About
Provided by Arrubla Devis
Dispute resolution is all this department does. Arrubla Devis arbitrates in Colombia and abroad, tries civil and commercial cases, and argues cassation appeals before the Civil Chamber of the Colombian Supreme Court. The cases that suit it are decided by close reading of the contract, by expert evidence and by procedural discipline.
Cassation is what sets the department apart. Founding partner Jaime Arrubla sat on the Civil Chamber for eight years, presided over the Court and wrote a four-volume treatise on commercial contracts; the team takes appeals that turn on doctrine rather than facts. International tribunals have appointed its partners as experts on Colombian contract law, public procurement and civil liability. In one arbitration the tribunal declined jurisdiction; a constitutional action restored the proceeding and the arbitrators resumed the case.
The questions that recur are whether a distribution arrangement is a commercial agency, whether an arbitration clause reaches an assignee, how price and scope are settled in construction contracts, and where liability falls in public procurement.
Recent instructions include three infrastructure arbitrations worth USD 561m for the state legal defence agency; a USD 43m arbitration for a seven-plant hydroelectric generator, plus the rebuild of its contracting system; and two appointments as tribunal expert on Colombian law.
Jaime Arrubla, Cristina Arrubla and Rafael McCausland lead dispute resolution at Arrubla Devis.
