshop on Research in International Law, New Delhi (2013)
- Stripping the Jurisdiction from Established Investment Arbitral Tribunals, ILA Regional Conference, Cape Sounion, Greece (2013)
- The investor-State arbitration clause of Greek BITs, Symposium on Arbitral Resolution of Investment Disputes, Ministry of Development, Athens, Greece (2013)
Teaching
- Workshop on International Investment Law, Harvard Law School (2015-2016)
- Guest Lecturer, EU and International Investment Law, Tufts University, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy (2015-2016)
- Workshop on International Investment Law, FDI Moot teams, The University of Hong Kong (2014-2015)
- Guest Lecturer, Public International Law, International Arbitration and International Investment Law, the University of Hong Kong (2013-2015)
- Member, Harvard Alumni Association
- Board Member, Harvard Law School Association of the United Kingdom
- Member, Hong Kong University Alumni Association
- Member, American Bar Association
- Member, International Bar Association
- Member, AAA-ICDR Young & International
- Member, ICC Young Arbitrators Forum
- Member, LCIA Young International Arbitration Group (YIAG)
- Member, Young ICSID
- Member, Institute for Transnational Arbitration (ITA), Young ITA
- Member, Young OGEMID/TDM (Transnational Dispute Settlement)
- Member, Young ICCA (International Council for Commercial Arbitration)
- Affiliateship, Chartered Institute of Arbitration (CIArb)
- Principal Coach, FDI Moot Court, The University of Hong Kong, Faculty of Law, 2014 – 2016
- Member, Society of International Economic Law
- Member, European Society of International Law
- Member, British Institute of International and Comparative Law
- Member, American Society of International Law
- Member, International Law Association, British Branch