Dr Anne Secomb
Dr Anne Secomb is an independent arbitrator working out of Secomb Arbitration (Singapore/Paris). She has some twenty years’ experience in the field of international arbitration, having sat as arbitrator under most major arbitral rules.
Dr Anne Secomb is an independent arbitrator working out of Secomb Arbitration (Singapore/Paris). She has some twenty years’ experience in the field of international arbitration, having sat as arbitrator under most major arbitral rules.
She is educated in both the civil law and the common law traditions, admitted to the Berlin and New York bars.* She is also a former member of the Paris bar.
Anne has been an independent arbitrator for more than a decade. She started developing her practice as an arbitrator after moving to Singapore in 2015. She has sat on cases under the HKIAC, ICC, JCAA, KCAB and SIAC Rules.
From April to June 2018, she was also Counsel to the ICC International Court of Arbitration, opening and establishing the Secretariat’s Singapore office.
Prior to moving to Singapore, Anne was Secretary to the ICC Commission on Arbitration and ADR in Paris, the ICC’s dispute resolution think tank. In that role, she oversaw taskforces on various topics such as ‘Costs in International Arbitration’, ‘The Use of IT in Arbitration’ and ‘Financial Institutions and International Arbitration’.
Before that, Anne was a counsel to the ICC International Court of Arbitration in Paris where she was in charge of the case management team administrating cases dealing mainly with Switzerland, Italy and Austria, overseeing hundreds of cases.
Prior to joining the ICC, Anne worked as a lawyer at Salans (now Dentons) in Paris, where she represented parties in numerous administrated as well as ad hoc arbitrations. During that time, she also acted as tribunal secretary in commercial and ICSID matters.
Anne coached the team from Université de Paris I – La Sorbonne for the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot between 2007 and 2010, and she was a visiting lecturer at Université Aix-Marseille III Université Paul-Cezanne, Université Paris-Panthéon-Assas and ESSEC Business School.
She is, inter alia, a member of the ICC Dispute Resolution Bulletin Editorial Board.
In her free time, Anne enjoys reading and keeping fit. She is an enthusiastic tennis player and holds a second dan black belt in Taekwondo, winning bronze in the 2017 and gold in the 2021 Singapore National Poomsae Championships.
Anne is trilingual in English, German and Spanish and speaks French fluently.
* Not currently practicing.
As arbitrator
ICC
- Sole arbitrator in an ICC arbitration involving a contract in the sector of pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and life sciences (Munich seat, German law)
- President in an ICC arbitration involving a concession agreement (Singapore seat, Cambodian law)
- President in an ICC arbitration involving a construction dispute (Singapore seat, Vietnamese and Singapore law)
- President in an ICC arbitration involving an agency agreement (Singapore seat, Kuwaiti law)
- President in an ICC arbitration involving a dispute over a power-purchase agreement (Lahore seat, Pakistani law)
- President in an ICC arbitration involving a loan agreement (Singapore seat, Cambodian law)
- Co-arbitrator in an ICC arbitration involving a dispute arising from a construction project (Singapore seat, Myanmar law)
- Emergency arbitrator in an ICC arbitration involving a long-term LNG SPA (Singapore seat, Singapore law)
- Sole arbitrator in an ICC arbitration involving a dispute arising out of a sale and purchase agreement for shares in a group of companies (Singapore seat, Indonesian law)
- Emergency arbitrator in an ICC arbitration involving a construction project (Singapore seat, Argentinian law)
SIAC
- Sole arbitrator in an SIAC arbitration involving a marketing and operations agreement (Singapore seat, Indonesian law)
- Sole arbitrator in an SIAC arbitration involving a Coal Supply and Purchase Agreement (Singapore seat, English law)
- Emergency arbitrator in an SIAC arbitration involving a non-competition agreement between an employee and their former employer (Singapore seat, New York law)
- Emergency arbitrator in an SIAC arbitration involving a solar farm dispute (Singapore seat, Indian law)
- Sole arbitrator in an SIAC arbitration involving a contract for the sale of coke (Singapore seat, CISG)
