Sylvia Tonova is an international arbitration lawyer with 15 years of experience representing investors and states in investment treaty and commercial arbitrations. She is recognized for her "incredibly impressive work" and her "strong analytical thinking" (Who's Who Legal Arbitration) and "great understanding of clients' needs" (Chambers UK). Before relocating to Jones Day in London, Sylvia practiced for seven years at an international law firm in Washington, D.C.
Sylvia represents clients in arbitrations under all the major arbitration rules, including the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) and the ICSID Additional Facility Rules, and was appointed to the ICSID Panels of Arbitrators and of Conciliators by Bulgaria in 2016. Her practice focuses on investment and commercial disputes arising in Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), including the successful representation of Bulgaria and Romania in four ICSID arbitrations. Sylvia was also part of the team that recently secured two victories against Uzbekistan on behalf of 12 partners in a leading private equity firm in Kazakhstan and a Turkish client.
Sylvia regularly advises clients on enforcement of awards, sovereign immunity issues, arbitration clauses, and protecting investments against political risk in a range of industries, including oil and gas, mining, energy, banking, and telecommunications.
Sylvia teaches enforcement of investment and commercial arbitration awards at the University of Roma Tre and is a former co-chair of Young ICCA and a former member of the Executive Committee of the Institute for Transnational Arbitration (ITA).
Experience
Compliance and Enforcement of Awards - Is There a Practical Difference between ICSID and Non-ICSID Awards?, Investment Treaty Arbitration and International Law
Speaking Engagements
- 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), Who's Who Legal: Arbitration (2020), and Chambers UK (2020)
- Bulgarian, Russian, and Spanish (basic)