Michail Dekastros

DR. MICHAIL DEKASTROS represents a broad range of clients in international disputes with a particular focus on international commercial and investment treaty arbitration. He also regularly advises clients on complex issues of public and private international law, and regularly represents clients before international courts and tribunals.

Michail has advised and represented clients in investment treaty arbitrations in a variety of sectors, including in banking, sports and entertainment broadcasting, oil and gas, mining, and sports betting. He has also acted as counsel before international arbitral tribunals in commercial disputes in a variety of different sectors and activities, including in energy, mining, construction, defense, life sciences, and partnership agreements across various jurisdictions. These arbitrations have been conducted under a number of different arbitration rules, including the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), and applicable laws.

Prior to joining Sidley, Michail worked at a leading arbitration firm in Paris, where he represented the Greek owners of a now-defunct bank in a US$1 billion ICSID claim against Cyprus and four oil supermajors in a multi billion dollar claim in the oil and gas sector against a State in Central Asia.

Michail holds a Ph.D. from the European University Institute in Florence. His thesis addresses the rise of Sovereign Wealth Funds in the global economy, with a particular emphasis on market access, international dispute settlement, and national security exceptions. Michail also holds an LL.M. from the University of Cambridge. While in Cambridge, he was a member of Robinson College and elected Secretary of the University of Cambridge Graduation Union. Michail was also a Visiting Researcher at Harvard Law School in 2013-2014. He has received several prizes and awards for academic excellence and regularly publishes articles in the areas of international investment and commercial law.

Michail is regularly invited to teach as guest lecturer in universities across the world on issues of international law and arbitration. He has also taught a Professional Ethics Workshop for the LL.M. program at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva and was a faculty member of the FIAA Advocacy International Arbitration Advocacy Workshop for the Graduate Institute’s Master in International Dispute Settlement (MIDS).

Recent experience includes:

• Acting for global sports and entertainment broadcaster beIN Corporation in an investment treaty arbitration claiming more than US$1 billion against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, including the coordination of a multi-faceted international strategy involving legal proceedings in numerous for government advocacy in the United States and EU.
• Acting for one of the world’s leading mineral fertilizer producers in a multi-billion dollar ICC commercial arbitration under English law arising out of the construction of a chemicals plant in Russia, involving complex sanctions issues, as well as issues of Russian law and Swiss law.
• Represented the African Union before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) in an advisory proceeding concerning climate change and its effects on the marine environment.
• Acted for the largest manufacturer of silicone implants in Latin America in a high-stakes international commercial arbitration concerning the misappropriation of trade secrets by its largest European competitor.
• Acted for a claimant in a US$350 million shareholder dispute concerning the largest business conglomerate in the Baltic region.

• Ambassador of the Swiss Arbitration Association for Greece
• FIAA International Arbitration Advocacy Workshop for MIDS: Faculty Member
• Guest Lecturer at University of Southampton, Dublin City University, and Athens Law School
• Teaching at the ELSA Summer School on International Investment Law since 2016