The Evolution of French Arbitration Law

The Evolution of French Arbitration Law: Teachings from Recent Case Law, a talk by Judge Fabienne Schaller. 

Please register here.

Judge Fabienne Schaller served as President in the International Commercial Chamber of the Paris Court of Appeal (ICCP-CA) from its creation in 2018 until 2025. The chamber was established to hear complex international commercial disputes and arbitration related cases, with proceedings conducted in English and French. In that role, she contributed to the development of the Paris Court of Appeal’s jurisprudence in matters relating to international arbitration and cross-border commercial litigation.

Prior to joining the ICCP-CA, she served as an appellate judge in the Commercial Division of the Paris Court of Appeal (2016–2018), specializing in transport law, unfair competition, agency, and wrongful termination of contracts. From 2014 to 2016, she sat in the white-collar crime division of the High Court of Paris.

Between 2008 and 2014, she worked at the French Ministry of Justice, where she participated in negotiations on EU directives concerning procedural safeguards in criminal proceedings and in the drafting of several international conventions within the Council of Europe.

Admitted to the Paris and New York Bars, Judge Schaller practiced as a lawyer in both cities before joining the French judiciary in 1997. She holds a Master’s degree in law from Paris Nanterre University and an LL.M. in Trade Regulation from New York University School of Law.

She currently serves at the Court of Appeal of Lyon as President of the Audience de Règlement Amiable (ARA), contributing to the development of court-based dispute resolution mechanisms and judicial mediation in commercial, civil and labour matters. She also teaches international arbitration law at Université Paris-Panthéon-Assas and regularly speaks at international conferences on arbitration and the interaction between arbitral tribunals and national courts.

She has been an active member of the Standing International Forum of Commercial Courts (SIFoCC) since 2018 and was appointed in 2024 to its Steering Group for a five year term.