Professor Albert Jan van den Berg - a long-time visiting faculty member of the School of Law and Distinguished Faculty Co-Chair of the White & Case International Arbitration LL.M. Program - recently received the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award from the Global Arbitration Review.
The GAR Lifetime Achievement Award is one of the highest distinctions in the field of international dispute resolution, reserved for individuals whose lifetimes of work have fundamentally reshaped the landscape of global commercial and investment arbitration.
A Titan of International Arbitration
Van den Berg’s influence on international arbitration spans across academia, foundational treaty literature, and high-stakes dispute resolution. Widely considered one of the world's foremost authorities on enforcement frameworks, his 1981 seminal treatise on the New York Arbitration Convention—subtitled "Towards a Uniform Judicial Interpretation"—remains the definitive, gold-standard text utilized by courts and practitioners worldwide to navigate cross-border enforcement.
Beyond his literary contributions, van den Berg has served as a presiding, sole, and party-appointed arbitrator in hundreds of complex international commercial and treaty-based investment arbitrations. His pioneering empirical research, notably his highly publicized studies on the nature of dissenting opinions by party-appointed arbitrators, has continuously pushed the legal community to reflect on tribunal independence and structural reform.
About the GAR Awards
The annual Global Arbitration Review Awards celebrate the exceptional individuals, firms, and cases that have driven the international arbitration community forward over the past year. The Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes a career marked by unwavering excellence, intellectual leadership, and an enduring legacy.