- Sole arbitrator in an SIAC arbitration involving a share subscription agreement (Singapore seat, Singapore law)
- Sole arbitrator in an SIAC arbitration involving a construction dispute (Singapore seat, Singapore law)
- Sole arbitrator in an SIAC arbitration involving the sale of underwater trenching equipment (Singapore seat, English law)
- Sole arbitrator in an SIAC arbitration involving a marketing and operations agreement (Singapore seat, Singapore law)
- Sole arbitrator in an SIAC arbitration involving a charterparty (Singapore seat, Singapore law)
- Sole arbitrator in an SIAC arbitration involving a dispute arising out of a share purchase agreement (Singapore seat, Indonesian law)
Other institutions
- Sole arbitrator in a KCAB arbitration involving a distribution agreement (Seoul seat, Korean law)
- President in a JCAA arbitration involving a contract for the development of a digital multimedia receiver for worldwide distribution (Tokyo seat, Japanese law)
- Sole arbitrator in an expedited KCAB arbitration involving a contract for an international sale of goods (Seoul seat, Korean law)
- Co-arbitrator in an HKIAC arbitration involving a technology contract (Hong Kong seat, Hong Kong law)
As counsel
- The investor in Oxus Gold v. Kyrgyzstan, an LCIA-administered arbitration brought under the Kyrgyzstan – United Kingdom BIT (international and Kyrgyz law)
- Respondent in parallel German ad hoc and ICC arbitrations concerning the dissolution of a joint venture on the Iberian Peninsula (Spanish law)
- The investor in GEA Group Aktiengesellschaft v. Ukraine, an ICSID arbitration brought under the Germany – Ukraine BIT (international and Ukrainian law)
- Respondent in an ICC arbitration concerning a telecommunications project on the high seas (Finnish law)
- The investor in The Rompetrol Group N.V. v. Romania, an ICSID arbitration brought under the Netherlands – Romania BIT (international and Romanian law)
- Respondent in an ICC arbitration concerning a large-scale construction project in Bulgaria (Bulgarian law)
As tribunal secretary
- The ICSID arbitration Plama Consortium Limited v. Republic of Bulgaria, ICSID Case No. ARB/03/24
- An ICC arbitration involving a construction dispute (Seoul seat, Korean law)
- An SIAC arbitration involving a shareholders’ agreement (Singapore seat, Dutch law)
- An SIAC arbitration involving a land purchase agreement (Singapore seat, Indonesian law)
- Two SIAC arbitrations involving shareholders’ agreements (Singapore seat, Singapore law)
- An LCIA arbitration concerning a tax dispute (London seat, Belize law)
- An UNCITRAL Rules arbitration involving a joint operating agreement (Paris seat, English law)
Education
- Doctorat en droit (PhD Law), Université de Fribourg (2026)
- LLM in International and Comparative Law, Tulane Law School (2004)
- LLB, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (2002)
Bar admissions*
- Avocate à la Cour (Paris bar) – Directive 98/5/CE (2007–2009)
- Rechtsanwältin (German bar) (2007)
- Attorney and Counselor at Law, New York, U.S.A. (2005)
* Not currently practicing.
Current positions
- Independent arbitrator, Secomb Arbitration (Singapore/Paris)
- Visiting Lecturer in Private International Law, Laws of the World, Université Paris-Panthéon-Assas (Singapore)
- Member, ICC Dispute Resolution Bulletin Editorial Board
Career
Secomb Arbitration, Singapore / Paris (November 2016 – present)
- Independent international arbitrator (HKIAC, ICC, JCAA, KCAB, SIAC)
- Formerly: freelance tribunal secretary (DIAC, HKIAC, ICC, SIAC, UNCITRAL) (2016 – 2023)
ICC International Court of Arbitration, Paris / Singapore (2009 – 2018)
- Counsel (interim), ICC Court’s Secretariat, Singapore (March 2018 – June 2018). Established the team based in Singapore. Administered cases dealing mainly with Singapore, India and Indonesia.
- Secretary, ICC Commission on Arbitration and ADR, Paris (July 2012 – July 2015). Oversaw task forces including Decisions on Costs in International Arbitration; Effective Management of Arbitration – A Guide for In-House Counsel and Other Party Representatives; Information Technology in International Arbitration; and Financial Institutions and International Arbitration. Participated in joint projects with the ICC Tax Commission and the OECD on dispute resolution mechanisms in the context of double taxation. Organised bi-annual commission meetings.
