Clara Brillembourg

Associate - Washington, D.C.

Contact Information

Clara Brillembourg advises sovereign governments and companies on international matters involving both dispute resolution and corporate social responsibility.

Clara's International Litigation and Arbitration practice focuses on the representation of sovereign States in international disputes with other States, foreign investors and before U.S. courts. She represents sovereign States before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in disputes involving territorial rights, human rights and environmental harm, and counsels States in maritime delimitation cases before the ICJ, arbitral tribunals and the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (ITLOS).

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Education:

  • Yale Law School, J.D., 2006
  • Harvard College, B.A., magna cum laude with highest honors, 2001

Languages:

Spanish

Representative Experience

Litigation Before the International Court of Justice

  • Nicaragua v. Costa Rica (Case Concerning Construction of a Road on the Costa Rican Side of the San Juan River). Counsel to Nicaragua (2011-present) in case concerning pollution of San Juan River resulting from Costa Rican construction, industrial and agricultural activities.
  • Costa Rica v. Nicaragua (Case Concerning Certain Activities Carried Out by Nicaragua in the Border Area). Counsel to Nicaragua (2010-present) in case concerning allegations of environmental harm resulting from Nicaragua's dredging of the San Juan River and restoration of a channel.
  • Georgia v. Russia (Case Concerning Application of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination). Counsel to Georgia (2008-present) opposing Russia’s participation in and support for ethnic cleansing aimed at expelling ethnic Georgians from areas occupied by Russian forces following Russia’s August 2008 incursion.
  • Ecuador v. Colombia (Case Concerning Aerial Herbicide Spraying).  Counsel to Ecuador (2008-present) in case concerning Colombia’s aerial spraying of toxic herbicides in close proximity to the Ecuadorian border, causing serious harm to human health, livestock, crops and the environment in Ecuador.
  • Nicaragua v. Colombia (Case Concerning Territorial and Maritime Dispute).  Counsel to Nicaragua (2007-2012) in case concerning disputed sovereignty over certain islands in the Caribbean Sea, and the delimitation of the maritime boundary between Nicaragua and Colombia in those waters.
  • Argentina v. Uruguay (Case Concerning Pulp Mills on the River Uruguay).  Counsel to Uruguay (2006-2010) in case concerning Uruguay’s licensing of paper pulp mill as an environmentally-safe model of sustainable economic development and Argentina’s allegation that it could pollute the river shared by the two States.
  • Costa Rica v. Nicaragua (Case Regarding Navigational and Related Rights).  Counsel to Nicaragua (2007-2009) in case concerning sovereignty over the San Juan River, which constitutes the border between the two States, the right to regulate navigation on the river, and the lawfulness of Nicaragua’s regulations.

Litigation, Arbitration and Mediation of Territorial and Maritime Boundary Disputes

  • Bangladesh v. Myanmar.  International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea, Hamburg. Counsel to Bangladesh (2009-2012) in case concerning the delimitation of the maritime boundary in the territorial sea, Exclusive Economic Zone, and extended continental shelf in the Bay of Bengal.
  • Bangladesh v. India.  International Arbitration under Annex VII of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Counsel to Bangladesh (2009-present) in case concerning the delimitation of the maritime boundary in the territorial sea, Exclusive Economic Zone, and extended continental shelf in the Bay of Bengal.
  • Nicaragua v. Colombia.  International Court of Justice, The Hague. Counsel to Nicaragua (2007-2012) in case concerning disputed sovereignty over certain islands in the Caribbean Sea, and the delimitation of the maritime boundary between Nicaragua and Colombia in those waters.
  • Djibouti / Eritrea.  Mediation by His Royal Highness the Emir of Qatar. Counsel to Djibouti (2010-present) in a mediation with Eritrea to resolve a boundary dispute.
  • Guyana v. Suriname.  International Arbitration under Annex VII of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Counsel to Guyana (2004-2007) in case concerning the delimitation of the maritime boundary between the two States.

