Catherine Kessedjian

Catherine Kessedjian is Director of a Master programme in European Law, Deputy Director of the European College of Paris and Professor of European Business Law, Private International Law, International Dispute Resolution and International Commercial Arbitration at the University of Panthéon-Assas, Paris II, France. She is regularly invited to teach, in different countries, either at regular programs or as a visiting. In 2004, she was appointed a Hauser Global Professor at New York University School of Law where she teaches International Commercial Transactions and a seminar on Rule Making Processes in a Global World. She currently acts as mediator or arbitrator in a selected number of transnational disputes either ad hoc or under the auspices of, among others, ICSID, the ICC, LCIA and the AAA. Before joining Paris II, she was Deputy Secretary General of the Hague Conference on Private International Law (1996-2000), on secondment from the Université de Bourgogne in France. At The Hague Conference, she was in charge of the preparation and monitoring of the negotiations for a proposed world-wide Convention on jurisdiction and judgements. She was also in charge of commercial matters, including electronic commerce. Prior to joining the Hague Conference, Catherine Kessedjian taught International Business Transactions, European Business Law, including competition law, international dispute resolution and participated in several specialized seminars in international litigation and international commercial arbitration. She was the Director of the European Law Center of the Université de Bourgogne and of a post-graduate program for International Business Lawyers. She was a practising attorney in Paris from 1982 to end of 1998, focusing on transnational litigation and international business transactions. She received her legal education from the University of Paris (Doctorate) and the University of Pennsylvania Law School (LLM).