Eurasia Arbitration Week 2025 (EAW)

Founding Partner, Akinci Law Office, Istanbul

Prof. Dr. Ziya Akinci, is the founding partner of Akinci Law Office, carries out his duty as the President of Istanbul Arbitration Centre (ISTAC). Prof. Akinci served as a member of the ICC International Court of Arbitration, and he is in list of ICSID Arbitrators Panel. He is currently serving as a board member of the Turkic Arbitration Association (TAA) for 2023-2025. He is also head of the International Private Law Division of Galatasaray University Faculty of Law.

Prof. Akinci focuses primarily on dispute resolution and has acted as counsel and sole arbitrator in many international proceedings, including international construction projects, energy projects, investment disputes, mergers and acquisitions, international commercial disputes.   

Professor Akıncı has been listed and recognised by numerous international organisations such as WWL, Chambers & Partners, Legal500 and GAR 100 for his outstanding success in dispute resolution as well as construction law.

Prof. Akinci has authored numerous publications on topics including but not limited to international arbitration, international construction law, applicable law to the contracts and the international carriage of goods by road.

Natalia Alenkina is an Associate Professor at the American University of Central Asia, Ph.D. Ms.Alenkina is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Supreme Court of the Kyrgyz Republic. The Kyrgyz Ministry of Justice accredits her as a legal and human rights expert. Natalia is an Arbitration and ADR ICC Commission member and an Ambassador of the Vienna International Arbitral Centre in Kyrgyzstan. Natalia Alenkina took part in developing the Civil Procedure Code and the Law on Mediation in Kyrgyzstan. Now she helps the Ministry of Justice to implement the Singapore Convention on mediation.  

Antony is a disputes lawyer specialising in public international law including Business and Human Rights and investment treaty arbitration at Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer in Hong Kong. He specialises in public international law and complex cross-border dispute resolution. He leads our global Business and Human Rights practice and is a member of the firm's ESG leadership group. Antony has extensive experience advising governments, international organisations and private sector clients in the area of public international law, including in relation to investment treaty arbitration, State and diplomatic immunity, sanctions and embargoes, recognition of States and governments, treaty law, human rights and international economic law. Antony is tri-qualified, in Australia (Victoria), England & Wales and Hong Kong SAR. He acts as advocate in international arbitration proceedings and in arbitration-related court proceedings.

Shirin Gurdova is an associate at Wordstone Dispute Resolution, specializing in international arbitration. She has represented corporations, state entities, and States in international commercial and investor-State disputes, both ad hoc (UNCITRAL) and under major arbitral institutions (ICC, ICSID). Her experience spans sectors including energy, construction, and banking.

Before joining Wordstone, Shirin was an associate at an arbitration law firm in Paris and previously worked in the international arbitration practice of a global law firm in Ashgabat.

She has also served as Co-Chair of Young ICCA, a leading organization for young arbitration practitioners under the International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA).

Shirin speaks English, Russian, French, Turkish, Turkmen, and Iranian Farsi.

Nick Gvinadze is the Managing Partner of Gvinadze & Partners LLC. With three decades in busy private practice, Nick has advised on key foreign investment projects in Georgia, including major oil and gas transportation projects in the Caspian region, and has acted in a number of higher profile proceedings in the Georgian Courts as well as in international arbitration. Before re-launching Gvinadze & Partners in 2010, Nick was a partner at DLA Piper Gvinadze & Partners LP, headed Ernst & Young's legal practice in Georgia, and was a partner at GCG Law Office (a leading Georgian law firm in the 1990’s). Having served 9 years as a member of ICC International Court of Arbitration, Nick currently chairs ICC Georgia Arbitration & ADR Commission. Nick also co-chairs the British-Georgian Law Association (BGLA), and sits on the Boards of EU-Georgia Business Council (EUGBC) and Georgian-Swiss Business Association (GSBA).

