Kabir Duggal focuses his practice on international investment arbitration, international commercial arbitration and public international law matters, serving as arbitrator, mediator, and counsel. He also frequently serves as an expert on international arbitration and public international law matters. He is also a passionate advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion issues and frequently writes and speaks on these issues. Kabir's experience includes complex disputes under numerous bilateral/multilateral investment treaties and contracts with parties from all around the world. His experience flows from his triple training in international law, common law, and civil law traditions. He has served as an arbitrator in over 40 disputes involving parties from all over the world and across several different industries. He is recognized as a "Chartered Arbitrator" (the highest ranking for arbitrators) by both the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and the Asian Institute of Alternative Dispute Resolution and is also a member of the National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals (NADN). The total value of the disputes he has been involved in exceeds 80 billion dollars. He has facilitated the mediation and negotiation of complex disputes. He also acts as a consultant for the United Nations Office of the High Representative for Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS) on the creation of a novel "Investment Support Program" (which was shortlisted by Global Arbitration Review for the category of "Best Developments" for 2018). He also serves on the Steering Committee of the Investment Support Program. Kabir works closely with the US Department of Commerce's Commercial Law Development Program (CLDP) as an expert and has undertaken capacity-building workshops in Georgia, Kosovo, Bosnia & Herzegovina. He has also conducted training and capacity-building sessions for several Governments including Colombia, Saudi Arabia, Myanmar, India, among others on public international law and dispute resolution matters. He also serves on the Federal Republic of Somalia's New York Convention Task Force as well as the WTO Negotiating Team (International Board). Kabir often also serves as an expert on international law issues and serves as the co-chair of United States Council for International Business (USCIB's) academic committee, the Institute for Transnational Arbitration (ITA) academic committee, the International Law Institute (ILI) Faculty, and the Chartered Institute of Arbitrator (CIArb's) Academic committee. He also serves on the Advisory Board of the Boston International Arbitration Council (BIAC). Kabir is also a member of the Young Practitioners Subcommittee for the Equal Representation in Arbitration Pledge.
Kabir has received several accolades for his work in international arbitration and public international law. He was awarded the Hind Rattan ("Jewel of India") award which is the highest diasporic award for people of Indian origin. He has been listed in every single edition as a Global Leader by Who's Who Legal (2021 to 2024). He is also listed as a Thought Leader in International Arbitration by Who's Who Legal, both in the Global leader category (since 2022) and in the inaugural US edition (2023). Previously, he was ranked among the Most Highly Regarded Future Leader in the Americas by Who's Who Legal (2019) following which he was the youngest practitioner to be listed in the Global Listing of Arbitrators by Who's Who Legal (2020). He received the "40 under 40 Rising Star Award" by Legal Era—Legal Media Group in 2018. He has been ranked as by "Best Lawyers" (since 2020), "Rising Star" by Experts Guides (since 2019), has been recommended by Legal 500 US for "International Arbitration," was listed as a "Super Lawyer" in the New York metro region (since 2019), and is listed as a "Rising Star" in Commercial Arbitration by Euromoney Legal Media Group (2019 and 2021). In 2019, he was also awarded the "Inspiring Citizen Award" by the Institute of Self Reliance. In 2021, Kabir was awarded "Counsel of the Year" by the largest voluntary organization in India — the Indian National Bar Association, he was previously awarded the "Young Lawyer of the Year" (2019). Kabir has been ranked as among the "Top Ten Arbitrators" for the Asia Pacific Region by the Bali International Arbitration and Mediation Center (BIAMC) and received the "2019 Equality and Diversity Award in Dispute Resolution" by Prime Dispute in 2020. In 2021, Kabir was awarded the "2020 Dispute Resolution Practitioner of the Year for the Americas" and in 2022, he received the "2021 Dispute Resolution Award of the Year — Global." The Association for Conflict Resolution for Greater New York (ACR GNY) awarded Kabir with an award for "Significant Impact in International Arbitration."
Kabir has considerable experience in various aspects of public international law and dispute resolution. He was a consultant at The World Bank Group in Washington, D.C., where he worked with the Development Research Group focusing on socioeconomic rights in the developing world, and for UNICEF on issues of child rights and child protection. He has also worked as a judicial clerk for an Indian Supreme Court Judge.
