Vladimir Gelves Acevedo
Biography
Vladimir Gelves centers his practice on international arbitration and private law. Before joining Baker McKenzie, Vladimir worked for a regional firm as an associate of a firm dedicated exclusively to international commercial and investment arbitration, particularly in disputes involving Latin American parties.
He is a lawyer from the Universidad de Nuestra Señora del Rosario, where he actively participated as a member and then as coach of the Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition. He was also part of the Research Seminar on International Economic Law and Global Governance, within the International Commercial Arbitration and Foreign Investment Subgroup of the same university.
Vladimir has also worked as an academic assistant for various courses in private law and public international law at Universidad de Nuestra Señora del Rosario and is a candidate for the Master's in Private Law with a focus on Commercial Law at Universidad de los Andes.
Practice Focus
Vladimir focuses his practice on international arbitration and international disputes resolution.
Representative Legal Matters
Investment arbitration
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Member of the team that represented the Republic of Colombia in an ICSID arbitration initiated by a European investor concerning the building and maintenance of a public port.
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Member of the team that represented the Republic of Guatemala in the negotiation of an ICSID award with an investor from the US in a case worth over USD 240 million concerning measures in the energy sector.
Commercial arbitration
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Member of the team that represented a State Entity of a South American state in an ad hoc arbitration related to the expansion and conversion project of a high-capacity road. Over USD 70 million in dispute. The language of the arbitration was Spanish.
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Member of the team that represented a Central American banana company in an ICC arbitration based in Miami, Florida, against one of the world's largest fruit companies concerning the termination of a long-term distribution contract. The language of the arbitration was English and Spanish.
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Member of the team that advised a South American company in a dispute against a contractor from the region concerning an investment in an agroindustry business.
Assistant of the Tribunal
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Tribunal assistant in an arbitration administered by a Central American arbitration center in a dispute between a concessionaire company of a public service and a public entity.
Professional Associations and Memberships
- American Society of International Law (ASIL)
- ICC Young Arbitration and ADR Forum (ICC YAAF)
- ICDR Young and International (Y&I)
- Young International Arbitration Group (YIAG)
- Red de Arbitraje Juvenil de la Cámara de Comercio de Bogotá
Admissions
- Colombia (2024)
Education
- Universidad del Rosario (Law Degree)
- Universidad de los Andes (Postgraduate Studies in Commercial Law)
- Universidad del Rosario (Winter Course on LegalTech)
- Universidad del Rosario (Course on Fundamentals of Alternative Dispute Resolution (International Comparative Approach))
- Universidad del Rosario (Minor in Private Law)
Languages
- English
- Spanish