Aigoul Kenjebayeva is a partner at Dentons with over 40 years of legal experience. She served as the firm's Managing Partner for Kazakhstan and Central Asia from 1994 to 2022. A distinguished arbitrator, she is a former member of the ICC International Court of Arbitration (2017-2024) and the SCC Arbitrators' Council (2022-2024). She is currently a member of the Legal Advisory Council at AIFC and a member of the International Council under the RK Supreme Court. Aigoul sits on panels for numerous arbitration centers around the world. She is the founder of "ZanSar" Research Institute promoting rule of law and alternative dispute resolution. Recognized as an "eminent practitioner" in Dispute Resolution by Chambers & Partners, Aigoul brings unparalleled expertise in international arbitration across Central Asia.

Maria Chiara Malaguti is Full Professor of International law at Università Cattolica Sacro Cuore (Milan/Rome, Italy). She was appointed President of UNIDROIT since 1 September 2020, first woman to cover such position. She is also legal advisor to the Italian Ministry for Foreign Affairs on trade matters and to the World Bank on legal reform of payment systems, financial markets, and governance. An international arbitrator for commercial disputes and foreign direct investments included in various rosters, she supports the General Attorney’s Office of Italy in the procedures opened against Italy as for international investment law. She has been legal assistant and chief of cabinet at the European Court of Justice, and until July 2003 she was senior expert in the Payments Systems Division of the European Central Bank, advising in legal matters to the Section on Securities Settlement Systems. She currently practices as an attorney in Rome and Milan. Dr. Malaguti holds degrees in law and in economics, an LLM from Harvard Law School and a PhD from the European University Institute (EUI) in Florence. She has various publications, mainly focusing on financial markets and sovereign debt, harmonization of law and international investment law.

Albert is partner in the Litigation and Arbitration Department of De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek. He became partner at De Brauw in 2016. He advises and litigates on disputes involving bilateral and multilateral investment treaties, including the ECT, as well as disputes involving M&A contracts, energy supply agreements and other commercial contracts. He has acted in arbitrations under the SIAC, ICSID, UNCITRAL, ICC, NAI, DIS and JCAA rules. Albert also regularly acts in proceedings concerning the setting-aside or enforcement of international arbitral awards, with a focus on proceedings that involve sovereign entities. Albert holds degrees from the University of Leiden (LLM, 2006) and Stanford University law school (LLM, 2011), and is admitted to the bar in the Netherlands and New York. Albert is the author of the Kluwer publication “International Arbitration in the Netherlands” and the coauthor of the IBA Guide on Arbitration (NL).

Currently my position is a Managing is Managing director for legal affairs in JSC NC «Kazakhtelecom» with a primary focus on corporate law.

I have an extensive experience in structuring and supporting complex corporate transactions, including M&A deals and participation in international arbitration proceedings.

My professional background includes legal support of major IPO projects, notably Air Astana, JSC NC KazMunayGas, with a focus on regulatory compliance and capital markets.

I provide legal oversight in matters of corporate governance, shareholder relations, and cross-border operations.

My work is aimed at ensuring legal integrity, risk mitigation, and alignment with both national and international regulatory frameworks.

Anna Guillard Sazhko is a multilingual counsel and arbitrator based in Paris with over 15 years of experience. She has acted in complex, high-stakes cases across a wide range of sectors under various institutional and ad hoc rules, including ICC, ICSID, ISTAC, UNCITRAL and SCC. Her deep expertise in complex disputes has led to appointments as sole arbitrator, co-arbitrator and presiding arbitrator in more than 15 cases. She is Co-President of the Turkic Arbitration Association, a member of VIAC Legal Tech Think Tank, Executive Committee of Young ISTAC and ICC YAAF Representative for Europe and Central Asia. Anna is regularly recognized by Who’s Who Legal: Arbitration and received the Lexology Client Choice Award for Arbitration in France in 2021.

Professor Wolkewitz is the General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer, and Human Rights Officer at Wintershall Dea GmbH in Kassel, Germany, overseeing legal, compliance, data protection, and insurance matters. He specializes in German and international energy, environmental, investment protection, and corporate law, with extensive experience in leading complex oil and gas transactions across North Africa, South America, Southeastern Europe, and Russia. He has been and is responsible for arbitration proceedings under the rules of the World Bank's dispute resolution mechanism (ICSID), the UNCTRAL, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the SCC as well as the VIAC. He previously served on the Supervisory Board of VNG Verbundnetz Gas AG and in the German Industry Association's legal committee and is active in the IBA.

