Marlena
Harutyunyan
Senior Associate
Geneva
Member of the Paris Bar, Registered at the Geneva Bar
Expertise
- International arbitration
- Construction
- Cross-border litigation
- Enforcement
Professional background
- Practiced international arbitration and litigation in the Paris and New York offices of Baker McKenzie
- Trained with the litigation and arbitration practice group of K&L Gates
- Trained with the corporate practice group of Linklaters
- Trained with the corporate practice group of Jeantet Associés
Education
- Queen Mary University of London – LL.M in International Dispute Resolution
- University Paris 2 Panthéon-Assas – Magistère de Juriste d’Affaires – D.J.C.E.
- University Paris 2 Panthéon-Assas – Master’s degree in Commercial Law
Languages
- French
- English
- Russian
- Armenian
- Ukrainian (good knowledge)
Professional affiliations
- Geneva Bar Association
- Swiss Arbitration Association (ASA)
- French Association of arbitration practitioners (CFA)
- Arbitration & ADR commission of ICC Armenia
- ArbitralWomen
- ICC Young Arbitration & ADR Forum
Marlena focuses her practice on international arbitration and cross-border litigation.
Marlena mainly represents and advises clients in arbitration proceedings, both commercial and investment, before major arbitral institutions (ICC, ICSID, Swiss Arbitration Centre, LCIA, etc.).

Marlena has significant experience in handling complex and high-stake disputes in different industry sectors, including construction, aviation, energy, oil and gas, automotive.
She also acts for clients in enforcement of arbitral awards and foreign court decisions.

Details of recent activities
Recently, she:
- Represented a Spanish construction company in pre-arbitration proceedings in a dispute against the owner relating to the termination of a Red Book FIDIC contract
- Successfully represented a Swiss national in SAC arbitration against his former shareholder in relation to a post-acquisition dispute
- Represented a pan-African EPC Contractor in an ICC mediation with the owner in a dispute relating to the performance of a contract to modernize electrical power stations in an African state
- Represented a Moroccan company in an ICC arbitration against a French company relating to the performance of a procurement contract
- Successfully represented an Eastern European state in an ICSID USD 326 million claim brought by a U.S. investor in relation to concessions to build and operate strategically important road and rail links
- Successfully obtained recognition of foreign insolvency decisions in Switzerland in the context of a large-scale fraud recovery
Full bio
Conferences
- Lecture on Investment Arbitration for Resolve Academy, French University of Armenia, 2024
- Panel discussion on Protections offered to foreign investors in the CIS region, Arbmenia Conference, 2024
- ICC YAAF panel discussion on Litigation and Arbitration, friends or foes, 2023, Yerevan
- Arbitration boat in a sea of ethics, Nash Arbitrazh webinar, 2021
Publications
- The Revised ICSID Rules: A Further Step Towards Transparency and Efficiency, ASA Bulletin, Vol. 40, Issue 3, September 2022
- Part I of a trilogy: state measures in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, Global Arbitration News, March 2021
- The International Commercial Chamber of the Paris Court of Appeal confirmed that a failure to disclose by arbitrators did not lead necessarily to setting aside of the award, Global Arbitration News, July 2020
- The Paris Court of Appeal confirms arbitrators' application of UNIDROIT principles in the absence of a choice by the parties as a ruling in law, Global Arbitration News, May 2020