Kabir is a Lecturer-in-Law at the Columbia Law School, teaching a variety of lectures and seminars on both investor-state arbitration as well as commercial arbitration. He is also an adjunct professor at Fordham Law School teaching "Transnational Litigation and Arbitration" and “International Disputes and Investigations.” He is also a course director and faculty member for the Columbia Law School-Chartered Institute of Arbitrators Comprehensive Course on International Arbitration and serves as an academic coordinator for the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators' Diploma Course. He also hosts a leading webinar series entitled "TagTime" which involves conversations with leading arbitrators from all over the world. Additionally, he has taught dispute resolution courses in educational institutions all over the world. Kabir has published several articles and books and is regularly invited to speak at conferences globally. He is the managing editor for Columbia Law School's "The American Review of International Arbitration." He also serves as an Associate Editor for ICSID Review and also serves on its Peer Review Board and is also an Associate Editor for Brill-Nijhoff's "Perspectives in International Investment Law and Arbitration." He has co-authored multiple books and articles in arbitration and has received the Burton "Law360 Distinguish Legal Writing Award" for his scholarly writings. He received the prestigious 13th Annual “Smit-Lowenfeld Prize” for the best article in arbitration in the English language selected from over 200 articles. His writings have been cited by arbitral tribunals and by the Supreme Court of Switzerland. He has been awarded the "2018 Academic Prize" by the Belgian Centre for Arbitration and Mediation (CEPANI) and is listed in Leiden University's "2019 Hall of Fame." He is currently pursuing a second doctoral degree from Harvard Law School.
Kabir also maintains an active practice as both an arbitrator and mediator. He is also admitted as a "Council Member" for the American Arbitration Association (AAA) and the International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR). Kabir is both a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrator and a Certified Mediator by the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution. He is admitted, inter alia, with institutions all over the world, including AAA and ICDR: Panel of Arbitrators, International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution (CPR): Panel of Distinguished Neutrals, Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC): Panel of Arbitrators, Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC): List of Arbitrators, and is also listed on the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) and the United States Council for International Business (USCIB): Panel of Arbitrators.
Experience
- Sole Arbitrator in a large and complex dispute between an American company and a Bulgarian company for alleged breach of a guarantor to satisfy obligations under a credit agreement.
Institution: International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR)
Applicable Law: New York
Seat: New York - Sole Arbitrator in a dispute between an individual and a company along with its managing director for fraudulent representations and loss of investment.
Institution: American Arbitration Association (AAA)
Applicable Law: New York
Seat: New York - Wing Arbitrator in a dispute between a Canadian aircraft manufacturer and an American company in relation to a dispute in the aviation industry.
Institution: International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR)
Applicable Law: New York Law
Seat: New York Law - Wing Arbitrator in a dispute between a Bahraini Company and an American Company in relation to a dispute arising out a license agreement for alleged breach of the subscription software services.
Institution: International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR)
Applicable Law: Delaware Law
Seat: New York Law - Sole Arbitrator in a dispute between an UAE party and parties from Lithuania and Russia arising from the failure to make a payment under a contract of sale.
Institution: London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA)
Applicable Law: England
Seat: London
Appointment: Selected by the LCIA Court
- Sole Arbitrator in a dispute between two American parties arising out of an agreement to provide certain technology and platform related services.
Institution: American Arbitration Association (AAA)
Applicable Law: New York - Sole Arbitrator in a “large and complex” dispute between a Gibraltar party and an UAE party arising allegedly under a guaranty agreement and a related escrow agreement.
