Bruno Hardy

Practice Areas

Bruno is a Partner in International Arbitration and Dispute Resolution Practice of Liedekerke and acts as counsel in international arbitrations, primarily in the areas of engineering, energy, construction, corporate/ M&A, and commercial contracts disputes.

He has represented clients in international arbitrations subject to various laws, among which the laws of England & Wales, Switzerland, Lebanon, Qatar, the UAE, Kuwait, Algeria, Greece, and Belgium, and under various institutions and rules including ICC, LCIA, SIAC, ICSID, CEPANI, the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce and the UNCITRAL Rules.

Bruno has a knack for complex technical issues. He has acted for clients in disputes involving IT engineering, geotechnical engineering and hydraulic engineering, but also financial statements and frauds analysis and international regulatory issues in the pharmaceutical sector. In the construction and energy sector, Bruno often represents clients in international disputes relating to large infrastructure projects with delay and disruption claims, with a marked experience in disputes involving the Middle East and Africa.

In addition to his international arbitration work, Bruno assists clients in multi-jurisdiction disputes and arbitration-related court proceedings in Belgium and abroad. He has recently acted for and against investors, sovereign States and International Organizations in enforcement and setting aside proceedings raising novel and cutting- edge questions of international arbitration and international law.

Bruno worked for four years as an Assistant Lecturer in Private International Law at the University of Brussels (ULB) and often advises clients on legal issues at the crossroads of public and private international law in contentious and non-contentious matters. He is pursuing a PhD at the KU Leuven University (Belgium) on the international enforcement of public laws.

Professional Memberships

Member of the Brussels Bar

KU Leuven, International and European Law Research Unit

Club Español e Iberoamericano de Arbitraje (CEIA)

Asociación Latinoamericana de Arbitraje (ALARB)

Francarbi

CEPANI & CEPANI40

Publications

B. Hardy, “Arrêt ‘République de Moldavie’: quelle protection pour les investissements dans le secteur de l’énergie en Europe?”, 1 JDE (2022).

Codes annotés, “Droit international des affaires”, A. Nuyts (dir.) Bruxelles, Larcier, 2019-2021.

Nuyts and B. Hardy, « Construction Arbitration in Europe », GAR European Arbitration Review 2019-2022.

Hardy, « Application dans l’espace de la directive 95/46/CE : la géographie du droit à l’oubli », Rev. trim. dr. eur., 2014, n o 4, spéc. pp. 882‐889.

Work Highlights

International Arbitration

Engineering, Energy and Construction

Acting as counsel in a Geneva-seated ICC Arbitration with over 370 claims for delay, disruption, variations and remeasurements amounting to USD 230 million in relation to a large infrastructure project in Kuwait, subject to Kuwaiti law

Representing a Qatari joint venture in an ICC arbitration seated in Geneva and subject to Swiss law, against a German engineering company in a construction dispute over a large construction project in Qatar, involving claims for defects resulting from geotechnical and hydraulic engineering failures

Acting for a Lebanese company in an ICC Arbitration subject to Algerian law in relation to a large construction project in the Algerian desert, with claims for delay, disruption and variations

Acting for a Lebanese company in a Singapore-seated SIAC Arbitration subject to English law against an Indian multinational company active in the Solar energy sector

Representing the Qatari subsidiary of a Greek company in a Qatar-seated ICC arbitration against the Qatari affiliate of a US-based multinational company in a construction dispute (delay and disruption) regarding the setting up of special IT security systems on a multi-billion dollars project, subject to Qatari law

Commercial Contracts and Real Estate

Representing a DRC-incorporated company in an ad hoc UNCITRAL Arbitration against an International Organization in relation to a real estate lease agreement in the DRC

Representing a UAE-based marketing and distribution company in London-seated ICC arbitration against a large Russian pharmaceutical listed company in relation to the termination of a distribution contract subject to English law, for the distribution of pharmaceutical products in various Middle Eastern countries;

Representing a UAE company in a Brussels-seated ICC arbitration subject to Belgian law over the breach and wrongful termination of a distribution contract with a Swedish distributor

Acting for the Belgian subsidiary of a German logistics company in a CEPANI Arbitration against a Swedish company regarding a real estate transaction and the validity of a land-purchase option

