Paul Reichler is one of the world’s most respected and experienced practitioners of Public International Law. He has successfully represented Sovereign States in disputes with other States, and in disputes with foreign investors, for more than 25 years. He is one of only a handful of lawyers worldwide with extensive experience litigating on behalf of Sovereign States before the International Court of Justice in The Hague. Among other clients and cases, he was Counsel and Advocate for Nicaragua in the historic case of Nicaragua v. United States of America (1984-1986), regarding the illegal use of force in international relations, and for Uruguay in the landmark case of Argentina v. Uruguay, concerning environmental protection and sustainable development.
He has particular experience representing and advising Sovereign States in land and maritime boundary disputes with neighboring States, including his recent service as Lead Counsel for Guyana in arbitration against Suriname under Annex VII of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to delimit the maritime boundary between the two States (2004-2007). He served as Mediator, appointed by the Secretary General of the Organization of American States, in the land and maritime boundary dispute between Guatemala and Belize (2000-2002).
He has successfully represented Sovereign States in disputes with foreign investors in the world’s principal arbitral forums, including the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), where his clients have included Ecuador, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Guyana, Venezuela and the Philippines. He has more than 25 years of experience representing Sovereign States before the federal and state courts in all regions of the United States, and is one of the leading experts on litigation under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, which he has invoked repeatedly to defeat lawsuits against his sovereign clients on grounds of sovereign immunity. He has successfully represented more than a dozen different States in such lawsuits.
His representation of Sovereign States extends beyond litigation and arbitration to advocacy, including lobbying, before the United States Congress and the executive agencies of the United States Government. His lobbying activities on behalf of foreign States have included successful campaigns for trade preferences, economic assistance, military aid, promotion of free and fair elections, and strategic support in regional disputes, as well as successful campaigns to change United States policies inimical to his sovereign clients’ interests.
He has also served as Consultant to various international organizations, including the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, the African Development Bank and the former United Nations Centre on Transnational Corporations on legal reform and modernization in developing countries.
He is Co-Director of the firm’s International Litigation and Arbitration Practice Group.
Specialization in the Representation of Sovereign States
- Before the International Court of Justice in The Hague
- Before the International Tribunal on the Law of The Sea
- Before the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID)
- Before the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC)
- Before Other International Arbitration Bodies in Latin America, Europe, Asia and the United States
- Before Federal and State Courts in the United States
- Before the Executive and Legislative Branches of the United States Government in Washington
Bars and Court Admissions
- District of Columbia
- Supreme Court of the United States
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit
- U.S. Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit
- U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
- U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia
- U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York
- U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida
Representative Experience
The following is a brief summary of Paul's experience and accomplishments:
- Litigation before the Federal and State Courts of the United States
- Counsel to the following Sovereign States and their governmental agencies, between 1979 and 2007: Nicaragua, Guatemala, Honduras, Venezuela, Guyana, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Kenya, Zambia, Uganda, Tanzania, Liberia, Nigeria and Namibia
- Arbitration before the ICSID
- Counsel for the Republic of Ecuador, Occidental Petroleum v. Ecuador, 2006-present
- Counsel for the Republic of Nicaragua, Shell Brands International v. Nicaragua, 2006-2007
- Counsel for the Republic of Bolivia, Química Industrial del Bórax v. Bolivia, 2007-present
- Arbitration before the ICC
- Counsel for the Republic of Guyana, Green Mining Company v. Guyana, 1992-1996
- Counsel for the Philippines, Philippines v. Westinghouse Electric Corporation, 1989-1996
- Litigation before the International Court of Justice in The Hague
- Counsel for the Republic of Nicaragua, Case Concerning Military and Paramilitary Activities in and Against Nicaragua (Nicaragua v. United States of America), 1984-1991
- Counsel for the Republic of Nicaragua, Case concerning Border and Cross-Border Armed Actions (Nicaragua v. Honduras), 1986-1988
- Counsel for the Republic of Uganda, Case concerning Armed Activities in the Territory of Congo (Democratic Republic of Congo v. Uganda), 1999-present
- Counsel for the Republic of Uruguay, Case concerning Pulp Mills on the Uruguay River (Argentina v. Uruguay), 2006-present
- Arbitration and Mediation of Disputes over Land and Maritime Boundaries
- Counsel for the Republic of Guyana, Guyana v. Suriname, arbitration under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to delimit the maritime boundary between the two states, 2004-present
- Mediator, Territorial Differendum between Guatemala and Belize, appointed by the Secretary General of the Organization of American States, 2000-2002
professional / civic involvement
- American Society of International Law, Member
- List of Arbitrators, International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes
- List of Arbitrators, Arbitration Centre of Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia)