10 février 2025

MEDICI – RANKINGS: MEDICI once again recognized in international arbitration by « Chambers France Guide 2025 »!

We are very pleased that our firm has been ranked for the second consecutive year by Chambers and Partners in the "Chambers France Guide 2025" in international arbitration. Even more, we are extremely proud that our partner Marie-Laure Bizeau is included in the "Ranked Lawyer Band 3" in international arbitration as well!

It is an honor to see our firm and our partner listed alongside the top international arbitration firms, just a few years after the creation of Medici.

We are sincerely grateful to our clients and peers for taking the time to respond to Chambers and Partners' questions and interviews, as well as for their ongoing support.

A big thank you to the entire team for their remarkable efforts, dedication, and enthusiasm.

Link to the rankings: Medici, France 2025 | Chambers Profiles

10 février 2025

MEDICI – RANKINGS: MEDICI MAINTAINS TOP RANKING FROM DÉCIDEURS MAGAZINE AS « EXCELLENT » IN INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION AS WELL AS IN INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION AND LITIGATION IN AFRICA!

Medici is proud to announce that it has retained its top ranking by Décideurs Magazine for 2025:

  • "Excellent" in the categories "Africa Desk - International Arbitration & Litigation" ;
  • "Excellent" in the categories "Litigation & Arbitration - International Arbitration" ;
  • "Highly Recommended" in the categories "Promotion & Construction - Construction Litigation (including insurance)", "Litigation & Arbitration - Commercial Litigation", and "Public Business Law - PPP Contracts: Structuring - Mid Cap".

We are sincerely grateful to our loyal clients and peers for their constant support.


A big thank you to the entire team for their remarkable efforts, dedication, and enthusiasm.


To discover our rankings, click here: Entreprise - Leaders League.

4 février 2025

Medici Alert📣 #Fraud and #Annulment proceedings – Fraud by a private operator towards a public entity affecting only their contractual relationship: is the international public policy of direction concerned? No, the Court of Appeal of Paris ruled in its decision of 21 January 2025 (Case No. 23/05511).

Medici Alert📣 #Fraud and #Annulment proceedings – Fraud by a private operator towards a public entity affecting only their contractual relationship: is the international public policy of direction concerned? No, the Court of Appeal of Paris ruled in its decision of 21 January 2025 (Case No. 23/05511).

ℹ️ Context: In arbitration, a party that fails to raise an irregularity in a timely manner during the arbitration process is deemed to have waived the right to invoke it (Article 1466 of the French Civil Procedure Code) – unless it pertains to the international public policy of direction (IPP).

💡 Question: The Court had to determine whether the alleged fraudulent actions of a private operator towards a public entity fell under the IPP of direction. The alleged actions involved purported deception by the private operator about its actual experience, issuing false invoices, and making questionable payments. However, the public entity, which had chosen not to participate in the arbitration, only raised the issue of fraud before the sole arbitrator, Bassam Mirza, after the debates had concluded and were not reopened. The public entity argued that it could raise the issue before the annulment judge on the grounds that it fell under the IPP of direction.

✅ Solution: The Court of Appeal rejected these arguments. It decided that the alleged fraud did not fall under the IPP of direction, as the alleged fraudulent actions "only affected the contractual relationship" in question, even if they could constitute violations of local law, given that:

(i) no corruption of public officials was alleged,

(ii) no public assets were involved – the alleged embezzlement concerned the public entity’s own assets "in the administration of its private interests" and not "in the context of fulfilling its general interest missions," and

(iii) the embezzlement involved a private operator and not a public agent.

Thus, the Court found that the public entity, having failed to invoke the fraud during the arbitration hearings without legitimate reason, while being aware of it, could no longer rely on it during the annulment proceedings and thus these grounds were declared inadmissible.

➡️ Impact: The Court of Appeal of Paris demonstrates a desire to limit the scope of the IPP of direction by excluding purely contractual fraud, even when committed against a public entity. Practitioners should therefore ensure they clearly distinguish the fraud related to the law and corruption from fraud that is "purely" contractual. However, will this boundary always remain so clear?

23 décembre 2024

MEDICI – RANKING: MEDICI LAW FIRM PARTNERS RECOMMENDED ONCE AGAIN IN LEGOLOGY INDEX AND GLOBAL ARBITRATION REVIEW’S FOR ARBITRATION AND FRANCE 2025 RANKING – ARBITRATION

Medici is proud to announce that its partners have once again been recommended for the Category France - Arbitration in the prestigious Lexology Index and Global Arbitration Review, 2025 edition.

These distinctions are the result of the work of the entire Medici team, to whom we extend our warmest thanks. The firm would also like to warmly thank its clients and peers for their trust and recommendations.

Link to Lexology 2025: France - Reports - Lexology Index - Lexology

17 septembre 2024

MEDICI – EVENTS : CAROLINE DUCLERCQ SPEAKS AT THE SEMINAR ON THE LIMITS OF UNIFORM LAW IN THE ENFORCEMENT OF INTERNATIONAL ARBITRAL AWARDS, ON FRIDAY, 20th SEPTEMBER 2024

To mark the start of the new term, the Arbitration Pole of the AAPDI Young Researchers Section is offering an online seminar on Friday, 20th September 2020 on “The limits of uniform law in the enforcement of international arbitral awards.