Representing a US manufacturer against its local Russian distributor in an arbitration regarding the breach of an exclusivity clause subject to the UNIDROIT Principles

Corporate/ M&A and Banking disputes

Acting as counsel for Middle Eastern companies in relation to a high-value disputes with several banks in the UAE in a LCIA Arbitration subject to UAE law

Acting for a French multinational in a Brussels-seated CEPANI Arbitration in relation to post-acquisition disputes with claims and counterclaims amounting to EUR 60 million

Representing the shareholders of a large Middle Eastern company in a Beirut-seated ad hoc UNCITRAL Arbitration subject to Lebanese law, regarding a USD 600 million corporate inheritance claim for shares and accounting issues

Representing a Greek food company against a large US multinational company in an ICC arbitration related to a share purchase agreement

Representing a Moscow-based investor in arbitration proceedings under the Rules of the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce in a dispute related to a share purchase agreement subject to Belgian law, and joint investment projects in Eastern Europe.

Investor-state arbitration

Assisting a UAE company in an investor-State ICSID arbitration against an EU Member State over the expropriation of a concession contract

Experience as Arbitrator and Secretary to the Tribunal

Sole Arbitrator in a CEPANI Arbitration subject to Belgian law

Acting as secretary of the Tribunal in an ICC Emergency Arbitration between a Tunisian construction company and a Gabon-based French entrepreneur in relation to a share purchase agreement for a Gabonese company

Arbitration-related Court proceedings

Sovereigns, International Organizations, and investor-State arbitration

Successfully acting for a sovereign State resisting enforcement of an investor-State arbitral award of USD 500 million before the Belgian courts on the ground that the award was obtained by fraud

Successfully representing a sovereign State in the first setting aside (annulment) proceedings of an investor-state award in favor of a State before the Belgian courts

Representing an international consortium of construction companies in enforcement proceedings of a USD 120 million arbitral award against a sovereign State

Successfully defending the European Union in cassation proceedings regarding the annulment of an arbitral award

Acting for an investor in enforcement proceedings against a sovereign state by attaching monies in the hands of EUROCONTROL

Assisting a European investor in the forced appointment of two arbitrators (on a panel of 5) in arbitration proceedings against two sovereign states

Commercial contracts

Assisting a Lebanese company in proceedings before the English Courts (First Instance, Appeal and Supreme Court) regarding a claim subject to Lebanese law, including anti-arbitration injunction proceedings

Successfully resisting the recognition and enforcement of an arbitral award from a US-seated arbitral tribunal before the Belgian courts, on the basis of a violation of EU Competition law (“ordre public”)

Acting for an Italian company in annulment proceedings of an arbitral award before the Paris Court of appeal

Assisting a Belgian company in proceedings concerning the appointment of an arbitrator before the Indian Supreme Court

Representing an Egyptian company in obtaining the freezing of assets in the hands of one of Belgium’s largest football clubs based on a partial arbitral award on liability from an Egyptian- seated arbitral tribunal

Assisting one of the largest construction companies in the Middle East with the setting aside of an arbitral award rendered in a Qatar-seated ICC arbitration in relation to insulation work on an LNG construction project

Representing a Saudi company in the annulment proceedings of an ICC Arbitral award related to a USD 1.5 billion claim before the Paris Court of Appeal

Multi-jurisdictional proceedings, settlement negotiations, and advice

Advising various foreign investors in relation to investment protection in the DRC

Advising an African Sovereign Wealth Fund on its sovereign immunity

Assisting a security contractor in pre-arbitration steps related to a contract for a security camp in Somalia

Advising a US Social Media Network company before the Court of Justice of the European Union in a question for preliminary ruling in relation to an international consumer class-action brought before the Courts of the Republic of Austria

Advising a multinational company regarding the international validity of a cross-border merger structure on the largest international merger of 2016

Assisting a US Social Media Network company in data-protection proceedings subject to EU data- protection laws

Assisting a dual French-Belgian national living in Montreal (Canada) in relation to high profile parallel proceedings between Belgium and Canada

Assisting various construction companies in negotiations over construction projects in Europe and the Middle East.

Languages Spoken

French

English

Spanish

Dutch