Pedro J. Martinez-Fraga is a leading practitioner in the field of international litigation and transnational arbitration, including complex jurisdictional disputes concerning common law and civil law issues. He is the co-leader of the firm’s International Arbitration Team and has significant experience with matters related to sovereign immunity, act of state contentions, international investment law, corporate governance, anti-suit injunctions, cross-border energy disputes (oil and gas, co-generation, and geothermal), asset tracing, cross-border interim relief, and issues concerning the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments and arbitral awards.
Mr. Martinez-Fraga has represented the Republic of Argentina, the Republic of Guatemala, the Republic of El Salvador, the Federated Republic of Brazil, the Republic of Chile, the Republic of Ecuador, the Republic of Honduras, St. Kitts & Nevis and instrumentalities of the Kingdom of Spain. He has, in addition, served as an arbitrator in International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) (World Bank) proceedings: (Urbaser S.A. and Consorcio de Aguas Bilbao Bizkaia, Bilbao Bizkaia Ur Partzuergoa v. Argentine Republic (ICSID Case No. ARB/07/26). His arbitration experience includes arbitral disputes under the following institutions and rules: ICSID (World Bank), ICC, LCIA, ICDR, DIS and the Hong Kong International Arbitration Center. Mr. Martinez-Fraga serves on the Advisory Council to the Restatement (Third) of International Commercial Arbitration of the American Law Institute.
His more notable representations include serving as lead US counsel on behalf of the Republic of Chile in the case against former Chilean President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and Senator pour vie Augusto Pinochet.
During his tenure at another law firm, Mr. Martinez-Fraga was recognized by the prestigious legal publication Chambers for being “widely regarded as the firm’s key player in the field” and it was noted that he “is considered to offer a considerable depth of experience in matters relating to Latin America, not to mention the Spanish-speaking world in general.”
Mr. Martinez-Fraga also maintains an active international human rights practice, serving as lead counsel in a landmark case before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. He currently serves as a member of the Center for Human Rights Advisory Council of the American Bar Association.
A noted scholar, author and lecturer in the fields of public and private international law, Mr. Martinez-Fraga has been published in 15 countries and four languages. He has written more than 50 peer-reviewed articles, five books on private and public procedural international law and is the co-editor and a contributing author of a sixth book on international arbitration. Two of his books are published by Cambridge University Press and form part of every major academic law library and legal research center globally. Additionally, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences has published and translated two of his books into Mandarin.
Mr. Martinez-Fraga has lectured at more than 20 law schools throughout Europe, Latin America, Asia and the United States. He currently serves as an adjunct professor at the New York University (NYU) School of Law. He is also a visiting professor of international litigation and arbitration for the Global Law Program of the University of Navarra School of Law in Pamplona, Spain and an honorary professor of law at the Universidad de San Ignacio de Loyola in Lima, Perú. Mr. Martinez-Fraga served as an adjunct professor at the University of Miami School of Law from 2002 to 2010.