Caroline Duclercq will speak on “The limits of the application of the 1958 New York Convention to the enforcement of international arbitral awards” ; Oumar Bah and Baptiste Rigaudeau and Dr. Marius Amouzon will also speak on the subject.

Participation is free but required via the following link:

12 septembre 2024

Article by Caroline Duclercq on the debtor’s right to withdrawal following the assignment of contested claims

To mark the back-to-office season, Caroline DUCLERCQ provides a detailed analysis of the latest case law concerning the exercise by the debtor of its right to withdrawal following the assignment of contested claims in an article published in Les Cahiers de l'Arbitrage, 2024-2, p. 477 et seq.

This article focuses on two major decisions rendered on February 28, 2024 in which the French Supreme Court put an end to a 15-year saga by redefining the conditions under which the debtor’s right of withdrawal may be exercised in the context of judicial proceedings against international arbitration awards.

We extend our sincere thanks to Charles Kaplan, Charles Nairac, and Priscille Pedone for their trust.

18 juillet 2024

MEDICI – NEWS – MARIA MIRONOVA JOINS MEDICI

Medici continues to expand with the arrival of Maria Mironova, who joins the firm as an associate.

Prior to joining Medici, Maria practiced international arbitration and cross-border litigation with two Anglo-Saxon law firms in Paris. She has acted in commercial and investment arbitration proceedings governed by the rules of the main institutions (ICC, PCA, ICSID...) or ad hoc, in a variety of industrial sectors. In her investment arbitration practice, Maria has advised both governments and investors.

Maria's litigation experience notably includes the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments, as well as obtaining provisional measures in complex proceedings involving multiple jurisdictions. In 2017, Maria also worked as an international tax law consultant with an international consulting firm in Moscow.

Maria holds an LL.M. in Transnational Arbitration and Dispute Settlement from the Institut d'études politiques de Paris (Sciences Po). Before moving to France, Maria also obtained a Master 2 in International Financial Law and a Bachelor's degree in International Law from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO).

Maria works in French, English and Russian.

15 juillet 2024

MEDICI – RANKING: MEDICI LAW FIRM PARTNERS NOMINATED BY THEIR PEERS IN THREE RANKINGS IN THE « ARBITRATION » AND « LITIGATION » CATEGORIES

Medici is proud to announce the nomination of its partners Marie-Laure Bizeau, Valence Borgia, and Caroline Duclercq in the Best Lawyers in France 2025 rankings for their expertise in the "Arbitration and Mediation" category. Caroline Duclercq and Marie-Laure Bizeau are also listed in this ranking as Best Lawyers in the "International Arbitration" category, and Valence Borgia in the "Litigation" category.

Caroline Duclercq, Marie-Laure Bizeau, and Valence Borgia are also featured in the "Arbitration" category of the Who’s Who Legal 2024 ranking.

Additionally, the firm is recognized by the 2024 edition of Legal 500 Paris in the "Dispute Resolution: International Arbitration" category.

These recognitions are the result of the collective work of all the firm's lawyers, whom we sincerely thank! We also warmly thank our clients and peers for their trust.

Links to the Best Lawyers rankings: https://www.bestlawyers.com/current-edition/france

Links to Who’s Who Legal 2024:

Link to the 2024 edition of Legal 500: https://www.legal500.fr/

6 mai 2024

MEDICI – EVENTS: CAROLINE DUCLERCQ SPOKE AT THE ICC INSTITUTE OF WORLD BUSINESS LAW ADVANCED LEVEL TRAINING ON INTERNATIONAL COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION ON 2 AND 3 MAY IN DOUALA, CAMEROON

This intensive 2-day program, organised by ICC Arbitration, is tailored for legal professionals aiming to sharpen their arbitration skills. A diverse range of topics including Effective Management of the Procedure and Practical Cases on Conducting Hearings and Discussions were explored.

Caroline shared insights on : authorizing new claims, non-signatory parties, and intervening parties.

The following speakers were also present to enrich discussions and share their experiences: Sylvie Bebohi Ebongo, Pierre Daureu, Diamana Diawara, Perrial Jean Nyodog and Habibatou Touré.

23 avril 2024

MEDICI – RANKINGS : MEDICI IS RANKED BY DECIDEURS MAGAZINE AS ‘EXCELLENT’ IN INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION AND AFRICA AND ‘HIGHLY RECOMMENDED’ IN COMMERCIAL LITIGATION AND CONSTRUCTION!

Whilst the firm is getting to celebrate its 4th anniversary in one month, we are particularly proud to have been ranked:

- excellent in both “Dispute resolution - International arbitration” and “Africa Desk - International arbitration and litigation”.

- highly recommended in “Promotion & construction - Construction litigation (including insurance)”, “Dispute resolution - Commercial litigation” and “Public Law - PPP contracts: mid-cap structuring”.

This recognition is a true honor, and we look forward to continuing to deliver exceptional results for our clients.

Thanks to all the team for the incredible efforts, dedication and enthusiasm. We would also like to express our heartfelt appreciation to our clients and peers for their continued trust.

To discover our rankings, click here: https://www.leadersleague.com/fr/firm/medici-avocats/rankings