Francisco Ramirez Vasco

Francisco Ramirez Vasco

Position: Of Counsel
Admissions:​ Paris, Colombia and Madrid Bars (in progress)
Practice Areas

  • Business law
  • International investment and contracts
  • Public procurement, licensing and concessions
  • International litigation and arbitration
  • Latin America and Africa Desks

Languages: French, Spanish, English, Portuguese
Email:  f.ramirez-vasco@vp.legal
Phone: +33 (0)1 86 70 89 28

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Presentation

Francisco Ramirez Vasco, admitted to the Colombian Bar, is an attorney with a strong presence in the French legal market since 1990. Francisco has over 30 years of experience and has practiced in leading international law firms and investment banks, specializing in the management of complex international investment projects. He brings extensive experience in international arbitration, having served as a member of the ICC.

Francisco Ramirez Vasco’s expertise spans across a wide range of areas, including infrastructure projects such as highways, airports, energy, oil and gas, mining, water and sanitation, and telecommunications, as well as financial and industrial activities, such as European and international value chains, privatization, project and corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, joint-ventures, public procurement, licensing and concessions, as well as negotiation support, transaction support, litigation and arbitration proceedings.

Prior to joining VP Legal, Francisco successfully ran his own law firm, specializing in international arbitration, investment, corporate internationalization, risk and insurance, and contracts. He also spent nearly two decades at PwC in Europe and South America, where he established and led the International Litigation and Arbitration Group. Francisco has represented clients in numerous ICC, UNCITRAL, ICSID, JAMS, and Ad hoc arbitrations, as well as before national and EU courts, including the Court of Justice of the European Union and the Court of Human Rights of the European Union, as well as courts in Latin America and Africa. Francisco Ramirez Vasco has been actively involved in international business development, including the negotiation and drafting of international contracts and arbitration and alternative dispute resolution (ADR) clauses in Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Africa. He has also created and directed PwC’s Latin American Business Centre (LABC) in Europe, with correspondents in major European countries and all Latin American countries, and has conducted numerous investor relations activities, including business opportunity road shows. Francisco has worked closely with various technical groups:

– Global Petroleum Industry Group, Houston;
– Global Mining Industry Business Advisors Group, Toronto;
– World Banking and Financial Markets Regulatory Advisory Groups, London;
– Mergers and Acquisitions World Tax Specialists, New York;
– International Mergers and Acquisitions Experts Network, Washington D.C.

Recent Experience

  • Numerous ICC, ICSID and ad hoc arbitrations, as counsel for the parties, counsels or arbitrators, especially with Latin American, African or European parties, in distribution, public works, joint ventures contracts, etc., dealing with procedural strategies, challenge of arbitrators, appeals;
  • Counsel for the claimant, conciliated, military equipment distribution contract, confidential parties. Pathological clause ;
  • Arbitrator, dispute on the compensation account of the public financial system of social security and health in Colombia between FOSYGA and FISALUD, with a stake of about 10 million euros ;
  • Counsel to Colombia in the settlement of two of the largest highway concession disputes, with several hundred million euros at stake, including the COMMSA vs. SACYR Group dispute;
  • Counsel to Colombia in the award of the concession contract for the construction and operation of the new El Dorado airport in Bogotá;
  • Counsel to Colombia in the procurement of the concession for the construction and operation of the new Rojas Pinilla Airport in San Andres Islands;
  • Counsel to Colombia in the award of 270 contracts, worth about 2 billion euros, of the road construction plan 2500 ;
  • Counsel to Kosovo and trainer of officials and business representative organizations in negotiations, trade defence and dispute resolution with Serbia;
  • Counsel to Costa Rica and training of civil servants and business representative organizations in negotiations and trade defence under WTO rules;
  • Counsel to Côte d’Ivoire on the reform of public procurement legislation and procedures;
  • Counsel to the losing party, favourable annulment appeal, strategy in the annulment of an ICC arbitral award. Confidential parties;
  • Counsel to the claimant, ICC arbitration, favourable decision, joint venture contracts for the production and distribution of food products and technical assistance for their production. Spanish and Panamanian companies against Cameroonian company. Non-compliance with quotas and non-payment of equipment. Non-compliance with the transaction contract. French law;
  • Arbitrator, ad hoc arbitration, contract for the production and sale of potatoes for the food industry. French company against English company. French law;
  • Counsel to the defendant, ICC arbitration, conciliated, exclusive distribution contract of French cosmetic products. Hong Kong company against French company. Existence of an arbitration clause. French law;
  • Counsel to the defendant, ICC arbitration, conciliated, contract for the sale of companies. Spanish and American companies against French company (investment fund). Price dispute. Spanish and French law;
  • Counsel to the claimant, ICC arbitration, conciliated, pet food distribution contract. Swiss and French companies against French and Russian companies. Challenge of quotas in the framework of the split of the Soviet Union. French law;
  • Counsel to the claimant, ICC and JAMS arbitration, conciliated, branded clothing distribution contract. Spanish company against French and American companies. Wrongful termination by the licensor. Spanish, French and California law.

