Sylvia Tonova is a solicitor-advocate who focuses on the resolution of complex, high-stakes international disputes, with a particular emphasis on disputes between foreign investors and governments. She acts as both counsel and arbitrator and is appointed to the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) Panel of Arbitrators and the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC) List of Arbitrators.
Sylvia's experience spans Europe and the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and Asia in a range of industries, including mining, oil and gas, energy, and telecommunications. She has represented clients under all the major arbitration rules and advises clients on arbitration clauses, sovereign immunity, and protecting investments against political risk.
Sylvia is recognized in The Legal 500, Chambers, Who's Who Legal: Arbitration, and Who's Who Legal: Mining. Chambers describes her as "an absolutely brilliant lawyer" "who, on complex matters, has the remarkable ability to combine strategic thinking with a great attention to detail." Clients "love her business-savvy approach to disputes" (Legal 500) and describe Sylvia as an "outstanding legal counsel" (Legal 500) who "always delivers quality for the client" (Chambers) and is "responsive, well balanced, practical and provides ground-breaking solutions" (Who's Who Legal).
Sylvia serves on the International Bar Association's Arbitration Committee as co-chair of the international commercial arbitration case law subcommittee. She teaches investment treaty arbitration procedure and enforcement of awards at Roma Tre Law School.
Experience
Additional Publications
- 2021
"Enforcement of investment treaty awards against assets of states, state entities and state-owned companies", in Enforcement of Investment Treaty Arbitration Awards (2nd ed., Globe Law and Business, 2021) - 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-advocate of the Senior Courts of England and Wales
Recognized in The Legal 500 (2020-2022), Chambers UK (2020-2022), Chambers Global (2021-2022), Who's Who Legal: Arbitration (2020-2022), and Who's Who Legal: Mining (2022)
Member of an arbitration team recognized by Global Arbitration Review as one of the leading international arbitration law firms in the 2021 edition of the GAR 30
- Bulgarian, Russian, and Spanish (basic)