Gabriel Sidere is the partner heading the International Dispute Resolution Practice in Bucharest, with more than 12 years' experience. He was a founding member and partner in the Bucharest office of Hayhurst Robinson/Robinson Sidere, a regional law firm which has become the Romanian office of CMS Cameron McKenna.
Gabriel has extensive experience in dispute resolution and advocacy, both in Romania and beyond. Currently, he is leading a team of lawyers advising the Romanian Government in an investment treaty arbitration against a Greek investor pending before ICSID. He is also currently advising a leading multinational in a complex international arbitration involving parallel criminal and competition law proceedings in Romania. He is also a CEDR accredited mediator.
Since 2003, Gabriel has been the Secretary General of the Romanian Coffee Association founded by leading multinational coffee producers. He has a significant track record in negotiating with, or advising, Romanian governmental institutions with respect to EU harmonisation issues and application of international conventions ratified by Romania.
The 2008 edition of Legal 500 mentions Gabriel as: "the key driver of the quality of the relationship, but also of the quality of the work”.
Relevant experience includes advising:
- The Romanian State in the context of a US$150 million ICISD arbitration brought by a Greek investor, arising out of a privatisation agreement
- International investors in the context of preparing SCC arbitration proceedings and potential international investment arbitration proceedings against the Ukrainian Government, arising out of a gas Product Sharing Agreement
- A leading energy trading company in relation to a contractual dispute with respect to energy imports to Romania and potential ECT proceedings against Romania
- A major multinational in international arbitration proceedings relating to the termination of a distribution agreement. This claim also involves complex parallel proceedings in the Romanian courts alleging breaches of criminal law and competition law
- A major multinational in various corporate disputes with minority shareholders of a recently acquired company in relation to share transfers and capital increases
- A major multinational in a very large dispute relating to alleged competition law breaches and parallel criminal law proceedings
- The Romanian National Securities Commission with respect to the establishment of an arbitration chamber specialising in the resolution of disputes in the capital markets sector
- Two multilateral financial institutions in connection with their acquisition and subsequent exit from Banca Comerciala Romana as result of the largest privatisation ever done in Romania
Education:
Gabriel graduated from the Law Faculty of the Bucharest Ecological University in 1996 with a specialisation thesis on corruption crimes. In 2008, Gabriel successfully completed the Mediator Skills Training programme of the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution in London. He has been a member of the Bucharest Bar Association since 1997.