Biography: Arbitration

Sébastien Besson is a partner at Python & Peter, one of Switzerland's major law firms. He represents companies before arbitral tribunals and state courts in commercial disputes, and serves as arbitrator.

Sébastien Besson has acted as chairman, party-appointed arbitrator, sole arbitrator, counsel or legal expert in numerous international arbitrations under a variety of arbitration rules, and in different jurisdictions.

The nature of such cases, among others, includes joint ventures and industrial cooperation, agency and distribution, sales contracts, licensing, construction, finance and sport-related disputes.

Sébastien Besson has published extensively on arbitration. Notably he has co-authored with Professor Jean-François Poudret the well-known treatise Comparative Law of International Arbitration (Sweet & Maxwell, London, 2007).

Sébastien Besson also teaches several courses on Arbitration and Settlement of Commercial Disputes at the University of Geneva and as part of the Geneva Master in International Dispute Settlement Programme (www.mids.ch).

Sébastien Besson was educated at Lausanne University, where he received his Doctorate in Law, and at Columbia University (New York), from which he holds an LLM.

He is fluent in French and English, and has good knowledge of German.