Why Arbitration Works: Arbitration Across Borders, Hungarian Perspectives

Ádám received his diploma in law with a quotation of summa cum laude at the Faculty of Law, Eötvös Loránd University of Sciences (Budapest) in 2002. He defended his PhD thesis with a quotation of summa cum laude at the Karoli Gaspar University of the Reformed Church in Hungary in 2008. He obtained his habilitation degree in 2018. He has been teaching civil law, Roman law and law of arbitration at the Karoli Gaspar University of the Reformed Church in Hungary (Budapest) since 2008. He has been the Head of Department of Civil Law and Roman Law since 2017. He is an arbitrator enrolled at the Scroll of Arbitrators of the Arbitration Court Attached to the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and he is also a registered arbitrator at the Economic Arbitration Court of Moldova. He has been active as practising attorney-at-law since 2006. Since 2019 he has been Board Member of the Hungarian Arbitration Association. In September 2021 he was appointed as full professor of law. Ádám was appointed Vice-Dean for International and Scientific Affairs of Károli Gáspár University Faculty of Law on 1 August 2023.

János is a Hungarian attorney admitted to the Budapest Bar Association and senior partner of the BPSS Attorneys at Law (Budapest, Hungary). Dr. Burai-Kovács is the President of the Court of Arbitration attached to the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He specializes in litigation and arbitration international and commercial law.

Tamás studied at and graduated from Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, in 1991. He holds degrees from the TMC Asser Instituut in The Hague, the University of London in international trade law and the University of Glamorgan in EU law. He is a lecturer and Professor of Law (Hon) at the Civil Procedure Department of Eötvös Loránd University and was a co-lecturer in international commercial arbitration at Asser College Europe, The Hague, for over ten years. He is a former member of the Codification Board for the new Hungarian Code of Civil Procedure, an associate at SBGK law firm, then partner at Réti Szegheõ law firm in Budapest, head of the Corporate Disputes practice of the international law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in Hungary from 2003 until 2007, and a founding partner of Oppenheim and head of its Dispute Resolution practice. He frequently acts as arbitrator.

Manuela is a lead attorney-at-law at the dispute resolution practice group of KPMG Legal Tóásó Law Firm (Budapest). She is a visiting lecturer at ELTE Law School where she teaches private international law. She is a trained mediator and is also involved in mediation training related activities. She has gained significant experience in domestic and international arbitration and commercial litigation involving complex cross-border issues. She has a PhD in law from ELTE Law School and has also obtained an LL.M. degree in US and Global Business Law for International Business Lawyers from Suffolk University (Boston). She was a visiting researcher at Cardozo School of Law (New York), Kukin Program for Conflict Resolution. Ms. Grosu regularly publishes on various ADR related topics and organizes international events on dispute resolution. She is a VIAC Community Ambassador for Hungary and a Senior Fellow for Weinstein International Foundation.

Robert has over 30 years of experience in investment banking, fund management, principal investing and executive management across Central and Eastern Europe, the DACH region and the UK. He has extensive experience in non-executive and senior advisory positions as well as turnaround/restructuring expertise for owner-managed conglomerates. Since 2020, as an independent professional Robert has focused on corporate conflict resolution, specifically defending the interests of shareholders whose rights have been encroached upon in an adversarial setting, one of his major clients being the Milan-based Gi Group Holding. From 2002 to 2006, Robert led as CEO the restructuring and turnaround of Fotex Rt, a publicly-listed Hungarian conglomerate. He is the Chairman of Redline Capital Management S.A., a privately-owned asset management firm based in Luxembourg with AUM in excess of USD 500 million. Robert earned his B.Sc. in Economics from the London School of Economics and began his investment banking career with Salomon Brothers in London.

Veronika is an attorney and arbitrator specialised in international commercial and investment disputes. She is a member of the bar in England, Paris, and Budapest, as well as a tenure-track professor at ESSEC Business School in Paris. Veronika is a member of the VIAC Board and serves as the president of the Hungarian Arbitration Association.

Ema initially joined VIAC as a legal counsel and later transitioned into the role of VIAC CAN Director. Originally from Slovenia, her work has always had a strong CEE/SEE focus. She previously worked in diplomacy at the Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia in Vienna and at the Energy Community Secretariat within the Dispute Resolution and Negotiation Centre. Currently, she also serves as the CDRC Vienna Deputy Director and is a certified mediator, actively supporting ADR and dialogue facilitation.

Philipp is the Austrian Commercial Counsellor of the Austrian Embassy in Hungary and Head of Advantage Austria Budapest – the trade promotion office of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber. He graduated from Vienna University of Economics (WU) majoring in International Trade. He also holds a diploma of the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna. He joined the Austrian Foreign Trade Promotion Organization ADVANTAGE AUSTRIA of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber (WKÖ) in 2011 and served as a commercial attaché in Algeria and Bulgaria as well as a Commercial Counselor of the Austrian Embassy in Qatar (2016-2019). From August 2019 to August 2021, he was the Pavillon director of the Austrian Pavilion at the last World Expo “Expo 2020 Dubai”.

Sarolta is a highly accomplished senior associate at Oppenheim Law Firm, where she specializes in the field of dispute resolution. Her legal education includes a Juris Doctor from Eötvös Loránd University Faculty of Law in Budapest, as well as a Certificate of English Law from the University of Warwick with a focus on torts and contract law. She has also received a first grade diploma from the Austrian Arbitration Academy, and has participated in the Private International Law Course of The Hague Academy of International Law. In addition to her work at Oppenheim, Sarolta is a lecturer at Eötvös Loránd University Faculty of Law, where she teaches civil procedure law. She has also held the position of visiting researcher at the Comparative Civil and Civil Procedure Law Institute of the University of Heidelberg. She is one of the authors of the Commentary on the New Hungarian Civil Procedure Code and she has published several articles on issues related to domestic and international arbitration. With her extensive education and experience, Sarolta is a skilled and effective counsel who regularly represents Hungarian and international clients in both arbitration and commercial litigation.

Bálint has over 15 years of experience in corporate law, real estate and restructuring, he is equally active in providing services relative to compliance and data protection affairs. He has a good number of publications in English and German and is a regular conference speaker on compliance topics. He studied at distinguished universities in South Korea, Germany, Austria and Hungary. He graduated in legal sciences and also holds MSc degree in economics and management. He is currently completing his Master in European and International Business Law. Before joining KPMG Legal, Bálint used to work for Clifford Chance and Wolf Theiss in Budapest and in Austria. He gained further business law experience as Head of Compliance and Corporate Legal Affairs at Trenkwalder Hungary. Bálint has overseen dozens of successful M&A and real estate transactions and designed and directed compliance programs.