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Samantha
Nataf

Partner

Samantha Nataf specializes in international arbitration and related litigation.

She has participated, as counsel or arbitrator, in nearly sixty international arbitration proceedings conducted under the auspices of leading international arbitration institutions (ICC, ICSID, LCIA, DIAC, CCJA, PCA, etc.) or on an ad hoc basis. The disputes in which Samantha Nataf is involved are subject to a wide variety of applicable laws and have arbitral seats in multiple jurisdictions. They often involve complex contractual schemes arising from large infrastructure projects and cover a wide range of legal issues. The industries involved include, among others, aerospace, construction, defense, energy, mining and raw materials, as well as telecommunications. The geographic focus of her work has been Africa, the Middle East, and more recently, Southeast Asia.

Her practice also covers emergency relief and the enforcement of arbitral awards. Samantha Nataf also handles complex issues of public and private international law and cross-border litigation.

As an arbitrator, Samantha Nataf is listed on the panels of arbitrators of ICC France, the Korean Commercial Arbitration Board (KCAB), the Israeli Institute of Commercial Arbitration, the Shanghai Arbitration Commission (SHAC), and the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC). Samantha Nataf served two terms as a Member of the ICC International Court of Arbitration (2018-2024), the supervisory body of ICC arbitral tribunals. In 2024, Samantha Nataf was appointed as a Member of the Council of the ICC Institute of World Business Law. She is also a Member of the Council of the ICC Institute of World Business Law, the ICC Commission on Arbitration and ADR, the French Arbitration Committee, and the Swiss Arbitration Association.

Samantha is ranked in Who’s Who Legal Arbitration in the Future Leaders category and her practice is recognized by Legal 500, Chambers & Partners, and Best Lawyers. Her clients recommend her for her “ability to identify the strategic dimension of cases” as well as her “total mastery of international arbitration” (Legal 500 EMEA 2024).

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Capabilities

Practices

  • International Arbitration
  • International public law
  • OHADA law and regional law

Sectors

  • Energy and natural resources
  • Life sciences, health
  • Real estate, construction
  • Space
  • Transport and mobility

Focus

  • Lawyers-Notaries

Languages

  • English
  • French
  • Hebrew
  • Portuguese
  • Spanish

Qualifications

  • 2007 Master of Laws, University of California, Berkeley
  • 2006 Master 2 Litigation, Arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution, Université Paris II Panthéon-Assas
  • 2004 Postgraduate degree (DESS) in International Business Law, Université Paris V René Descartes
  • 2003 DEA Private International Law and International Trade, Université Paris II Panthéon-Assas
  • 2002 Master 1 Private Law, Université Paris II Panthéon Assas

Bars

  • Israel
  • New-York
  • Paris

Teachings given

  • International arbitration

Professional associations

  • Former Member of the ICC International Court of Arbitration, (2018 – 2024)
  • Member of the Council of the ICC Institute of World Business Law
  • ICC Commission on Arbitration and ADR
  • ICC France
  • ICC Israel
  • Swiss Arbitration Association (ASA)
  • Comité Français d’Arbitrage
  • Association Française d’Arbitrage
  • Shanghai Arbitration Commission (SHAC)
  • Israeli Institute of Commercial Arbitration
  • Korean Commercial Arbitration Board (KCAB)
  • Association Française d’Arbitrage (AFA) and the Swiss Arbitration Association (ASA)

Publications

  • “Arbitration and Public Entities in France: Navigating the Unknown? Case note on SMAC v. Ryanair, Conseil d’Etat, 17 October 2023″, ASA Bulletin 1/2024, p. 529 (2024) (with V. Choulika)
  • “Israel: Adoption of International Commercial Arbitration Law, 5784-2024, based on the UNCITRAL Model Law”, ICC Bulletin 1/2024 (with A. Niemoj)
  • “Sanctions économiques et arbitrage international” Journal du Management Juridique, No. 96, November 2023 (with P. Le Goff)
  • “France: International Arbitration”, Legal 500 Guide to International Arbitration, 8th Edition, October 2023 (with P. Le Goff, C. du Pac de Marsoulies, V. Choulika & A. Malek)
  • “The French approach to enforcement of arbitral awards, international public policy and corruption”, Korean Journal of Arbitration Studies, Vol. 33 No. 3 (September 2023)
  • “Le financement des procès par les fonds d’investissement : un atout menacé ?”, La Tribune (14 February 2023)
  • “Payment of the Advance on Costs, Procedural Loyalty and Access to Justice. Note on French Cour de Cassation Decision of 9 February 2022”, ASA Bulletin, 4/2022, p. 855 (2022)
  • “Rappel de quelques principes et tentative (infructueuse) d’élargissement du recours en annulation fondé sur le grief d’incompétence de l’arbitre, Note sous Cour d’appel de Paris (Pôle 5 – Ch. 16), 1er décembre 2020”, Revue de l’arbitrage 2-2021 (2021)
  • “Resolving mining disputes in East Africa by international arbitration”, Uganda Chinese Community Journal, February 2021 (2021)
  • “L’obligation de contribuer au paiement de la provision pour frais de l’arbitrage et l’accès à la justice (arbitrale ou étatique), Note sous Cour d’appel de Paris (Pôle 1 – Ch. 1), 23 juin 2020”, Revue de l’arbitrage 4-2020 (2020)
  • “Jurisdiction over Non-signatories, the Irreconcilable Approaches of French and English Courts, Case Note on: (i) English Court of Appeal Decision of 20 January 2020 and (ii) Paris Court of Appeal Decision of 23 June 2020”, ASA Bulletin 4/2020, p. 145 (2020)
  • “La détermination sommaire des demandes ou défenses manifestement infondées”, Revue de l’arbitrage 2-2019, p. 363 (2019)

Awards

Chambers France 2025
Awards 6 February 2025
De Gaulle Fleurance ranked in the newly renamed Chambers France 2025
Awards 6 November 2024
De Gaulle Fleurance recognized in the Décideurs – Leaders League 2024 ranking, category: International Arbitration & Disputes