Alberto Wray

International Counsel - Washington, D.C.

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Contact Information

202.261.7340

202.785.6687

awray@foleyhoag.com Download vCard

Alberto Wray is an attorney in Foley Hoag’s Washington office. His practice is centered in international litigation and arbitration and focuses on representing sovereign States, particularly before international arbitration tribunals.

A trial lawyer with extensive experience, Alberto served as a judge of the Supreme Court of Justice of Ecuador, and he is currently a member of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Administrative Tribunal. He is also a well-known academic who has published extensively on matters of Ecuadorian and international law.

Education:

  • Catholic University of Ecuador, Ph.D. in Law, 1973
  • Catholic University of Ecuador, J.D., 1970

Languages:

English, Spanish

Representative Experience

International Arbitration/Dispute Resolution

  • He was lead counsel for Ecuador before an ICSID tribunal in a case in which a U.S. power generation conglomerate sought claims for US $75 million based on the contract and a bilateral investment treaty. The tribunal ruled in favor of the State (M.C.I. Power Group L.C. and New Turbine, Inc. v. Republic of Ecuador, ICSID Case No. ARB/03/6).
  • He was lead counsel for Ecuador in a case before the ICSID tribunal in which a multinational corporation claimed US $25 million for an alleged breach of a power generation and sales contract and a bilateral investment treaty. The tribunal ruled partially in favor of the claimant, agreeing to its right to be granted US $5 million in payments (Duke Energy Electroquil Partners & Electroquil S.A v. Republic of Ecuador, ICSID Case No. ARB/04/19).
  • He was lead counsel for Ecuador before an ICSID tribunal in which a power generation company sought damages for US $1.2 billion for an alleged expropriation. The Tribunal agreed to the objections of jurisdiction brought by the State (Empresa Eléctrica del Ecuador, Inc v. Republic of Ecuador, ICSID Case No. ARB/05/9).
  • He was lead counsel for Ecuador before an ICSID annulment proceeding in which a U.S. company sought to have annulled an award that had been issued in favor of the State. The Tribunal ruled in favor of the State (Annulment Proceeding ICSID Case No. ARB/03/6).
  • He was lead counsel for Venezuela in an ICSID arbitration brought by a Netherlands Antilles-owned company for an alleged expropiation of mining concessions.  The Tribunal agreed to the jurisdictional exceptions raised by the State (Highbury International AVV and Ramstein Trading Inc. v. Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, ICSID Case No. ARB/11/1).
  • He was involved in representing Venezuela in an arbitration under the ICSID Additional Facility Agreement Rules in which a Canadian mining company sought damages for an alleged expropriation. The Tribunal ruled in favor of the State (Vannessa Ventures Ltd. v. Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, ICSID Case No. ARB(AF)/04/6).
  • He is part of Venezuela’s legal representation in a case filed by a Canadian mining company as a result of the termination of several gold mining concessions and revocation of environmental permits. Claimant has invoked breach in the Canadian-Venezuelan BIT seeking damages in excess of US $2 billion (Gold Reserve. v. Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, ICSID Case No. ARB(AF)/09/1).
  • He is part of Venezuela’s legal representation in an arbitrajation under the ICSID Additional Facility Agreement Rules in which a Canadian mining company seeks damages for an alleged expropriation arising from termination of contract of a mining operation (Crystallex International Corporation v. Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, ICSID Case No. ARB(AF)/11/2).
  • He is part of Venezuela’s legal representation in an arbitration under the ICSID Additional Facility Agreement Rules in which a Canadian Mining company seeks damages for an alleged expropriation (Rusoro Mining Ltd. v. Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, ICSID Case No. ARB(AF)/12/5).
  • He is part of Venezuela’s legal representation in an ICSID arbitration in which a dispute for an alleged expropriation arising from the nationalization of  the steel transformation industry is discussed (Tenaris S.A. and Talta - Trading e Marketing. v. Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, ICSID Case No. ARB/12/23).
  • He is part of Ecuador’s representation in an UNCITRAL arbitration for an alleged denial of justice (Merck Sharpe & Dohme (I.A.) Corporation v. Republic of Ecuador, UNCITRAL, PCA).
  • He is part of Ecuador’s representation in an arbitration for an alleged expropriation arising from the application of a law regulating State participation in windfall oil profits resulting from an unforeseen rise in prices (Murphy Exploration & Production Company - International v. Republic of Ecuador, UNCITRAL, PCA Case No. AA434).

