Biography: Arbitration

José María Abascal is a partner at Abascal, Segovia & Asociados, and currently acts as counsel or arbitrator.

He has been counsel or arbitrator in arbitrations in Mexico, the United States, Latin America and Europe, under, inter alia, the ICC, the ICDR, UNCITRAL, CIAC, CANACO, Panama Chamber of Commerce Rules and ad hoc arbitrations.

Mr Abascal is the chairman of the Mediation and Arbitration Commission of the National Chamber of Commerce of Mexico City (CANACO). He is a member of the American Arbitration Association's board, its executive committee and the international advisory committee (in 2006 he received the Outstanding Director Award). Mr Abascal was vice president of the Institute for Transnational Arbitration, and chairman of the trade law, ethics, and insolvency committees of the Mexican Bar.

He was commissioner of the UNCC, Panel E2 (corporate and other entities claims), that adjudicated corporate claims against Iraq for the invasion and occupation of Kuwait and the Gulf War (from 1996 to 2003).

He was chairman of the UNCITRAL Working Group in Arbitration (from 2000 to 2006), which drafted the UNCITRAL Model Law in International Commercial Conciliation, the recent amendment of the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Arbitration and a recommendation on the interpretation of the New York Convention. Chaired the respective committees of the hall, in the UNCITRAL plenary meetings that adopted those instruments. Mr Abascal chaired all the travaux préparatoires of the UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Commerce.

Mr Abascal was a court member of the LCIA (from 2003 to 2008), vice president of the Mexican Bar (2001), chairman of the trade law committee (from 1991 to 1998) and chairman of the ethics commission of the Mexican Bar (from 2002 to 2003).

He is emeritus professor of the Ibero-American University of Mexico City, and has written numerous publications.

Mr Abascal speaks English and Spanish.