Paul Varul

Practice Areas

Dispute Resolution / Arbitration, Mediation & ADR / Restructuring & Insolvency

Paul Varul has advised a wide range of Estonian and international clients on all aspects of private law. He has extensive knowledge and experience in the field of contract law and insolvency law. Paul Varul is renowned for his competence in dispute resolution, having represented clients in several high-profile actions, including international arbitration in Stockholm, London and Washington. Paul Varul has also served as an arbitrator for the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce and for the Arbitration Court of the Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He has also acted as an expert witness in several international arbitration proceedings in Stockholm, London, Washington and the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes.

Paul Varul is a renowned expert in insolvency law. He has been one of the main authors of the Estonian Bankruptcy Act, is the Chairman of the Insolvency Law Expert Commission at the Ministry of Justice, is a member of the International Insolvency Institute and INSOL Europe and has been involved in many bankruptcy proceedings as a representative of both debtors and creditors.

Paul Varul is also a recognized expert in contract law, being one of the authors the model law of central importance in the EU, the Common Frame of Reference (Definitions, Principles and Model Rules of European Private Law). As the Chairman of the Expert Commission of new private law development, Paul Varul has been involved in drafting all the major private law legal acts in Estonia, such as the Law of Property Act, General Part of the Civil Code Act, Family Law Act, Law of Succession Act, Law of Obligations Act, Commercial Code, Bankruptcy Act, Reorganisation Act and Electronic Communications Act. He is also one of the compilers and authors of the quoted articles of the Civil Code General Act, the Law of Property Act and the Law of Obligations Act.

Career

Since 2017 Senior Partner, law firm TGS Baltic (formerly Varul)

1994–2017 Senior Partner, law firm Varul

1995–1999 Minister of Justice of the Republic of Estonia

1992–2015 Civil Law Professor, University of Tartu

Professional Memberships

2011–2016 Leader of the Estonian work group of The Scandinavian/Baltic Network on Insolvency

2011 Founding Member of The European Law Institute

2008 INSOL-Europe and INSOL-International

2007 International Insolvency Institute

2006–2009 Compilation and Reduction Team for Common Frame of Reference, operating under the auspices of the European Commission

2006 Expert Commission in Insolvency Law within the Ministry of Justice

2003–2008 Study Group on European Civil Code

2002 Academy of European Private Lawyers

1999–2002 Chairman of the Expert Commission for the Law of Obligations Act and the General Part of the Civil Code Act

1994 Estonian Bar Association

1992–1999 Chairman of the Head Commission for the development of the Estonian Civil Code Act and Commercial Code