Juan Eduardo Figueroa Valdes
FIHS Abogados

Apoquindo Avenue 3669, 11th floor
Las Condes district, Santiago
Chile

Juan Eduardo Figueroa Valdes

Senior Partner FIHS Abogados, 1984-present.

Former judge of the Supreme Court of Chile (2015- 2018). Experienced with working in the field of real estate and construction for more than 35 years in Chile, giving legal support in all stages of the business to construction companies and real estate companies. Extensive experience in legal counseling in matters of Urban, Civil, Commercial, Real Estate, Environmental and Tax law in the development of urban and rural projects. Legal Advisor for the U.S. and Peruvian Embassy in Santiago Chile in real estate transactions. Expert advisor for the Chilean Chamber  of Construction in issues of construction law.  Legal counsel for the Real Estate Association of Chile (ACOP Camara Nacional de Servicios Inmobiliarios A.G.). Chambers and Partners Latin America 2012 – 2022 recognized me as one of the Notable Practitioner in real estate and construction in Chile. Who´s Who construction 2018-2022 recognized me as a leader in this field. Urbanism and Construction Law Professor, 1999-present, Law Faculty, University of Los Andes, Chile. Mediation and arbitration professor, Law Faculty, University of Los Andes, Chile 2005 – present. Recent construction projects include: representation of owners of one of the biggest and most important convention centers in Santiago, Chile, Santiago Convention and Exhibition Center; representation of owners at ENEA, a real estate company aimed to urban development near the International Airport in Santiago, Chile, where industries, offices, housing projects, parks, recreational areas and highways are integrated; representation of general constructors such as Inmobiliaria Pebal Limitada, Inmobiliaria y Asesorias Las Rocas Ltda, etc, builders and real estate companies with ongoing housing projects of apartment buildings in the cities of Santiago and Concepcion in Chile; representation of a general construction, Constructora Raúl del Rio S.A., which develops different projects both in the private sector as well as in the public sector, such as the Ministry of Works, Governmental Institutions and others; and various other projects.

Alternative Dispute Resolution Experience

Co-Arbitrator in ICC arbitration between a Peruvian company and a Canadian-Swedish and Chinese consortium regarding a contract for the execution of a hydroelectric plant in Peru.

Co-arbitrator in public concession works in an airport construction case in Atacama Chile.

Sole arbitrator in International Arbitration, administrated by CAM Santiago, between a chilean electricity company and italian equipment supplier, for two large solar plants in the Chilean desert.

Chair Arbitral Tribunal, in ICC arbitration on Contract for the provision of services for Manufacture, Transportation and Mounting of Camp, Hydroelectric Project, located in the cordilleran zone of the Maule Region of Chile.

Chair Arbitral Tribunal, in ICC arbitration on EPC contract construction, of Bioethanol Production Plant, in Montevideo, Uruguay.

Co-arbitrator, arbitration before CAM Santiago, Sub-Contract for construction of Guacolda Thermoelectric Plant;

Sole Arbitrator in an ICC case of an EPC construction contract of a biodiesel gas plant in Argentina, between an spanish and an argentinean company; Arbitrator in an ad hoc arbitration case (UNCITRAL rules) between a chilean and a german company concerning a joint venture for a construction contract of a mining power plant; Co-arbitrator in International Arbitration before the Bolivian Chamber of Commerce in La Paz, in the arbitration of a highway project.

Serve as an arbitrator on the Chilean Chamber of Commerce panel in Santiago from 1998-present. Disputes resolutions in cases related to construction and works, Building Contractual Claims; Building Defects; Building Delay Quantum – Construction Costs; Civil engineering Delay Quantum -Construction Costs; Coastal Engineering; Defects in Structures; Engineering Geology; Environmental Engineering; Foundation Engineering; Heavy Civil Engineering; Highway Engineering; Hydraulic Engineering -Hydrology; Landscape Design; Project Management; Project Planning and Programming; Public Utility Engineering; Reinforced Concrete; Structural Engineering; Structural Steelwork; Other Mining construction projects. real estate, insurance, commercial companies, e-commerce, environmental law, succession law and trusts, in more than 40 cases, including ad-hoc private arbitration. Also served as an expert witness in International Arbitration before the ICSID, in the arbitration of the MTD case v. the Republic of Chile.