Consultancies 

  • Judicial Reform and Corruption Control in Latin America and the Caribbean (Educational Program for Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico and Peru), World Bank Institute, Washington, DC, 2002.
  • Legal and Judicial Reform Program, Legal Vice Presidency, World Bank, Washington DC, 2002.
  • Oral Litigation: Training Program for Lawyers, Proiuris, Fundación Esquel, USAID, Quito, 2001-2002. Designed the program and was its technical director.
  • Revitalization Project for the Colonial City of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, IDB, 1999-2000.  Designed the legal scheme necessary to allow the implementation of a plan intended to rehabilitate historic monuments and revive the Colonial City’s economy via a private sector tender.
  • Pilot Program for Judicial Training, Andean Commission of Jurists, Fundación Esquel, USAID, Quito, 2001-2002. The program was designed to train judges in the oral adversarial system. Alberto designed the proposal for submission in an international public bid. He served as its technical director during the Program’s execution.
  • The Constitutional Regime for Judicial Reform, Cordes, IDB, Quito, 1998. Proposal for reforms relative to the administration of justice (due process, independence of the Attorney General’s Office, selection of magistrates, control of constitutionality) for submission by the President to the National Constituent Assembly.
  • Assessment of the Judicial Administration System for children and adolescents in Ecuador, and  evaluation of the degree of compliance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Projusticia, UNICEF, Quito, 1996. Alberto designed and directed the research, and drafted the final report.
  • Compatibility of the International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention 169 with the Ecuadorian Constitutional Regime, ILO, Lima, 1996.
  • Alternative Dispute Resolution Methods for Indigenous Communities, Cides, NED, NIDR, Quito, 1992-1994. The program sought to promote in the indigenous communities the application of their own traditional means of conflict resolution in the indigenous communities so as to be compatible with the state system for judicial administration. Alberto designed the project and directed its execution.
  • Urban Management Program of the United Nations Decentralization and Autonomous Section Regime, Quito, 1996. Proposal of legal reforms for transferring central government authority to the local governments.
  • Unification of Wages in Labor Reform: Constitutional and Legal Aspects, ILO, Ministry of Labor, 1994.
  • Policy Bill concerning Children, Women, and Indigenous People in Ecuador, Development and Self-Management, DYA, UNICEF, 1988. Identification of legal solutions necessary to eliminate obstacles in the application of public policies in relation to children, women, and indigenous people.
  • Development and Protection of Quito’s Historical Center of, Metropolitan District of Quito Municipality, Fonsal, IDB, 1994. Alberto designed the legal structure necessary to implement a plan with a view to rehabilitate the Historical Center of Quito, protecting its monuments and enabling the lucrative exploitation of its architectural heritage.
  • Assessment of legal education imparted in Ecuador, Projusticia, World Bank, Quito, 1998. Alberto designed and conducted the study and also drafted the report with recommendations for improving upon the quality of legal education imparted.
  • Master plan for legal education reform, PUCE, Quito, 1997. Alberto designed and directed the application of the Legal Education Reform Plan, aimed at strengthening theory and developing abilities and skills for meeting the professional demands in the 21st century.

