Karel Daele > Mishcon de Reya LLP > London, England > Lawyer Profile
Mishcon de Reya LLP Offices
AFRICA HOUSE
70 KINGSWAY
LONDON
WC2B 6AH
England
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Karel Daele
Work Department
Dispute Resolution - International Arbitration
Position
Karel is a partner and head of the International Arbitration practice. He started his career as a civil law litigator in Belgium, before moving to Tanzania where he devoted most of his time to representing African states and state-owned companies in a number of investor-state disputes under the ICSID and UNCITRAL Rules in the water and the energy sector. He has worked internationally, advising multinationals on investing in Africa’s mining, infrastructure, telecom and energy sector.
Karel continues to focus on African investor-state disputes, although now acts more on the investor side, as exemplified by his work for BSGR in an ICSID arbitration against Guinea (a mining dispute involving allegations of corruption and one of the biggest claims in recent years). His other work in Africa includes chairing a KIAC Tribunal hearing, a dispute between an East-African contractor and East-African state agency over a geothermal energy project and, as member of a UNCITRAL Tribunal, hearing a dispute between an African investor and South Sudan over a failed power project.
Karel also uses his African “frontier” expertise in other regions. He acts for RSM in an ICSID arbitration against St Lucia (a dispute over offshore oil concessions), for a Syrian subcontractor in an ICC arbitration against a Chinese contractor (in a dispute over the construction of a 2,400 MW power plant in Saudi Arabia) and for an Indian party in an LCIA Indian arbitration against a Qatari investment fund (in a dispute over investments in the agribusiness).
Apart from Karel’s investor-state work, he does commercial arbitration work under the Rules of the LCIA, ICC, CEPINA, UNCITRAL and in ad hoc arbitrations. These disputes arise under a variety of commercial contracts (joint venture agreements, share purchase agreements, sales agreements, service agreements and lease agreements) in a variety of sectors, including retail, financial services, construction, real estate.
Karel has recently been ranked in Chambers Global 2017 as a leading individual in the Africa-wide disputes category, and is “highly regarded for his experience in international arbitration matters”. According to Legal Business, “Daele has quickly established himself as a leading investor-state arbitration practitioner”. He is also an IFLR1000 Leading Lawyer in Energy and Infrastructure, a member of various arbitration institutions and has been recognised in Who’s Who Legal’s Future Leaders – Arbitration 2017.
Career
Partner, Mishcon de Reya LLP; Partner, Mkono & Co Advocates (Tanzania); Counsel, Wilmer Hale (Brussels); Senior Associate, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (Brussels); Associate, Stibbe (Brussels)
Languages
English; French; Dutch; (basic) German
Memberships
LCIA (London Court of International Arbitration; African Users’ Council); ICCA (International Council for Commercial Arbitration); World Bank’s Expert Consultative Group on Investment Across Borders; ICSID Review-Foreign Investment Law Journal (Peer Review Board); Mother Arbitration Club (UK); IBA (Arbitration Subcommittee & Africa Regional Forum); Registered European Lawyer (Solicitor Regulatory Authority (SRA), UK); Solicitor at the Bar of Brussels (Belgium); Chartered Institute of Arbitrators
Top Tier Firm Rankings
- Private client > Art and cultural property
- Private client > Contentious trusts and probate
- Employment > Employers
- Private client > Family
- Crime, fraud and licensing > Fraud: civil
- Crime, fraud and licensing > Gaming and betting
- Employment > Immigration
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Intellectual property: trade marks, copyright and design
- Private client > Personal tax, trusts and probate
- Real estate > Property litigation
- Real estate > Residential property
- Employment > Senior executives
Firm Rankings
- Public sector > Administrative and public law
- Real estate > Commercial property: investment
- Real estate > Construction: non-contentious
- Corporate and commercial > Financial services: contentious
- Crime, fraud and licensing > Fraud: white-collar crime (advice to individuals)
- Insurance > Insurance litigation: for policyholders
- Corporate and commercial > Partnership
- Crime, fraud and licensing > Private prosecutions
- Risk advisory > Regulatory investigations and corporate crime (advice to corporates)
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Reputation management
- Industry focus > Retail and consumer
- Industry focus > TMT
- Corporate and commercial > Venture capital
- Real estate > Commercial property: development
- Dispute resolution > Competition litigation
- Risk advisory > Data protection, privacy and cybersecurity
- Public sector > Education: individuals
- Employment > Employee share schemes
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Franchising
- Industry focus > Hospitality and leisure
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Intellectual property: patents (contentious and non-contentious)
- Dispute resolution > International arbitration
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > IT and telecoms
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Media: Film & TV
- Real estate > Planning
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > Sport
- Dispute resolution > Tax litigation and investigations
- Public sector > Civil liberties and human rights
- Corporate and commercial > Commercial contracts
- Dispute resolution > Commercial litigation: premium
- Corporate and commercial > Corporate tax
- Employment > Health and safety
- Industry focus > Life sciences and healthcare
- Corporate and commercial > M&A: Lower Mid-Market Deals, £100m-£750m
- TMT (technology, media and telecoms) > PATMA: Trade mark attorneys
- Corporate and commercial > Private equity: transactions - mid-market deals (up to £250m)
- Real estate > Property finance
- Dispute resolution > Banking litigation: investment and retail
- Private client > Charities and not-for-profit
- Real estate > Construction: contentious
- Crime, fraud and licensing > Crime: general
- Corporate and commercial > EU and competition
- Private client > Court of protection