Education

  • University of the Andes, MBA, Columbia, Strategic Planning
  • University of Paris-Panthéon-Assas (Paris II), Political Science
  • University of Paris-Panthéon-Assas (Paris II), Constitutional Law
  • University of the Rosary (Colegio Mayor de Nuestra Señora del Rosario), Colombia, Doctor en Jurisprudencia, elected Junior Fellow, Economic Law

Recognitions

Francisco has been a member of the ICC International Court of Arbitration, elected by the Court for three consecutive terms and also a member of the ICC International Commission on Arbitration and ADR for the same three periods. Within this framework, Francisco has been involved in the study and validation of hundreds of final and partial awards as well as procedural matters, including arbitrability of cases, jurisdiction of the Court, challenge of arbitrators, interim measures, judicial executions.

Francisco has also acted as Member-Rapporteur in 19 ICC arbitration cases, involving parties from different countries (Mexico, United States, Brazil, Kuwait, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Japan, United Arab Emirates, Israel, France and Portugal).

Publications

  • A Study on International Commercial Arbitration in Latin America, in French, in El Contrato de Arbitraje, LEGIS, Bogotá, Colombia, 2005, with the collaboration of Isabelle Vaugon;
  • Numerous articles on business law and taxation, companies, finance and foreign investments in Europe and Latin America in French newspapers and economic magazines, including Les Echos;
  • Doing Business in Colombia – Information Guide, New York, EUA, 1988;
  • Study on the ICSID investment dispute settlement system and reform proposals for European Union projects;
  • Studies on the Central American Court of Justice, the Common Court of Justice and Arbitration of OHADA and the Community Court of ECOWAS and their arbitration and dispute settlement mechanisms.

Conferences

  • Training seminar for ACP ambassadors to the EU on investment arbitration and ICSID jurisprudence, Brussels, 2007;
  • Seminar on business and investment conditions and opportunities in Chile, within the framework of the International Forum Invest in Chile, on the occasion of the signing of the EU-Chile Association Treaty, CFCE, Paris, France, Nov. 16, 2003;
  • Seminar on business and investment conditions and opportunities in Colombia, Embassy of Colombia in France and Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, Paris, France, Dec. 11, 2001;
  • Seminar on Trade and Investment – International Development in Latin America – MERCOSUR, Brazil and Mexico, on the occasion of the signing of the EU-Mexico Association Treaty, EFE, Paris, France, Oct. 11, 2001;
  • Seminar on Trade and Investment – International Development in Argentina and MERCOSUR, EFE, Paris, France, Dec. 14, 2000;
  • Seminar on International Commercial Arbitration in Latin America – A Comparative Study, with Isabelle VAUGON, MEDEF Congress, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, June 18-21, 2000;
  • Seminar on Trade and Investment in Latin America – Figures and Trends, MEDEF Congress, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, June 18-21, 2000;
  • Expanded MERCOSUR Seminar: Seizing the Benefits, with MOCI, Paris, France, June 15-17, 1999;
  • Seminar on Business and Investment in the Enlarged MERCOSUR, EFE, Paris, France, April 28-29, 1998;
  • Seminar on Trade and Investment in the Enlarged MERCOSUR, EFE, Paris, France, May 26-27, 1997;
  • France 2000 Seminar in Chile – International Trade and Investment Opportunities, Marseille Chamber of Commerce, Marseille, France, April 23, 1997;
  • Seminar on Trade and Investment in the Andean Common Market – CAN, EFE, Paris, France, March 11, 1997;
  • Seminar on Trade and Investment in MERCOSUR, EFE, Paris, France, June 20-21, 1996.

Teaching

Francisco has led or participated in numerous academic and specialized teaching activities, including within CIArb, ICC and Colombian universities:

  • Development of a training program in arbitration and ADR for Latin America for SICA-FICA CIArb, London, 2004 – 2008;
  • International Course on International Project Finance, Paris, 1998-1999;
  • International Course on Negotiating, Drafting and Executing International Contracts, Paris, 1998-1999;
  • International Course on International Commercial Arbitration, in English and French, certified by CLE of New York and MCLE of California, CPD of SRA and GC of the Bar of England and Wales, and CNB of France, Paris, 1992-1993;
  • Director of Studies and Professor of Financial law and Public International Law.