Sylvia Tonova is an international arbitration lawyer with more than 15 years of experience representing investors and states in investment treaty and commercial arbitrations. She is ranked as a "global leader" in international arbitration and recognized as "an accomplished and excellent lawyer" by Who's Who Legal (WWL), who is known for her "incredibly impressive work," her "strong analytical thinking" (WWL), and "great understanding of clients' needs" (Chambers UK). The Legal 500 has described her as "outstanding legal counsel, very knowledgeable and very passionate about her work"; "a naturally gifted lawyer"; "always calm under pressure"; and "clients love her business-savvy approach to disputes." Clients and peers say she is "very client-friendly, meticulous and always delivers quality for the client" (Chambers UK); she "possesses a vast legal knowledge and know how; she is responsive, well balanced, practical and provides ground-breaking solutions" (WWL).
Sylvia handles complex, high-stakes disputes across Europe and the Middle East, Latin America, Asia, and Africa in a range of industries, including mining, oil and gas, energy, banking, and telecommunications. She recently helped secure victories against Kazakhstan on behalf of World Wide Minerals Ltd. and against Uzbekistan on behalf of a Turkish client. Sylvia also advises clients on arbitration clauses, sovereign immunity, and protecting investments against political risk.
Sylvia was appointed to the ICSID Panel of Arbitrators by Bulgaria in 2016. She teaches investment treaty arbitration procedure and enforcement of awards at Roma Tre Law School and is on the Advisory Board of the Institute for Transnational Arbitration.
Experience
Compliance and Enforcement of Awards - Is There a Practical Difference between ICSID and Non-ICSID Awards?, Investment Treaty Arbitration and International Law
Additional Publications
- February 2, 2015
Enforcement of Investment Treaty Awards against Assets of States, State Entities and State-Owned Companies, in Enforcement of Investment Treaty Arbitration Awards: A Global Guide - November 15, 2013
Arbitration Rules for Dispute Resolution Involving States and State Entities: What Are the Significant Differences?, coauthor, The International Lawyer - August 16, 2013
Mining Concession Pitfalls, coauthor, Energy & Mining International - April 5, 2013
Enforcement against States: Investment Arbitration and WTO Litigation, coauthor, WTO Litigation, Investment Arbitration, and Commercial Arbitration - August 19, 2011
Investment Arbitration under the Energy Charter Treaty: The Novel Case of Plama Consortium Limited v. Republic of Bulgaria, coauthor, Energy Dispute Resolution: Investment Protection, Transit and The Energy Charter Treaty
Speaking Engagements
- September 26, 2019
Enforcement of Investment Treaty and Commercial Arbitration Awards, Roma Tre Law School - May 10, 2019
Thirty Second BIICL Investment Treaty Forum Public Conference – State Responsibility in Investment Law - May 7, 2019
London International Disputes Week, Interim Measures in Investment Arbitration - April 9, 2019
Much ado about everything: Damages in International ArbitrationJoint UNCITRAL-LAC Conference on Dispute Settlement - September 27, 2018
Enforcement of Investment Treaty and Commercial Arbitration Awards, Roma Tre Law School - March 8, 2018
General Principles of Law in Investment Arbitration, and the Hierarchy of Norms under International Law - November 29, 2017
Arbitral Parents: Managing Parenthood in the Context of an International Practice - November 9, 2016
What Does Brexit Mean for the Future of International Arbitration in London? - May 18, 2016
Award Enforcement: How to Secure the Assets before They Are Gone?, GAR Live London - February 9, 2016
Renewable Energy Investors in Romania - February 8, 2016
The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), British-Romanian Chamber of Commerce - June 29, 2015
How to Handle an Investment Dispute? - June 16, 2015
Witness Examination in International Arbitration, Young ICCA Workshop - June 12, 2015
The Winning Brief – Basic Elements and Common Fallacies, ASA Below 40 Seminar - May 21, 2015
Enforcing and Challenging Arbitral Awards - the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution - December 10, 2014
Joinder and Consolidation under the ICDR Arbitration Rules - October 21, 2013
Enforcement against States: Investment Arbitration and WTO Litigation, World Trade Organization (WTO) - October 10, 2013
How to Reduce Your Investment Risk with BITs? - June 7, 2013
Illegality in Investment Arbitration, Lewiatan Court of Arbitration - May 22, 2013
Enforcing and Challenging Arbitral Awards in England and Wales, Pepperdine University - April 5, 2011
The Future of ICSID, Fifth Annual Investment Arbitration Conference
- Georgetown University (J.D. cum laude 2005; Recipient of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers' Award for the Harrison Institute for Public Law); Bradford College (B.A. summa cum laude 2000); School for International Training (International Studies, Organizations and Social Justice Program, Geneva, Switzerland, 2000)
- New York, District of Columbia, and solicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales
Recognized in Legal 500 (2020-2021), Who's Who Legal: Arbitration (2020-2021), and Chambers UK (2020-2021)
Member of an arbitration team recognized by Global Arbitration Review as one of the leading international arbitration law firms in the 2020 edition of the GAR 30
- Bulgarian, Russian, and Spanish (basic)