Crenguta Leaua

Leaua Damcali Deaconu Paunescu – LDDP

Bucharest www.lddp.ro

cleaua@lddp.ro Tel: +40 31 405 43 04

Biography

Experienced arbitrator, Crenguta Leaua is listed in Austria, Bulgaria, China (CIETAC and SHIAC), Malaysia, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Slovenia and is a member of the Tech List of the Silicon Valley Arbitration and Mediation Center (SVAMC). She is a past vice-president of the ICC Court and currently a member of the SVAMC Board, chairing the SVAMC Initiative on Arbitration for Blockchain-based Transactions. She is a managing partner of Leaua Damcali Deaconu Paunescu – LDDP (a GAR 100 listed firm) and acts as counsel in both investment and commercial arbitration.

What trends are you seeing emerging in the types of disputes currently going to arbitration?

Disputes where technology is part of the subject matter of the disputes are certainly on the rise, in all industries.

What skills are required for arbitrating in different seats, and how does your experience on this front enhance your practice?

In my view, one needs to have a mental map of the legal systems, in terms of comparative law, but then to have the ability to move into the specificity of each system of law. One needs to be humble in terms of their own knowledge: correct application of another law than the one of legal education of an arbitrator cannot possibly be made unless one has respect for other legal systems, and does not think in terms of a superiority of certain legal systems over others. Otherwise, there is dangerous inherent bias of the judgement of that arbitrator that prevents correct application of the law at the seat of arbitration.

Your experience spans a range of sectors from construction to aviation – to what extent is sector-specific knowledge on the part of the arbitrator important when handling commercial disputes?

Industry-related experience is of the highest importance, especially in technology-related disputes, even if the matter in dispute is purely commercial. The deep understanding of an industry, or at least of being acquainted with the ecosystem of that industry provides parties with a better chance for their case to be properly understood.

What would be the advantages and challenges of developing international accreditation procedures for arbitral institutions based on common standards?

I realise that the “mushrooming” of arbitral institutions is a phenomenon one can see in many countries, and in some cases this might threaten the reputation of arbitration, in general. However, accreditation procedures will inevitably lead to standardisation and this, in my view, will kill the very major advantage of arbitration – adaptability to the parties’ needs, innovation in terms of procedures. This is the very purpose of arbitration – to be an alternative to the standardised procedure of the state courts. An accreditation system would inevitably advantage the existing arbitral institutions with long-standing activity, building up the very standards for the accreditation criteria, and by that, it will limit the evolution of alternatives, of new ideas. So, with all risks, I would consider that an accreditation system would have an inhibitive effect one should avoid.

What steps can younger arbitration practitioners take to improve their chances of getting appointments?

I don’t think that getting an appointment as arbitrator should be an aim in itself. For a while, now, I am reconsidering the role of arbitrators. Diversity of arbitrators, the wider interpretation of the duty to disclose as defined by the recent arbitral rules, much wider than the IBA guidelines, and the very purpose of the arbitration to adapt to parties’ needs, will eventually lead to a statistic of not so numerous appointments for the same person as before. In this context I believe that younger professionals – as in fact anyone else, irrespective of age – should realistically look at being an arbitrator as a rare occasion and focus mostly on the activity of counsel or professor or other types of professional activity, building thus their professional value from this perspective. If this is about increasing the probability of appointment of young arbitrators – I think that intergenerational appointments are the best chance for appointment for young professionals. So, they should keep a close connection with their peers.

What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

It may be that the best pieces of advice in life we get are from people much younger than us. In my case, it was the advice that my son gave me once, when he was rather young. It was the result of a summer school game. A professor drew a circle and challenged the students: “This is a fortress. You are inside it. How do you get out?”. Answers started to flow: “climb the wall”, “jump over it”, “break it”. All were fighting the wall. My son’s answer was “The only way to escape from the circle is to look up!”. That is so true, in every single situation in life, whether when being surrounded by the walls of exterior circumstances limiting us, or when living in the circle of our own round comfortable thoughts.