Serve as a Chairman of Dispute Adjudication Boards, in Honduras, Central America, 2023.

Serve as a Chairman of Dispute Boards Codelco vs Geovitta; Chairman of Dispute Boards Codelco vs Soletanche Bachy; Chairman of Dispute Boards Codelco vs Constructora Gardilcic and Chairman of Dispute Boards Codelco Andina vs Constructora Gardilcic. Arbitrator- Avaluator of the International Competition of Arbitration, Buenos Aires University, September 2011 – 2014. Arbitrator at Brasil Canada Chamber of Commerce, since 2012 and Arbitration at Sao Paulo Institute of Engineering, since 2014.

Alternative Dispute Resolution Training

ICC Institute Advanced Level Training: The Conduct of the Proceedings and Case Management – The Arbitrator’s Perspective, ICC International Chamber of Commerce, April 2019, Paris Francia; Workshop for Arbitrators “Disputes in Construction Projects”, IDIEM and CAM Santiago, Chile, November 2016; Workshop Dispute Boards (DRBF), Sao Paulo, Brazil, 2014, for training as chair of DB; Fellow CIArb, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, 2013. School of International Arbitration, Queen Mary University London and Chilean Chamber of Commerce, workshop, September 2011; AAA/ICDR Neutrals Conference, 2010; ICC Institute Masterclass for Arbitrators: Overview of Fundamentals and Best Practices Related to Serving as an Arbitrador, 2009; IAAP, International Chamber of Commerce, Workshop, 2007; ICC, Current Issues in ICC Arbitration: What You Need to Know to Enhance Your International Practice, 2006; ICDR International Symposium, 2006; ICDR, Smooth Sailing International Arbitration in Spain and the Americas, 2004; Advanced Course of International Commercial Arbitration: Advanced Techniques for Handling an International Arbitration Case, Washington College of Law, American University, 2004; The Arbitration of International Chamber of Commerce, Chilean Chamber of Commerce of Santiago: Chapter of the International Commercial Chamber, 1999; Course of International Arbitration, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, 1998.

Professional Licenses Admitted to the Bar, Chile, 1984.

Professional Associations

Fellow of The International Academy of Construction Lawyers, Former Counsel and former vice president of the Chilean Society of Construction law; Member of the latin american group of the ICC and Chilean Chapter of it. Asociación Latinoamericana de Arbitraje, Comité de Construcción; Instituto Brasileiro de Direito da construção; Colegio de Abogados de Chile (Chilean Bar Association) (Former Counsel); Camara Chilena de la Construccion (Chilean Chamber of Construction) (Chair of Law Commission); Interamerican Bar Association (Former Counsel), Former member of Dispute Resolution Board Foundation (DRBF).

Education

Universidad de Chile, Santiago (Law-1984); Heidelberg University – Chile University (LL.M., Laws in International Law, Trade, Investment and International Arbitration 2006-2007); Universidad del Desarrollo, Santiago Chile (Concessions of Public Works-2002) and Universidad Gabriela Mistral, Santiago Chile (MS, Economics and Administration for Lawyers-1995).

Some Publications and Speaking Engagements

“The arbitral tribunal-appointed expert. A Swiss approach”, ICC Institute of World Business Law Newsletter, 19° edition, and Construction Law Journal, Volúmen 38 Nº 7, 2022;

“Urbanismo y Construcción”, tercera edición, Der Ediciones, Marzo 2022;

“La distribución de los riesgos en los contratos colaborativos de construcción. Derecho & Sociedad”, Revista Derecho y Sociedad, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, 2021;

“Construction and Arbitration”, Der Ediciones, August 2019;

“Duty of Disclosure of the Arbitrator in International Commercial Arbitration, Revista de Arbitraje Universidad Austral de Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2018;

