Konstantin Christie

Peter & Kim

Geneva www.peterandkim.com

kchristie@peterandkim.com Tel: +41 58 317 70 70

Biography

Konstantin Christie is a partner at Peter & Kim. His practice centres on investment and commercial arbitration, with clients hailing from the energy sectors, banking, retail and heavy industry. Representative cases involved JV and post-M&A projects in Europe, the Middle East and the former Soviet Union. Recently, he acted for clients subject to long-term energy supply agreements and investment disputes in Asia. Konstantin trained in Paris and Geneva before passing the bar in New York and Massachusetts and has been based in Europe for the past 15 years.

I was always interested in various cultures and addressing conflicts through peaceful means, having first-hand experienced lack of cultural understanding, when resettling in the US and then Europe. Arbitration, and in particular investment arbitration is one of the methods of resolving conflicts in a way that provides for a neutral forum where each party has a chance to put its best case forward. Of course, this is not a perfect system and not every arbitration lives up to these expectations, but it mostly works – otherwise there would not be such a proliferation of arbitration lawyers, experts and arbitral institutions. After having two courses on arbitration from great professionals themselves – Paolo Michele Patocchi and Christopher Gibson – I was hooked and pursued my career in this field.

What qualities make for a successful arbitrator?

First and foremost, diligence and patience. The successful arbitrator must not only know the file, but also be patient with the parties, and sometimes their colleagues on the panel. Of course, a solid training in any one system of law and a specialisation in an industry helps too, as well as tact, diplomacy and respect for the trust that the parties place in an arbitrator. I would also say that an ability to decide on merits and procedure is a must – something you would expect all arbitrators to have. In my experience, unfortunately it is not always so.

In what ways is arbitration becoming greener? Do clients also have a role to play in this transformation?

I see that routinely, even for smaller arbitrations, arbitration firms large and small opt out not to have hard-copy bundles for the hearings and even for submissions. This has been part of a greater “green awareness” but also a result of covid-19 experience. As for the clients, I believe that most of them trust their arbitration lawyers and it is the lawyers and the tribunals who drive the green transformation of the industry. Also, the technology just got better – whether in terms of presentation at the hearing, calling of exhibits or use of document-handling platforms at law firms.

In what ways does your vast international experience benefit clients? How will the ongoing sanctions continue to affect Russian-related construction projects and arbitration?

I would hope that clients recognise that varied experience is valuable, whether it is that of an arbitrator, counsel or tribunal secretary. As for the sanctions, unfortunately, they are likely to restrict the ability of parties to seek justice – both for Russian and non-Russian parties. The sanctions will likely impact on almost everything – from the choice of counsel, arbitrators and experts to ability of the parties to move on with arbitration. Even the payment of advance on costs is likely to be difficult as a matter of bank practice, in turn effectively freezing some projects, but also some disputes that would otherwise be handled swiftly through an interim relief request or an interim award/emergency arbitration.

Practitioners report a marked increase in international mediation, even when there are arbitration clauses in contracts, due to cash-strapped businesses seeking early settlement. Is there a danger arbitration could take a back seat to mediation?

For some types of disputes, this could be the case, but for most arbitrations it is difficult to see how even an effective and experienced mediator could resolve a dispute where one party is unwilling or unable to even consider a portion of the blame. Equally, mediation is only possible if both parties agree on a mediation, and this would not be possible in cases where arbitration is a tool to save face or displace blame of a government official/corporate officer. Having said that, our advice to the clients always involves options for a possible successful settlement regardless of its liquidity position. More generally, however, it is rare to see a party forgoing an arbitration and choosing mediation only because of cash flow issues – for such parties third-party funding could be an option.

Looking back over your career, what has been your proudest achievement?

I would have to say that a settlement in an investment dispute just weeks before the hearing was especially notable, as I was not yet a partner and received a personal call from the general counsel to thank me for the work that we have been doing. The settlement was a success despite a much larger team of lawyers on the opposite side. Becoming a partner at 35 was also not without a sense of achievement.

What advice would you give to someone starting out in arbitration?

Sometimes this field seems like a marathon, but often it is a sprint when every second counts. It is important to maintain the level of dedication and a cool head throughout. This often comes at a personal cost in terms of life outside of arbitration. I would also suggest for those starting out in arbitration to ask for advice of peers and your senior colleagues and to keep adjusting and learning, if possible, every day.

Peers and clients say: “Konstantin is a very talented and experienced professional” “He analyses each problem from different perspectives to find the most suitable solution” “He is able to produce high-quality work within a short period of time”