- Counsel, ICC Court’s Secretariat, Paris (June 2009 – September 2010). In charge of a team of seven people administering hundreds of cases dealing mainly with Switzerland, Italy and Austria.
Salans (now Dentons), Paris (November 2006 – June 2009)
- Associate in the international arbitration group
- Acted in various international arbitrations (ICC, LCIA, ICSID, ad hoc)
Publications
Book
- Specific Performance and Contract Adaptation in International Arbitration, Juris (upcoming 2027)
Book chapters and articles
- An Englishman in Paris, London and Singapore: Michael’s favourite seats tussle over the law applicable to the arbitration agreement, in An Arbitration Companion: Liber Amicorum for Michael Lee (Peter Rees and Sunita P. Advani eds) (2026) (with Matthew Secomb)
- The J.J. Agro Decisions: What Makes a Judge ‘Arbitration-Friendly’?, in International Arbitration: Issues, Perspectives and Practice: Liber Amicorum Neil Kaplan (HKIAC eds) (2019)
- Der Schutz deutscher Auslandsinvestitionen in Lateinamerika (Protection of German Investments in Latin America), co-author with Dr Markus Perkams, Wirtschaft und Verwaltung, 31–50 (2009)
- Drawing a Contrast: Interim Measures of Protection in International Arbitral Proceedings – The United States v. Germany, The Vindobona Journal of International Commercial Law and Arbitration (2005) 9 VJ 49–68
- Downer-Hill Joint Venture v Government of Fiji, International Arbitration Law Review (2005) 3 Int. A.L.R. N-37
Academic & speaking
Teaching
- Visiting Lecturer in Private International Law, Laws of the World (LLM in International Construction Contracts), Université Paris-Panthéon-Assas, Singapore (2026)
- Visiting Lecturer in International Alternative Dispute Resolution, ESSEC Business School, Singapore (2017)
- Coach, Université de Paris I – La Sorbonne, Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot (2007 – 2010)
- Visiting Lecturer, ICC Arbitration, Master 2/DJCE Droit des affaires internationales, Faculté de droit d’Aix-Marseille III (2009)
Selected speaking engagements
- Construction Claims and Arbitration, Bhutan Alternative Dispute Resolution Centre, Thimphu (two-day course) (2026)
- From Drones to AI: Leveraging Next-Gen Tech to Build the Winning Case, Jus Mundi, Singapore (2025)
- This house believes that nationality is a material criterion to judge arbitrator independence and impartiality, Young ICCA, Singapore (debate judge) (2025)
- Introduction to construction arbitration, Bhutan ADR Centre, virtual (2025)
- Indonesia & SE Asia Summit on International Arbitration and Corporate Crime, Legal Plus, Ho Chi Minh City (moderator and panellist) (2024)
- Introduction to International Arbitration, CIArb/Bhutan ADR Centre, Paro (2024)
- Emergency Arbitration 101: Latest Trends and Developments, Young ICCA, Singapore (2023)
- Indonesia & SE Asia Summit on International Arbitration and Corporate Crime, Legal Plus, Bangkok (chairperson) (2023)
- Unconscious Bias and the Effects of Assumptions in Arbitration, ACICA, virtual (2023)
- Indonesia & SE Asia Summit on International Arbitration and Corporate Crime, Legal Plus, Jakarta (moderator) (2022)
- Young ICCA Mentoring Programme (Group Advisor) (2021–2022)
- Tribunal Secretaries in International Arbitration, SIAC Academy, Singapore (2021 and 2022)
- The Making of an Advocate and an Arbitrator, SIAC Southeast Asia Academy (2021)
- Blood, Sweat and Tears: A Career in International Arbitration, ICC YAF / Young Practitioners Group KLRCA, Kuala Lumpur (2017)
- Training for Tribunal Secretaries, ICC Institute, Singapore (2017)
Memberships
- ACICA (Fellow)
- ASA
- Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (Fellow)
- DIS
- ICC Germany
- Editorial Board, ICC Bulletin
- LCIA
Arbitral panels
- ACICA
- DIAC
- e-Arbitrator (CIArb)
- eBRAM Panel of Arbitrators
- HKIAC Panel of Arbitrators
- ICC (ICC Germany)
- JCAA
- KCAB
- LCIA
- SIAC