Mukhit Yeleuov is a partner at ADL Disputes.

Mukhit is a disputes lawyer with over 20 years of experience.   ‍Mukhit has advised on numerous high-stakes disputes.  He has represented many clients in international arbitration, the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) Court, and various Kazakhstan courts (including the Supreme Court).

Mukhit’s work has been highly ranked by international legal periodicals:

• Legal 500: Leading Individual in Dispute Resolution, Kazakhstan, in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024

• Chambers: Band 1 in Dispute Resolution, Kazakhstan, in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024.

Mukhit is a graduate of Kazakh National University, Indiana University, and Harvard University.

Zhanna is a Managing Director in the Construction, Disputes and Advisory Practice at Ankura, located in Dubai. 

She holds a degree in Civil Engineering, an MSc in Construction and Business Management.

She has more than 20 years of experience in the construction, and oil and gas industries and she is a testifying expert in Quantum matters for complex international projects.  

Her experience has included projects which range between $50M and $80 Billion for clients across all sectors within the construction industry. These sectors include infrastructure projects, airports, energy (nuclear, oil and gas) commercial facilities, residential buildings. 

She has in the last 14 years specialised in dispute resolution and expert witness in international arbitration involving projects in UK, Europe, Asia, Middle East, Australia, Kazakhstan and other CIS countries.  

Mehmet Celal Savaş is an accomplished legal executive and international arbitrator with over three decades of experience in the energy, infrastructure, and technology sectors. He currently serves as Senior Legal Advisor to the CEO of SOCAR Turkey, where he previously held the role of Chief Legal Officer, managing complex legal portfolios, M&A, project finance, compliance, and regulatory affairs across multiple subsidiaries. Earlier in his career, he held senior legal and board-level roles at Siemens and BP Turkey. He is an active arbitrator with the Istanbul Arbitration Center (ISTAC) and internationally, with a strong focus on commercial and construction disputes. Celal is a member of the Istanbul Bar Association, the International Bar Association (IBA).

Patricia Nacimiento, Dr. iur., leads the German dispute resolution team and the EMEA international arbitration team of Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer. She specializes in Public International Law and investment disputes, with over 25 years of experience. She has extensive experience both as counsel under the rules of numerous arbitration institutions – including ICC, ICSID, SCC, CIETAC, DIS, LCIA, ICDR, Swiss Chamber of Commerce, Indian Council of Arbitration, and the Danish Institution of Arbitration as well as ad hoc proceedings. Patricia has been appointed by the German government to the ICSID list of arbitrators since 2007. She has also vast experience in arbitration related court proceedings and leads multi-national teams in enforcing or defending against enforcement of international awards. 

Patricia is a native German speaker and is fluent in English, Spanish, French and Italian. She teaches investment disputes at the Universities of Berlin, Heidelberg and Saarland, and excels as an editor of a leading commentary on Arbitration in Germany and on the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards. For years, Patricia has been listed as a leading disputes expert in renowned rankings and directories globally.

Adilbek is an associate in the HSF Kramer dispute resolution practice in Germany. He focuses his practice on international disputes, with a particular emphasis on investment and commercial arbitration. He has experience representing governments, sovereign wealth funds, companies, insolvency administrators and diplomatic missions in arbitration and litigation proceedings. His recent work includes defending a Central Asian state in multi-million dollar investment arbitration under the ICC Arbitration Rules as well as representing a government in post-arbitration enforcement proceedings in several jurisdictions with a total value of claims exceeding US$ 28 billion. Adilbek studied international law at the KAZGUU University in Kazakhstan. He obtained his Master of Laws degree (LL.M.) from the Europa-Institut of the University of Saarland, where he focused his studies on international trade and investments. Adilbek also obtained his doctorate of law in the same university in Germany. Prior to joining Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer in 2017, he worked as a senior lecturer at the chair of international law at the KAZGUU University and held a position with an in-house legal team of the Kazakh Sovereign Wealth Fund "Samruk-Kazyna" JSC.