GBS Disputes

Marija is or was part of the team advising and/or representing:

• Subsidiaries of a Gulf sovereign wealth fund in two ICC arbitrations in Switzerland initiated against related companies of a European real estate investment group and its ultimate beneficial owner. The dispute arises from the breach of various finance agreements. Over EUR 700 million is at stake. The law of the Respondents’ State of nationality applies.
• An African national oil company in 11 disputes against an international oil company. The disputes concern inflated cost recovery claimed and collected by the IOC and its predecessor in title under 11 concession agreements. The law of the African State applies. More than USD 250 million is at stake.
• Pharmaceutical group Sanofi in an ICC arbitration in Geneva initiated by Boehringer Ingelheim that arose out of an acquisition and concerned liability relating to third party claims. Swiss law applied. The Tribunal fully dismissed the claims against Sanofi seeking indemnification for potential losses in connection with ongoing mass tort litigation in the United States.
• International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) (an affiliate of Mubadala Investment Company PJSC), Respondent in an ICC arbitration in Paris initiated by Real Madrid football club. The dispute arose from a sponsorship agreement related to the Santiago Bernabéu stadium. Spanish law applied and over EUR 550 million was at stake. The Arbitral Tribunal, ruling by a majority, dismissed Real Madrid’s EUR 550 claims in their entirety.
• Ukraine, Respondent in an SCC arbitration in Stockholm brought by VEB.RF. The dispute related to sanctions and other measures allegedly targeting Russian banks in Ukraine after 2014. The claims were brought under the 1998 Ukraine-Russian Federation bilateral investment treaty.
• Ukraine in an ICSID arbitration initiated by Emergofin B.V. and Velbay Holdings under the Ukraine-Netherlands bilateral investment treaty (ICSID Case No. ARB/16/35). The dispute related to an aluminium and alumina production company.
• Rasia FZE and Joseph K. Borkowski, Claimants in an ICSID arbitration brought against the Republic of Armenia under the U.S.-Armenia bilateral investment treaty and two concession agreements concluded with the State (ICSID Case No. ARB/18/28). The dispute arose out of two concession agreements to develop, maintain and operate both a rail network and a high speed road network in Southern Armenia. Over USD 260 million was at stake.
• Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) and Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC), Claimants in a CRCICA arbitration in Cairo with East Mediterranean Gas S.A.E. (EMG), arising out of a long term gas supply contract between EGAS, EGPC and EMG.
• The majority shareholders in the former Yukos Oil Company in relation to the enforcement proceedings before the U.S. and U.K. courts of the USD 50 billion awards rendered in the arbitrations brought by the shareholders against the Russian Federation concerning the unlawful treatment and expropriation of their investments in Yukos.

Advisory work

• Advising a major oil company on its anticipated acquisition of a stake in a major gas field in a neighbouring country and its construction of an associated processing facility, including investment treaty advice, the structuring of the investment vehicle, and the drafting of all associated upstream, midstream and downstream contracts.
• Advising an entity in the Arabian Gulf regarding the modernization of the group’s structure to mitigate litigation risk.
• Advising a State on potential avenues for repatriating antiquities.

Pro bono

•  Amicus Curiae Brief before the Superior Court of Québec in the matter of Hypertec Real Estate Inc. v. Equinix Canada Ltd. (appointed by the Court in a setting aside proceedings).  The Amicus Curiae Brief addressed (i) the concept of party consent as a fundamental tenet of international arbitration; (ii) an arbitral tribunal’s mandate to resolve disputes specifically referred to it for its determination, including the submission of additional claims and defences throughout the arbitration proceedings; and (iii) the functus officio doctrine.

Education

• Harvard Law School, LL.M.
• Geneva Law School and Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, LL.M. in International Dispute Settlement
• Sapienza Università di Roma, Second Level Master in International Commercial Law
• University of Belgrade, Faculty of Law, LL.B.

Admissions & Courts

• New York
• Serbia

Languages

• Serbian
• Croatian
• English
• Italian
• French

Nationalities

• Serbian
• French

• Member, Panel of Arbitrators, Permanent Arbitration at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia
• Member, Young International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA)
• Member, ICDR Young & International
• Member, LCIA Young International Arbitration Group (YIAG)
• Co-founder, Harvard International Arbitration Law Students Association (HIALSA)

• Research Assistant, New York Convention Guide Project (newyorkconvention1958.org), a project developed in cooperation with UNCITRAL and Columbia University on the implementation of the 1958 Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (aka the “1958 New York Convention”), with a view to promoting its uniform application around the world
• “Cenni sulla legislazione serba in materia d’investimenti esteri [Notes on the Serbian foreign investment legislation],” 2013(3) Quaderni di Geopolitica 13 (co-author)
• “Frivolous Claims in International Adjudication: A Study of ICSID Rule 41(5) and of Procedures of Other Courts and Tribunals to Dismiss Claims Summarily,” Journal of International Dispute Settlement 137 (2012) (co-author)
• “Njujorška konvencija o priznanju i izvršenju arbitražnih odluka [The New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards],” 2009(4) Pravni Život 643
• “Izvršni postupak i povreda prava na pravično suđenje – evropski kontekst i novo srpsko zakonodavstvo [Enforcement and the Right to a Fair Trial – The European Context and New Serbian Legislation],” 2009(2) Anali Pravnog Fakulteta u Beogradu 354 (co-author)

• “‘We’re losing the ISDS fight’? If so, what next?,” 4th MIDS Alumni Association Annual Conference, Geneva, 15 November 2024
• “The Role and Practice of Public International Law in International Dispute Resolution,” Paris Place de Droit, Summer Camp, Paris, 4 July 2024
• “International Arbitration – Foundations,” Sciences Po, Reims, 27 April 2024
• “The Energy Charter Treaty Running Out of Energy,” Thought Leader 4 Disputes Sovereign & States Disputes and Enforcement Summit 2024, London, 6 February 2024
• “HIALSA’s Book Launch Event” (webinar), 14 April 2022
• “Recognition and Enforcement of Arbitral Awards in the SEE Region,” Central European Initiative & Economic Chamber of North Macedonia, Business and Arbitration in an Era of Globalization: Challenges and Perspectives (webinar), 11–12 May 2021
• “Tension between Indigenous Rights and Investment,” ICC YAF/ Harvard International Arbitration Law Students Association (HIALSA) (webinar), 4 March 2021
• “Current Backlash against Investment Arbitration,” Cyril and Methodius University, Skopje (webinar), 28 March 2020
• “International Arbitration and Industry 4.0.,” Kopaonik Business Forum, Kopaonik, Serbia, 2020, 3 March 2020
• Opening and closing remarks – Hot Topics in the Practice of International Arbitration, ICDR / HIALSA, Cambridge, United States, 23 April 2015
• Opening remarks, Harvard International Arbitration Conference: Intersections between Commercial and Investment Arbitration, Cambridge, United States, 10 April 2015