Overview
Mr. Bedrosyan practices in the areas of international disputes and litigation. He has successfully represented individual, corporate, and sovereign clients before U.S. courts and international tribunals in disputes arising under U.S., foreign, or public international law.
Mr. Bedrosyan works hard to quickly develop a deep knowledge of the subject matter of a case. He has persuaded adjudicators to adopt novel interpretations of treaties in favor of his clients, and has particular experience in oral advocacy, including delivering opening and closing statements and cross-examining experts in international arbitrations.
In 2021 and 2022, Mr. Bedrosyan was recognized by The Legal 500 in the United States in the field of International Arbitration.
While in law school, Mr. Bedrosyan’s team from the University of Pennsylvania Law School made it to the final two in the 2016 Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition (out of over 600 teams worldwide). Mr. Bedrosyan argued in the world championship round before judges from the International Court of Justice.
OTHER LANGUAGES
- Russian
- French
- Armenian
- German
Professional Affiliations
- Armenian Bar Association
Experience
- Associate, Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP, Washington DC, October 2016-April 2023
Representative Matters
International Commercial Arbitration and Litigation
- Represented individual respondent in ICDR/AAA arbitration involving questions of both U.S. and French arbitral and substantive law; the claimant withdrew its demand for arbitration following briefing on the client’s motion to dismiss.
- Represented defendant in case before New York State Supreme Court arising out of a cross-border trust; the court dismissed the claim and ordered the plaintiff to pay the client’s attorney’s fees.
- Represented Chinese casino developer in dispute with Government of the Commonwealth for the Northern Marianas Islands; obtained federal court injunction of intended regulatory action, compelled arbitration, and defeated government’s attempts to dismiss arbitration.
- Served as Tribunal Secretary in an ICC arbitration involving banking regulation by central European public authority.
- Represented private and sovereign clients in attempts to enforce, resist enforcement of, or vacate international arbitration awards in U.S. courts.
International Investment Arbitration and Public International Law
- Represented several sets of Ukrainian investors in UNCITRAL/PCA arbitrations (and set-aside proceedings) against the Russian Federation seeking compensation for seizure of assets in Crimea. All tribunals found in favor of the investors, and the Dutch and Swiss courts rejected Russia’s attempts to set the awards aside. These were the first international tribunals ever to find that an investment treaty applies to investments on annexed territory.
- Represented American mining company Westwater Resources Inc. against Republic of Türkiye in ICSID arbitration arising out of state’s revocation of licenses to a uranium mine. The Tribunal found the state liable and ordered it to pay compensation, including interest and attorneys’ fees.
- Represented French investor Mr. Yves Garnier in UNCITRAL/PCA arbitration against the Dominican Republic arising out of termination of waste management concession.
- Representing American investor Mr. Edmond Khudyan in ICSID arbitration (and annulment proceedings) against the Republic of Armenia arising out of real estate development.
- Advised sovereign states of their potential claims against other states under treaties or customary international law.
Domestic Regulatory
- Advised financial services firms of their regulatory obligations in various U.S. states in connection with acquisitions or intended expansions into new lines of business.
- Co-authored an amicus brief on behalf of several business associations in a federal appellate litigation concerning a preemption issue.
International Human Rights Law
- Helped represent Brisa De Angulo Losada in landmark case against Bolivia before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, which resulted in a judgment setting new standards for how states must adopt a gender- and age-sensitive perspective when prosecuting sexual violence.
- Made written and oral submissions to the U.N. Committee on Elimination of Racial Discrimination during its country review of Azerbaijan, in defense of the rights of ethnic Armenians living in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh territory.
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Helped draft “Fairness Report” for Clooney Foundation for Justice concerning compliance with international standards of prosecution of Mikhail Benyash by the Russian Federation.
Publications & Events
- “Chapter II: Establishment of the Tribunal,” in The ICSID Rules and Regulations 2022: Article-by-Article Commentary(with James Boykin)C.H. Beck/Hart Publishing (Happ & Wilske Eds.)
- ICSIDWashington, DC, December 12, 2022
- U.N. General Assembly (77th Session, 6th Committee)New York, NY, October 26, 2022
- Panelist, “Ethical Considerations When Representing State Clients in International Disputes”American Bar Association International Law Section’s Annual ConferenceWashington, DC, April 27, 2022
- Armenian Bar Association Annual MeetingNew York, NY, November 6, 2021
- Kluwer Arbitration Blog, June 29, 2020
- Kluwer Arbitration Blog, October 29, 2018
- Place of the Arbitration, Jurisdiction and Applicable Law: Support for Bahrain’s Free Arbitration Zone and Current Best Practices(with John Townsend) (4 BCDR INT’L ARB. REV. 347)BCDR International Arbitration Review, 2018
- Do “Dual Hats” Cause Arbitrator Bias? An Empirical Assessment of Decisionmaking by Investment Arbitrators who also work as Counsel(10 WORLD ARB. MED. REV. 625)World Arbitration and Mediation Review, 2016
- Adverse Inferences in International Arbitration: Toothless or Terrifying?(38 U. PA. J. INT’L L. 241)University of Pennsylvania Journal of International Law, 2016
- The Limitations of Tradition: How Modern Choice of Law Doctrine Can Help Courts Resolve Conflicts within the New York Convention and the Federal Arbitration Act(164 U. PA. L. REV. 207)University of Pennsylvania Law Review, 2015
Practice Areas
Education
- University of Pennsylvania Law School (J.D., cum laude, 2016); Awarded Noyes E. Leech Prize for Highest Achievement in International Law; Executive Editor of University of Pennsylvania Law Review
- Columbia University (B.A., summa cum laude, 2012)
Bar Admissions
- New York
- District of Columbia
- U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit