Alberto Wray

I am an experienced international litigator and arbitrator with a focus on Latin America.

Alberto Wray (Quito, 1946) is an International Counsel in Foley Hoag’s Washington D.C. office. His practice focuses on international litigation and arbitration, particularly representing sovereign States before international arbitration tribunals.

During his over forty years of experience he has intervened as a litigator, as a judge or as an arbitrator in cases covering a broad range of subject matters, including commercial contracts, administrative concessions, licenses and permits, environmental issues, and dam construction and hydraulic infrastructure, airport, and road projects. Chambers and Partners has recognized him among foreign experts as a "seasoned litigator" with a "very good understanding of Latin American matters."

He has served as arbitrator in proceedings before ICSID and the ICC, as well as in numerous domestic arbitrations in Ecuador.

A trial lawyer with extensive experience, Alberto served as a judge of the Supreme Court of Justice of Ecuador, and was 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.

Related Industries

Sovereign States

Related Practices

Education

Catholic University of Ecuador, JD, 1973

Bar and Court Admissions

BAR ADMISSIONS

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

Languages

Spanish

Experience

INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION/DISPUTE RESOLUTION

Member of the team representing Peru in a claim based on for the design, construction, financing, conservation and operation of the Multipurpose North Terminal of the Port of Callao. The claimant seeks more than US $75.5 million. (APM Terminals Callao S.A. v. Republic of Peru, ICSID Case No. ARB/21/28).
Member of the team representing the Republic of Peru in an ICSID arbitration brought by a Spanish company under the Spain-Peru BIT related to certain tax measures applied to the claimant's investments and operations (Telefonica S.A. v. Republic of Peru, ICSID Case No. ARB/21/10).
Member of the team representing the Dominican Republic in an arbitration under UNCITRAL rules initiated by a French national under the Dominican Republic-France Bilateral Investment Treaty, arising from the rescission of a waste management concession agreement (Yves Martin Garnier v. Dominican Republic, PCA Case No. 2022-01).
Member of the team representing Peru in an ICSID brought by the Houston-based Dutch subsidiary of Quanta Services under the Peru-Netherlands Bilateral Investment Treaty, related to the alleged improper termination of contracts to design, build and operate telecommunications networks in rural areas of Peru (Quanta Services Netherlands B.V. v. Republic of Peru, ICSID Case No. ARB/21/1).
Member of the team representing Peru in an ICSID arbitration related with a highway concession initiated by a constructor and operator of a toll road affected by social protests (Desarrollo Vial de los Andes v. Republic of Peru, ICSID Case No. ARB/20/18).
Member of the team representing the Republic of Peru in a UNCITRAL arbitration related to alleged violations in the bidding processes carried out for the operation of lots in Peru (Bacilio Amorrortu v. Republic of Peru, PCA Case No. 2020-11). Member of the team representing the Republic of Peru in this second UNCITRAL arbitration in which the Claimant brings a second claim for alleged violations of the Peru-United States Trade Promotion Agreement related to alleged irregularities in the direct contracting request and subsequent bidding process for the operation and exploitation of certain oil blocks off the Peruvian coast (Bacilio Amorrortu v. Republic of Peru, PCA Case No. 2023-22).
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).
Member of the team that represented the Republic of Panama in a UNCITRAL arbitration administered by ICSID, initiated under the bilateral investment treaty between the Kingdom of Spain and the Republic of Panama by a Spanish construction company related to the Panama Canal expansion project (Sacyr S.A. v. Republic of Panama, ICSID Case No. UNCT/18/6).
Member of the team representing the Republic of Peru in a claim related to the construction of a metro system for the city of Lima (Metro de Lima Línea 2 S.A. v. Republic of Peru, ICSID Case No. ARB/17/3).
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).
Member of the team representing a Nicaraguan company against a Colombian and Panamanian conglomerate in a commercial arbitration under ICC rules (ICC 2048/JPA and ICC 2050/JPA).
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).
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).
Member of the team representing El Salvador in a claim related with the termination of a geothermal energy Project (Enel Green Power S.p.A. v. Republic of El Salvador, ICSID Case No. ARB/13/18).
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).
Member of the team that represented Venezuela in several arbitrations under the ICSID Additional Facility Agreement Rules related with mining concessions (Vannessa Ventures Ltd. v. Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, ICSID Case No. ARB(AF)/04/6). (Gold Reserve. v. Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, ICSID Case No. ARB(AF)/09/1). (Crystallex International Corporation v. Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, ICSID Case No. ARB(AF)/11/2). (Rusoro Mining Ltd. v. Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, ICSID Case No. ARB(AF)/12/5).
Member of the team that represented the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in a case brought before ICSID by European subsidiaries of an Argentine group under the bilateral investment treaties with Luxembourg and Portugal, related to the alleged expropriation of a hot briquetted iron (HBI) plant. The Arbitral Tribunal issued an award reducing damages to less than one quarter of the amount originally claimed. Representation of the Republic in rectification and annulment proceedings (TENARIS S.A. and TALTA – Trading e Marketing Sociedade Unipessoal Lda. v. Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, ICSID Case No. ARB/11/26) (TENARIS S.A. and TALTA – Trading e Marketing Sociedade Unipessoal Lda. v. Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, ICSID Case No. ARB/12/23).
Member of the team that represented the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in a case brought before ICSID under the Spain-Venezuela bilateral investment treaty related to the food production sector. The Tribunal rejected the claimants' expropriation claim but awarded damages of US $430 million based on violations of the fair and equitable treatment clause (one third less than originally claimed) (Valores Mundiales, S.L. and Consorcio Andino, S.L. v. Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, ICSID Case No. ARB/13/11).
Member of the team that represented Ecuador in a UNCITRAL arbitration involving an alleged denial of justice (Merck Sharp & Dohme (I.A.) Corporation v. the Republic of Ecuador, UNCITRAL, PCA Case No. 2012-10).
Member 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).
Member of El Salvador’s representation in a claim related with the termination of a mining concession (Pac Rim Cayman LLC v. Republic of El Salvador, ICSID Case No. ARB/09/12).
Lead counsel for Ecuador before a tribunal under the UNCITRAL Rules, in an ICC-administered dispute brought by a Spanish company under the Spain-Ecuador BIT, related to the installation and setting up of a deposit and transport system for liquefied petroleum gas at a maritime terminal (Case ICC/UNC-161).

Other Publications

BOOKS

Derecho Procesal Constitucional (Constitutional Procedural Law), Editorial del Colegio de Jurisprudencia de la Universidad San Francisco de Quito. Projusticia, Quito 2002. (Original in Spanish)
El pensamiento jurídico ecuatoriano (Ecuadorian Legal Thinking), Biblioteca Básica del Pensamiento Ecuatoriano, Corporación Editora Nacional, Quito, 1998. (Original in Spanish)
Diagnóstico sobre el estado de la enseñanza del Derecho en el Ecuador (Assessment of the Situation of Legal Education in Ecuador), Projusticia, 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 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)
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)
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)