Susanne Schwalb
Susanne Schwalb primarily advises and represents clients in international arbitration proceedings. She has a focus on international commercial arbitration and the protection of foreign investments where she advises both on the structuring of investments and in contentious proceedings. Susanne also has extensive practical experience in third-party funding.
In commercial arbitration, Susanne represents clients in post-M&A disputes as well as in disputes concerning failed (large-scale) projects, in particular in the technology, life sciences, infrastructure and energy sectors. She has specific experience in disputes over cross-border projects that involve numerous jurisdictions and applicable laws, as well as in arbitration proceedings against State-owned entities. When it comes to the protection of foreign investments, Susanne provides advice on the planning and implementation of investments as well as during the investment period. She also represents clients in investor-State arbitration proceedings and related domestic court proceedings. Susanne has many years of experience acting as party representative and as secretary/assistant to the arbitral tribunal in a large number of commercial arbitrations, including under the ICC, DIS, Swiss, LCIA, HKIAC and JCAA Rules as well as in >15 investor-State arbitrations under the ICSID Convention, UNCITRAL and SCC Rules. Susanne also regularly acts as arbitrator.
In addition, Susanne has negotiated comprehensive third-party funding agreements for several domestic as well as international arbitration proceedings and can therefore draw on extensive practical experience in the evaluation of the commercial and legal funding terms as well as the day-to-day handling of funded arbitration and court proceedings.
Susanne joined CMS in 2014 and became partner in 2022.
Practice Area
Panel
- Contributing Author
Qualified Year
- 2013
Experience
- Chair of Civil Law, German, European and International Corporate Law, Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich (2011 - 2012)
Membership
- German Arbitration Association (DIS &, DIS40)
- Swiss Arbitration Association (ASA Below 40)
- International Court of Arbitration Young Arbitrators Forum (ICC YAF)
- Young International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA & Young ICCA)
- ArbitralWomen and Young ArbitralWomen Practitioners (YAWP)
- Young International Arbitration Group of the London Court of International Arbitration (YIAG)
- Young ICSID / Young ISDS
Qualifications
- Legal traineeship and bar exam (2011-2013)
- Law studies with a focus on corporate, capital markets and insolvency law (2006-2011)
- Bar exam (2013)
Education
- Higher Regional Court of Munich (2011-2013)
- Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich (2006-2011)
- German School Washington DC, USA (2022-2006)
2 Contributions by Susanne Schwalb
PRACTICE NOTES
Challenging German-seated arbitral awards: ZPO ss 1059–1065 grounds, procedure, time limits, court jurisdiction, and interaction with recognition and enforcement
This Practice Note examines the challenge of arbitration awards in Germany under German law. Note: German judgments are not reported by LexisNexis®.
Challenging awards in Germany-the relevant legal framework
The principal legal regime appears in sections 1059 et seqq. of the 10th Book of the Code of Civil Procedure, the Zivilprozessordnung (ZPO). The ZPO distinguishes between domestic and foreign awards by whether the arbitral tribunal that issued the award had its seat in Germany or abroad. For domestic awards, the grounds for setting aside and for refusing recognition and enforcement are contained in ZPO, ss 1059, 1060(2), and they mirror Article 34 of the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Arbitration (Model Law).
For foreign awards, recognition and enforcement are governed by ZPO, s 1061(1), which makes the New York Convention directly applicable. Only minor differences exist between the bases for challenging domestic awards and for declining recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards. Sections 1062–1065 ZPO regulate the applicable procedure and jurisdiction for both domestic and foreign awards. This Practice Note focuses on the formal requirements and the grounds for challenging domestic arbitral...
Arbitration
PRACTICE NOTES
Enforcing arbitral awards against states in Germany: immunity from suit versus execution, diplomatic and other sovereign assets, state-owned enterprises and waiver
This Practice Note explores the place of state immunity within arbitration under German law. For a broad overview, see Practice Note: State immunity and arbitration—general considerations. For additional Practice Notes covering state immunity across multiple jurisdictions (including England and Wales), consult our ‘State immunity’ subtopic: State immunity and arbitration. Note: the German decisions cited in this Practice Note are not reported by LexisNexis®.
The law on state immunity in Germany
Whether assets belonging to a foreign state can be enforced against in Germany is determined by German law, not by the law of the state targeted by enforcement. Germany has no standalone statute on state immunity; instead, international law applies directly. For most states, Article 25 of the German Constitution (Grundgesetz (GG)) and section 20 of the Court Constitution Act (Gerichtsverfassungsgesetz (GVG)) require German courts to apply customary international law on state immunity. The only exception concerns the seven other Member States of the European Convention on State Immunity of 16...
Arbitration
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