“Chapter on Chile”, from the book Anti-corruption Laws and Regulations, A Global Guide, in co-authorship with Sergio Huidobro Martínez, directed by Editor Roberto Hernández García, published by Globe Law and Business Ltd., 2018;

“The use of the multi-tiered clauses of alternative solution of conflicts in the construction contracts: Utility, problems and solutions”, in collective work Construction Law. Dogmatic and practical analysis, DER Ediciones, November 2017;

“The Emergency Arbitration: Its Usefulness and Future Prospects”, Argentina Arbitration Magazine No. 1, October 2017;

“Good practices for the best conduct of the procedure in international commercial arbitration”, Revista Ecuatoriana, August 2016;

“The Role of Dispute Boards in the Construction Industry”, International Arbitration Law Review, Vol. 20, 2017;

“Dispute Boards in Infrastructure Construction Projects in Chile”, PUCP Arbitration Magazine, 2016;

“Dispute Boards in Infrastructure Construction Projects in Chile”, Soluções de Disputas in Contratos de Contrução na América Latina, Arbitragem me Mediação Center, Brazil, October 2016;

“La Autonomía de los Árbitros y la Intervención Judicial”, Revista Arbitraje PUCP, Año IV Nº4, septiembre 2014.

“The International Comparative Legal Guide to: International Arbitration 2014”, Legal Global Group.

“Dispute Boards la visión de las partes y su co-existencia con los contratos administrativos. Experiencia en Chile”, Biblioteca de Arbitraje del Estudio Mario Castillo Freyre, Agosto 2014, Volúmen 23.

“The Dispute Boards in International Construction Projects,” Revista Rumana de Arbitraje, Nº 3, June 2011.

“El convenio arbitral, la ley de fondo y la aplicación en particular de los Principios de Unidroit,” Tratado de Derecho Arbitral, el Convenio Arbitral, Tomo I, Director Carlos Alberto Soto Coaguila, Perú, March 2011.

“El Arbitraje en los Contratos de Concesiones de Obras Publicas en Chile. Incorporacion de los Dispute Boards o Paneles Tecnicos o de Expertos,” Revista Brasilera de Arbitragem, no. 20, April 2009.

“Dispute Boards,” SEMANA JURIDICA, no. 347, Chile, July 2007.

“The Private Contract of Construction and Ex Aequo et Bono Arbitration,” LEGAL GAZETTE, no. 324, Chile, June 2007.

“The Principle of Kompetenz-Kompetenz In International Commercial Arbitration” Mealey’s INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION REPORT, vol. 22, May, June and July 2007.

Co-author, “Urbanismo y Construcción, “LEXIS NEXIS, Santiago, Chile, March 2006.

“The New Chilean Law on International Commercial Arbitration”, article prized by Interamerican Bar Association in the Conference XLI, Buenos Aires, Argentina, published in Revista de Arbitragem e Mediacao, Editora Revista Dos Tribunais, Brasil, Julho, Setembro 2005, and Gaceta Juridica, Santiago – Chile, September 2005;

“Arbitration Online in International Commerce,” ECONIMIST & JURIST N 85, see also www.camsantiago.cl, June 2004.

“Ethics in Internacional Arbitration,” Mealey’s International Arbitration Report, vol. 18, no. 7, July 2003.

“La Resolucion de Controversias en la Ley de Concesiones de Obras Publicas Chilena,”Centro de Arbitrajes Camara de Comercio de Santiago, Chile, July 2003.

“Regimen Legal del Subsuelo Urbano,” Derecho y Jurisprudencia, tomo XCVII N 3, 2000; “Mega-Proyectos Inmobiliarios y Medio Ambiente,” EDITORIAL JURIDICA CONO-SUR, 1997.

“Objetivos y Principios Ley 19.300 Sobre Bases Generales del Medio Ambiente” El Gran Catalogo Chileno del Medio Ambiente, October 1996, September 1998, Tomo II, 1997.

“Las Garantias Constitucionales del Contribuyente en la Constitucion Politica de 1980,” EDITORIAL JURIDICA CHILE, 1985.


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