International Investment Arbitration on Behalf of Sovereign States

  • Philip Morris Brands et. al. v. the Oriental Republic of Uruguay.  International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).  Counsel to Uruguay (2010 - present) in arbitration brought by Swiss tobacco companies concerning Uruguay's regulation of cigarette packaging and health warnings.
  • EURAM Investment Bank AG v. Slovak Republic.  UNCITRAL Ad-Hoc Arbitration.  Counsel to the Slovak Republic (2009-present) in an UNCITRAL Rules arbitration under the Austria - Czech and Slovak investment treaty arising from changes in the Slovakian health insurance sector.
  • ETI Euro Telecom International N.V. v. Republic of Bolivia. International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). Counsel to Bolivia (2007-2009) in arbitration under bilateral investment treaty brought by Dutch investor whose interests in a Bolivian telecommunications company were nationalized by the government.
  • M.C.I. Power Group L.C. v. Republic of Ecuador. International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). Counsel to Ecuador (2008-2009) in annulment proceeding before ICSID panel brought by Canadian investor in electric power sector seeking to annul arbitral award in favor of Ecuador.
  • Química e Industrial del Borax Ltda. v. Republic of Bolivia. International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). Counsel to Bolivia (2006-2009) in proceeding under the bilateral investment treaty between Bolivia and Chile, concerning the Bolivian Government’s termination of a mineral concession.
  • A.E.I Luxembourg Holdings S.ar.L. v. Republic of Bolivia. Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce. Counsel to Bolivia (2008-2009) in arbitration under an investment treaty between Luxembourg and Bolivia based on Bolivia’s nationalization of a gas pipeline company.
  • Occidental Petroleum Corporation and Occidental Exploration and Production Company v. Republic of Ecuador. International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). Counsel to Ecuador (2006-2007) in proceeding for provisional measures sought by U.S. oil company based on allegation that its investment in an Ecuadorian oil field was expropriated.
  • Shell Brands International AG and Shell Nicaragua S.A. v. Republic of Nicaragua.  International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). Counsel to Nicaragua (2006-2007) in arbitration under the bilateral investment treaty between Nicaragua and the Netherlands, concerning a seizure of trademarks ordered by the Nicaraguan courts.

Litigation Before United States Federal Courts on Behalf of Sovereign States

  • Community Finance Group v. Kenya.  U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota. Counsel to Kenya (2010-2011) in lawsuit over alleged interference in currency transaction, and appeal of judgement in favor of Kenya on grounds of sovereign immunity.
  • Carpenter v. Chile.  U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and District Court for the Eastern District of New York. Counsel to Chile (2008-2012) in lawsuit over alleged human rights violations by Chilean government and officials, and appeal of judgment in favor of Chile on grounds of sovereign immunity.
  • Caromin v. Venezuela.  U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and District Court for the Southern District of New York. Counsel to Venezuela (2007-2009) in lawsuit over alleged expropriation of mining concessions in Venezuela, and appeal of judgment in favor of Venezuela on grounds of sovereign immunity.
  • ETI Euro Telecom N.V. v. Bolivia.  U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Counsel to Bolivia (2008) in lawsuit to attach accounts of Bolivian government and state-owned telecommunications company in New York banks to secure claims against Bolivia arising from nationalization of the company.

Advisory Services Relating to Corporate Social Responsibility and Government Strategies

  • Advisory services to multinational corporate clients on the development, implementation, and review of codes of conduct, human rights and labor conditions, and rule of law matters. Representative sectors include oil and gas, mining, manufacturing, and the internet.
  • Advisory services to corporate, non-governmental organization, and foreign state clients to develop government strategies related to the executive and legislative branches of the United States Government, as well as non-governmental organizations.
  • Georgia v. Russia: The Use of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination as a Means To Redress or Ameliorate Ethnic Cleansing Carried Out in the Course of Armed Conflict, ABA International Section 2009 Annual Conference (Fall 2009)
  • "Business and Human Rights in the United States," Chapter in Global Business and Human Rights (European Lawyer Reference, 2011)

Honors

  • American Arbitration Association (AAA) 2009 Higginbotham Fellow
  • Yale Journal of International Law, Managing Editor
  • Two World Bank Spot Awards for exceptional work
  • 250+ Leaders Changing Washington: Washington’s Most Influential Under 40 Leaders

Involvement

  • American Society of International Law, Co-Chair of the Women in International Law Interest Group (2012-present)
  • Council on Foreign Relations, Term Member (2012-present)
  • Meridian International Center, Co-Chair of the Rising Leaders Council (2012-present)
  • American Arbitration Association (AAA), 2009 A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr. Program Fellow & Member  
  • American Bar Association, International Section, Member   
  • District of Columbia Bar Association, International Section, Member
  • New York Bar Association, International Section, Member
  • Arbitral Women’s Group, Member
  • "Pulp Mills Dispute Between Argentina and Uruguay," Center for International Environmental Law, American Branch of the International Law Association and American Society of International Law (September 2010)
  • "Women in International Law," American Society for International Law (July 2011)
  • "Cases Before the International Court of Justice," Guest Lecturer, Yale Law School (November 2011)
  • “Tobacco and Trade: PM Brands et al. v. Uruguay,” Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement Negotiations (May 2012)
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Bar Admissions

  • District of Columbia
  • New York

Court Admissions

  • U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
  • U.S. Supreme Court