Institution: International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR)
Applicable Law: New York
Seat: London - Co-Arbitrator deciding a challenge to an arbitrator as part of the CPR Challenge Review in a pharmaceutical dispute
Institution: International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution (CPR) - Sole Arbitrator in a “large and complex” dispute between an American party and a Chinese party over alleged breach of intellectual property
Institution: International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR)
Applicable Law: Colorado - Chair in a “large and complex” dispute between an American party and a Colombian party over an alleged breach of a swaps and OTC derivatives account in a commodities dispute
Institution: International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR)
Applicable law: New York - Wing Arbitrator in a dispute between a German Non-Profit Foundation and a U.S. Party arising out of an IT dispute and the alleged failure to meet the conditions pursuant to the applicable contract
Institution: International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR)
Applicable law: New York
Appointment: Appointed by the Respondent
Amount: Not fully quantified yet (just stated that the amount is over US$1 million) - Sole Arbitrator in a dispute between an American company and an Australian company arising out of an alleged breach of a professional services agreement in the engineering field
Institution: International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR)
Applicable law: New York - Sole Arbitrator in a dispute for the alleged termination of a Master Agreement between two American Parties in relation to the preparation of accounting software (IT dispute)
Institution: International Chamber of Commerce (ICC)
Applicable law: New Jersey - Sole Arbitrator in a “large and complex” dispute between an U.S. company and multiple Chinese individuals for the alleged breach of an Offering Memorandum in the biotech field
Institution: American Arbitration Association (AAA) (parties agreed to these rules)
Applicable Law: Delaware - Chair in a “large and complex” dispute between two American Companies arising out of the alleged failure to honor the “put” option in an LLC agreement in the hospitality and tourism industry
Institution: American Arbitration Association (AAA)
Applicable Law: New York
Amount: Approx. US$2 million - Sole arbitrator in a dispute between a U.S. company and a Hong Kong company over a supply dispute
Institution: International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR)
Applicable law: New York - Wing arbitrator in a dispute between a company in the Jersey Islands and a Ghanian company arising out a Rig Share Deed and an Aviation Services Sharing Agreement in the energy sector
Institution: London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA)
Applicable law: England & Wales
Appointment: Appointed by the LCIA Court - Sole arbitrator in an alleged breach of contract dispute between an Australian party and an American Party in an IT dispute
Institution: International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR)
Applicable law: New York - Sole arbitrator in a dispute in a medical supplies dispute between a Swiss party and a U.S. party
Institution: International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR)
Applicable law: Delaware - Sole arbitrator in a services dispute between two U.S. companies for breach of a supply agreement in relation to supply of Covid-19 medical equipment
Institution: American Arbitration Association
Applicable law: New York - Chair in an international licensing dispute between two U.S. parties in relation to alleged breach of trademarks and other intellectual property
Institution: International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR) (contract provided for ICDR)
applicable law: New York - Sole arbitrator in a dispute in a contractual dispute relating to failure to meet conditions as agreed upon contractually in the hospitality industry
Institution: Ad hoc arbitration
Applicable law: England & Wales
Status: Final Award Issued - Sole arbitrator in a dispute between for a luxury cruise and a customer for alleged breach of contractual provisions in the tourism industry
Institution: Ad hoc arbitration pursuant to UK’s ABTA Scheme
Applicable Law: England & Wales - Sole arbitrator in an international dispute for alleged breach of a supply agreement for a medical device between a Mexican and a U.S. party
Institution: International Centre for Dispute Resolution
Applicable law: Utah - Sole arbitrator in a dispute for the alleged failure to make payments under a financing agreement between two U.S. parties
Institution: American Arbitration Association
Applicable law: Utah - Sole arbitrator in a large, international dispute involving breach of a franchise agreement in the food and hospitality industry
Institution: Ad hoc but appointed by ICC
Applicable law: Liechtenstein
Appointment: By the International Chamber of Commerce (pursuant to the applicable contract) - Chair in a large, complex accounting dispute exceeding a million dollars between two U.S. parties
Institution: American Arbitration Association in accordance with the Accounting and Related Services Rules
Applicable law: New York - Sole arbitrator between an Indian party and Chinese party in a shipping dispute
Institution: Singapore International Arbitration Center (SIAC)
Applicable Law: Singapore - Sole arbitrator between two American parties in an information technology dispute
Institution: American Arbitration Association
Appointment: Selected by the parties via the rank and strike method
Applicable Law: New York - Sole arbitrator between two English parties over breach of agreement in the hospitality industry
Appointment: Agreement by parties
Applicable Law: England & Wales - Sole arbitrator between two parties for alleged breach of a financing agreement
Institution: American Arbitration Association
Appointment: Selected by the parties via the rank and strike method
Applicable Law: New York
Perspectives
Recognition
Global Leader (2023)
The Youngest “Thought Leader” in the inaugural USA Edition (2022)
The Youngest “Thought Leader” in International Arbitration, Global (2022)
Arbitration (2021–2022)
"Future Leaders"—Arbitration (2017–2020)
"Most Highly Regarded Future Leader in the Americas'—International Arbitration (2019)
Ones to Watch: Alternative Dispute Resolution (2020–2021)
Credentials
Education
- Ph.D., Leiden Law School, 2019, Academic Prize by the Belgian Centre for Arbitration and Mediation (CEPANI)
- LL.M., International Legal Studies, New York University School of Law, 2008, Hauser Global Scholar, Transitional Justice Fellow
- B.C.L., University of Oxford, 2007, Oxford-Cambridge Society of India Scholar, DHL-Times of India Scholar
- Post Graduate Diploma in International Humanitarian Law, Nalsar University of Law, 2006, Gold Medal
- Post Graduate Diploma in Human Rights Law, University of Mumbai, 2005, Gold Medal
- LL.B., Government Law College, University of Mumbai, 2004, Gold Medal, 5 awards, and Ranganath Rao Trophy
Admissions
- New York
- District of Columbia
- England and Wales
- India
Clerkships
- Supreme Court of India, The Honorable Sujata Manohar
Activities
- Member, Law360's 2024 International Arbitration Editorial Advisory Board
- American Society of International Law (ASIL), Annual Meeting Committee Member (2024).
