Dr. Kabir Duggal is a preeminent international arbitration and public international law practitioner, serving as Senior Fellow and Advisor at the Center for International Commercial and Investment Arbitration (CICIA) at Columbia Law School. He maintains an active practice as both arbitrator and mediator and frequently acts as an expert on international arbitration and public international law matters. His practice encompasses complex disputes under bilateral and multilateral investment treaties as well as commercial contracts, with parties spanning the globe. He brings a rare combination of training in international law, common law, and civil law traditions, and has played a key role in disputes totaling over $80 billion, demonstrating both strategic insight and global impact. He has served as arbitrator in over 70 disputes across multiple industries and jurisdictions and is recognized as a “Chartered Arbitrator,” the highest distinction awarded by both the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and the Asian Institute of Alternative Dispute Resolution. He is also a Certified Mediator accredited by the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR) and a member of the National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals (NADN).
Dr. Duggal is a highly respected academic and educator. He is a Lecturer-in-Law at Columbia Law School, teaching seminars on investor-state and commercial arbitration, and serves as Senior Fellow and Advisor at CICIA. He is an adjunct professor at Fordham Law School, teaching “Transnational Litigation and Arbitration” and “International Disputes and Investigations.” He also serves as Course Director and Faculty Member for the Columbia Law School–Chartered Institute of Arbitrators Comprehensive Course on International Arbitration and as academic coordinator for the CIArb Diploma Course. His teaching extends globally, including hosting the leading webinar series “TagTime,” which features substantive conversations with prominent arbitrators worldwide.
Dr. Duggal contributes extensively to capacity-building and institutional development. He serves as a Consultant to the United Nations Office of the High Representative for Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries, and Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS) on the creation of a pioneering “Investment Support Program,” which was shortlisted by Global Arbitration Review for the “Best Developments” category in 2018, and he continues to serve on its Steering Committee. He works closely with the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Commercial Law Development Program (CLDP) and has conducted training programs for governments and institutions globally. He has served on Somalia’s New York Convention Task Force and the WTO Negotiating Team (International Board).Dr. Duggal is a prolific scholar and thought leader in international arbitration. He serves as Managing Editor of Columbia Law School’s The American Review of International Arbitration and as an editor for investmentclaims.com hosted by Oxford University Press. He has co-authored Evidence in Investment Arbitration (Oxford University Press) and Principles of Evidence in Public International Law as Applied by Investor-State Tribunals (Brill), and co-edited Force Majeure in the Asia Pacific Region (2022). He has recently published three additional books: International Investment Law and Arbitration in Central Asia (Wolters Kluwer), The Resurgence of the Unified Arab Investment Agreement and the Organisation for Islamic Cooperation Investment Agreement: A Dawn of a New Chapter on Investment Protection? (Brill), and Pro-Arbitration Revisited: A Tribute to Professor George Bermann from his Students over the Years (Juris Publishing), and co-edited U.S. Supreme Court Precedents on Arbitration: Shaping the American Arbitration Law and Practice (Brill). He has received the Smit-Lowenfeld Prize for the best article in international arbitration, the Burton Law360 Distinguished Legal Writing Award, and the Albert S. Pergam International Law Writing Competition Prize (2025). His writings are cited by arbitral tribunals and the Supreme Court of Switzerland. He also serves as Associate Editor and Peer Reviewer for ICSID Review and Associate Editor for Brill-Nijhoff’s Perspectives in International Investment Law and Arbitration, and co-chairs the Juris Conference on Investment Treaty Arbitration.
Dr. Duggal’s professional recognition is extensive. He is consistently listed as a Global Leader and Thought Leader in International Arbitration by Who’s Who Legal, and in 2024 received the distinction of Youngest “Global Elite Thought Leader” for the Americas. He is recognized by Legal500, Chambers Global, Chambers USA, and LawDragon. His awards include the Hind Rattan (“Jewel of India”), Legal Era’s “40 under 40 Rising Star,” the CPR “Outstanding Contribution to ADR Award” (2022), Prime Dispute “Equality and Diversity Award in Dispute Resolution” (2020), the “Dispute Resolution Practitioner of the Year—Americas” (2021), and the “Dispute Resolution Award of the Year—Global” (2022). He has been appointed to numerous leadership roles, including co-chair of the Asian Affairs Committee of the New York City Bar Association, co-chair of the Asia Taskforce for the Institute for Transnational Arbitration (ITA), Honorary President of the Bucharest International Arbitration Court (2024), and member of the Executive Council of ASIL and ITA. He was selected as co-chair of the Large and Complex Committee of the AAA (2023) and has received Honorary Citizenship of Bosnia and Herzegovina (2023) for his legal contributions to the country. He has been listed among the Top Ten Arbitrators in the Asia Pacific region by the Bali International Arbitration and Mediation Center, and recognized as the youngest Chartered Arbitrator in the U.S. (2022).Dr. Duggal holds degrees from the University of Mumbai (University Medal), University of Oxford (DHL-Times of India Scholar), NYU School of Law (Hauser Global Scholar), and Leiden Law School (CEPANI Academic Prize), and is currently pursuing an SJD at Harvard Law School. He is admitted to practice in New York, the District of Columbia, England & Wales (as a barrister), and India.