Books

  • Derecho Procesal Constitucional (Constitutional Procedural Law), Editorial del Colegio de Jurisprudencia de la Universidad San Francisco de Quito. Projusticia-World Bank, Quito 2002. (Original in Spanish)
  • El pensamiento jurídico ecuatoriano (Ecuadorian Legal Thinking), Biblioteca Básica del Pensamiento Ecuatoriano, National Editorial Corporation, Central Bank of Ecuador, Quito, 1998. (Original in Spanish)
  • Diagnóstico sobre el estado de la enseñanza del Derecho en el Ecuador (Assessment of the State of Legal Education in Ecuador), Projusticia, National Editorial Corporation, Central Bank of Ecuador, Quito, 1999. (Original in Spanish)
  • La observancia de la Convención sobre los Derechos del Niño en la Administración de Justicia (The Observance of the Convention on Children’s Rights in the Administration of Justice), Projusticia, UNICEF, Quito, 1998. (Original in Spanish)
  • El menor ante la ley (The Minor before the Law), National Editorial Corporation, Quito, 1991, 492 pages. (Original in Spanish)
  • Introducción al análisis jurídico: casos y materiales de enseñanza (Introduction to Legal Analysis: Cases and Educational Materials), 3 volumes, PUCE, 1976.  (Original in Spanish)