- Advisory Board Member, NALSAR-IAMC ADR Journal (2023)
- Council Member, ICC Institute of World Business Law (2023)
- Co-Chair, American Arbitration Association/International Centre for Dispute Resolution, Large and Complex Committee (LCC) (2023)
- Member, Center for International Investment and Commercial Arbitration (CIICA), Young Arbitration Group's Global Advisory Board (2023)
- Member, Law360's 2023 International Arbitration Editorial Advisory Board
- Advisory Board Member, ArbDossier (2023)
- Member, National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals (2022)
- American Society of International Law (ASIL), Signature Topics Initiative (2022)
- Associate Editor, Brill Perspective in International Investment Law and Arbitration (2022)
- India Conference Co-Chair, American Bar Association, Section of International Law (2022)
- Editorial Board, Law360, International Arbitration (2022)
- Academic Council, Institute of Transnational Arbitration (ITA) (2022)
- Affiliate Member, International Commercial Disputes Committee, New York City Bar (2022)
- Ambassador, American Arbitration Association/International Centre for Dispute Resolution Foundation (2022)
- Chartered Arbitrator, Asian International Arbitration Centre (formerly the Kuala Lumpur Regional Centre for Arbitration (KLRCA)) (2022)
- Challenge Review Board; Procedures and Challenge Task Force, International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution (CPR) (2022)
- Distinguished Associate Editor, African Journal of International Arbitration (2022)
- Academic Taskforce Co-Chair, International Chamber of Commerce (ICC)’s USCIB (2022)
- Executive Committee, Rising Arbitrators Initiative (RAI) (2020)
- Editor, Jus Mundi (2020)
- Publications Committee, International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR) (2020)
- Senior Fellow, Bali International Arbitration and Mediation Center (BIAMC) (SFBiAm) (since 2020)
- Steering Committee, Pledge for Greener Arbitrations (2020)
- Ambassador, International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) Commission on One Belt, One Road (since 2020)
- Advisory Board, Boston International Arbitration Council (BIAC) (since 2020)
- International Liaison Officer, Bali International Arbitration and Mediation Center (BIAMC) (since 2019)
- Member, International Bar Association's (IBA) Taskforce for the revision of the IBA Rules on the Taking of Evidence in International Arbitration and the Commentary on the Rules (since 2019)
- Member, Council of the American Arbitration Association (AAA) and the International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR) (since 2019)
- Fellow, UK's Royal Society of Arts (FRSA) (since 2018)
- Fellow, Asian Institute of Alternative Dispute Resolution (AiADR) (FAIADR) (since 2018)
- Diversity Committee, Royal Society of Arts (USA) (since 2018)
- Fellow, Chartered Institute of Arbitrator (FCIArb) (since 2018)
- Large and Complex Committee (LCC), American Arbitration Association (since 2018)
- Global Advisory Board, Oxford University Press' Investmentclaims.com (since 2017)
- Advisory Committee, Harvard International Arbitration Law Students Association (HIALSA) (since 2017)
- Advisory Committee, International Arbitration Cell, Government Law College (since 2017)
- Co-Chair, Private International Law Interest Group, American Society of International Law (since 2017)
- Life Member, The Indian Society of International Law (since 2014)