Articles

  • Arbitraje internacional y soberanía del Estado: notas críticas a la nueva normativa constitucional (International Arbitration and State Sovereignty: Critical Notes on the New Constitutional Rules), International Arbitration and Administrative Law Seminar, Ecuador Office of the Attorney General, Quito, December 2008. (Original in Spanish)
  • Los efectos jurídicos de la notificación del Ecuador al CIADI (The legal effects of Ecuador giving notice to the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID)), Seminar on International Commercial and Investment Arbitration, Inter-American Commission on Commercial Arbitration, Quito, June 2008. (Original in Spanish)
  • El Ecuador y el arbitraje del CIADI (Ecuador and ICSID Arbitration), Quito, 2007. (Original in Spanish)
  • La solución de controversias entre empresas de Estados Unidos y el Estado o ciudadanos ecuatorianos (Dispute Resolution between U.S. Corporations and the State or Citizens of Ecuador), Foreign Relations Ministry, Quito, January 2006. (Original in Spanish)
  • Justicia Indígena: Sus Límites Constitucionales en "Iuris Dictio" (Indigenous Justice: Its Constitutional Limits in “Iuris Dictio”), Magazine of the USFQ School of Jurisprudence, No. 6, Quito, August 2002.  (Original in Spanish)
  • Los principios constitucionales del Proceso Penal, en "Iuris Dictio" (The Constitutional Principles of the Penal Process, in “Iuris Dictio”), Magazine of the USFQ School of Jurisprudence, No. 3, Quito, April 2000. (Original in Spanish)
  • El debido proceso en la Constitución, en "Iuris Dictio" (Due Process in the Constitution, in “Iuris Dictio”), Magazine of the USFQ School of Jurisprudence, No. 1, Quito, January 2000. (Original in Spanish)
  • La estructura del orden jurídico, el control de la constitucionalidad y la administración de justicia (The Structure of the Legal System, Constitutionality Control and Justice Administration), FESO, Quito, 1998. (Original in Spanish)
  • El problema indígena y la reforma del Estado (The Indigenous Problem and State Reform), Abya Yala, Quito, 1993. (Original in Spanish)
  • Las facultades del Tribunal de Garantías Constitucionales, en "La Reforma de la Constitución" (The Authority of the Constitutional Guarantees Tribunal in “The Reform of the Constitution”), Ildis, Quito, 1988. (Original in Spanish)
  • Derecho, costumbre y comunidad, en "Derechos Humanos y Servicios Legales en el campo" (Law, Customs, and Community, in “Human Rights and Legal Services in the Rural Areas”), Andean Commission of Jurists, Lima, 1987 and in the Annual Magazine of the School of Law Association, Ruptura, No. 31, Ed. Unapsa, Quito, 1987. (Original in Spanish)
  • El Código de Procedimiento Penal: Problemas de Estructura y Contenido, en La Evaluación del Sistema Procesal Penal en el Ecuador (The Criminal Procedure Code: Problems of Structure and Content, in The Evaluation of Ecuador’s Criminal Procedure), Fundación Esquel – USAID, Quito, 2003.  (Original in Spanish)
  • Legislación vigente para el sector privado y sin fines de lucro en Ecuador, en "Marco Regulador de las Organizaciones de la Sociedad Civil en Sudamérica", (Current Legislation for the Private and the Not-for-Profit Sectors in Ecuador, in “Regulatory Framework of the Organizations of the Civil Society in South America”), IDB-UNDP,  Washington, 1997. (Original in Spanish)
  • Responsabilidad civil y daños ecológicos (Civil Liability and Ecological Damages), PUCE, Quito, 1993. (Original in Spanish)
  • Modernidad y tradición en el Pensamiento Jurídico del Siglo XIX (Modernity and tradition in the Legal Thinking of the XIX Century), in “Essays in Homage of Julio Tobar Donoso”, PUCE, Quito, 1995. (Original in Spanish)
  • El sistema jurídico ecuatoriano, en "Nueva Historia del Ecuador" (The Ecuadorian Legal System, in “New History of Ecuador”), Volume 13, Enrique Ayala Mora, Editorial Grijalbo, Quito, 1995. (Original in Spanish)
  • Los estudios de Derecho Romano en la Universidad Quiteña del siglo XVIII (Roman Law Studies at the University of Quito) in the XVIII Century, in Ruptura, the Annual Magazine of the School of Law Association, No. 32, PUCE, Quito, 1988, pp. 85-91. (Original in Spanish)
  • El régimen jurídico laboral antes de la expedición del Código del Trabajo (The Legal Labor System as it relates to the Issuance of the Labor Code), Magazine of the Catholic University of Ecuador, No. 40, pp. 327-360. (Original in Spanish)
  • La organización y el funcionamiento de la Administración Pública: 1883 - 1892 (The Public Administration’s Organization and Operation: 1883-1892), Department of History, PUCE, Quito, 1981, 120 pages. (Original in Spanish)
  • El derecho y la fundación del Estado: notas para una interpretación histórica de la Constitución de 1830 (The Law and the Establishment of the State: Notes for a Historical Interpretation of the 1830 Constitution), in “Cultura”, No. 6, Quito, 1980. (Original in Spanish)
  • Alternativas para una justicia eficaz: los medios no procesales para la solución de conflictos (Alternatives for Efficient Justice: the non-procedural remedies for dispute resolution), in Ruptura, the Annual Magazine of the School of Law Association, PUCE, Quito, 1994. (Original in Spanish)
  • Medios alternativos al proceso en la solución de conflictos, en "Medios alternativos en la solución de conflictos legales” (Alternative Means for Dispute Resolution, in “Alternative Means for Resolution of Legal Disputes”), National Corporate Editorial, Quito, 1994. (Original in Spanish)
  • ¿Qué enseñar? El problema de los contenidos en la enseñanza jurídica (What to Teach?  The Issue Involving Content in Legal Education, PUCE, Quito, 1989.  (Original in Spanish)
  • La enseñanza del Derecho como actividad subversiva (Legal Education as Subversive Activity, Magazine of the Catholic University of Ecuador), No. 7, Quito, 1976. (Original in Spanish)
  • La enseñanza legal en la sociedad subdesarrollada, en "Derecho" (Legal Education in an Underdeveloped Society, in “Law”), Magazine of the Academic Legal Program of the Pontificia Catholic University of Peru, No. 31, Lima, 1974. (Original in Spanish)

Involvement

  • Andean Commission of Jurists
  • Ecuadorian Institute of Arbitration
  • Colegio de Abogados de Quito
  • American Society of International Law
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Bar Admissions

  • Admitted only in Ecuador; not engaged in the practice of law in the District of Columbia.