G. Matteo Vaccaro-Incisa
Arbitrator, Counsel, Academic
Legal expertise:
International Arbitration,
International Economic Law,
Public International Law
Field expertise:
Steel, Raw materials,
Trading, Shipping, Energy, Concessions
Geographic expertise:
EU, China,
Latin America,
Western Balkans
Linguistic expertise:
Italian, English,
French, Spanish,
Serbian, Croatian, Greek
G. Matteo Vaccaro-Incisa
Arbitrator, Academic, Counsel
Public International Law, International Economic Law, International Dispute Settlement
Steel, raw materials, concessions, trading, shipping
EU, China, Latin America, Western Balkans
Italian, English, French, Spanish, Serbian and Croatian, Greek
Dual-qualified attorney-at-law (Spain, Italy) specializing in international dispute settlement and international contract negotiation in four languages (English, Spanish, French, and Italian).
Today, I am an independent arbitrator, counsel, and academic.
In principle, I believe lawyers have a duty to develop and maintain at all times a solid command of ethics and good faith and lead by example accordingly, within the profession as well as in the wider societal context.
Specializing in international arbitration and contract negotiation since 2009 (in English, French, Spanish, and Italian). Between early 2021 and late 2023, I led the international law & dispute settlement area at Carnelutti Law Firm (Milan).
My practice of law is selectively engaged in international business and investment matters (as arbitrator, expert, and counsel).
Included by the EU on the original list of arbitrators for the settlement of disputes under EU trade agreements (June 2022), I am also indicated on the lists with the arbitration courts of, e.g., Kuala Lumpur (AIAC), London (LCIA), Belgrade (BAC), and Madrid (CIAM).
I served as an arbitrator in commercial disputes and, as counsel and expert, in international arbitration proceedings under different sets of rules (e.g., UNCITRAL, SCC, ICC, CAM, ICSID), as well as in investment cases in connection with complex questions of jurisdiction, comparative law, and States’ treaty practice (notably, China and Italy).
In international contract negotiations, I advised clients in different areas of business – from crypto-assets to world-record engineering projects and, nowadays frequently, steel and raw materials, freighting and shipping, and international quality marks and accreditation processes.
I believe that an international legal profile is hadly complete if it does not engage with academic research (and teaching).
Indeed, academia has always been an integral part of my specialization.
Currently, I am Visiting Senior Fellow at the University of Lincoln (UK), plus I teach the modules of public international law, international investment law, and investment arbitration within the course of European Business Law at Bocconi University (Milan).
Previously, I received the prestigious Jean Monnet Senior Fellowship at the European University Institute (Florence, 2019-2020), and served as Professeur-Chercheur at the Institut d’Économie Scientifique et de Gestion (Paris, 2016-2019), as Marie-Curie Researcher and Teaching Fellow at Bocconi University (Milan, 2012-2015), and as Permanent Visiting Professor at the Catholic University of Lille (Lille, 2010-2016).
I have been a visiting scholar at Durham (2019), Sydney (2018), Hong Kong (2017), Melbourne (2016), Buenos Aires (2015), and Belgrade (2014).
I have also lectured at ESSEC and Grenoble Schools of Management, and at the University of Geneva.
My publication record delves into issues of international economic law, public international law, and international dispute settlement, including a monograph on China’s treaty policy & practice in international investment law & arbitration (Brill, 2021).
Research is typically carried out via comparative analyses and takes into account the relevant macroeconomics, policy, and political aspects and rationale.
In addition to having taught courses in various strands of public international law, international economic law, and international dispute settlement, I also taught techniques & ethics of legal writing and oral advocacy for international courts and tribunals (in English), including to the Italian, French, and Swiss representatives participating in international law moot courts (Jessup, Telders, FIAMC, Vis).
Admittedly, born into a family quite accustomed with legal specializations. Father’s side features several lawyers and judges, while mother belonged to an ancient Italian family featuring prominent servants in diplomacy and the military (however, she was an architect). My full surname reflects me being the last leaf of this branch of that family.
Father is a well-known attorney-at-law in Italy’s media & telecom sector, which influenced my early specialization. However, the passion for foreign languages and cultures eventually led me elsewhere professionally.
Besides Italy (Florence, Milan), I lived in Los Angeles, Geneva, and Paris; between 2013 and 2018, both to carry out and present my academic research, I spent about a year and a half in Australia (Melbourne and Sydney), and half a year, respectively, in Buenos Aires and Hong Kong. Over the years, I also spent significant time in Serbia, Greece, and Kenya.
I am a supporter of international law student competitions, to which I have taken part as a participant (Vis, Jessup), coach (Jessup, Telders, FIAMC), mock judge/arbitrator (Vis, Jessup, Telders, FIAMC), as well as founder and administrator of what is now called the UNICUM International Friendly Rounds (for the Telders Moot Court).
The latter is now carried out via UNICUM association, which I have the honor to chair and is devoted to the promotion of advanced education (and values) in international law and advocacy.
My white hair streak is natural.
Arbitration philosophy
Undivided attention.
Not everything is about economies of scale. In my view, arbitration quite certainly is not …
Publications
Book chapter on "The International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes" in OUP's "The International Law of Economic Integration"
National security in national and international investment law: the case of Italy
Economic Integration via Novel Investment Agreements: the China-EU Agreement on Investment's Focus on Market Access vis-à-vis the Current BITs Between China and EU Member States
China’s Treaty Policy and Practice in International Investment Law and Arbitration: a Comparative and Analitical Study
Rubicon or Maginot? What’s the line on Dutch resistance to post-pandemic recovery plans?
Le ragioni dell’Olanda (The reasons of the Netherlands)
Investor-State arbitration clauses limited to compensation due to expropriation: a review
Preliminary thoughts on the conceptual compatibility between annulment grounds in ICSID and civil law systems featuring a Cour de Cassation. A comparative analysis, in the context of ISDS reform
Objective criteria and ratione legis condition in the definition of investment
Crimea Investment Disputes: are jurisdictional hurdles being overcome too easily?
The EU investment court: challenges on the path ahead
Crimea's Secession from Ukraine and Accession to the Russian Federation as an Instance of North(-West) v. South(-East) Divide in the Understanding of International Law
Protection of Foreign Investment and the EU: Framework, Legal Risks, and First Fruits
Review of the book “Corruption – Economic Analysis and International Law” published on Cambridge’s Leiden Journal of International Law
Highlights
NOTE: This page is updated annually (typically, in August).
Ad Honorem
Dr. Vaccaro-Incisa invited to present his pro bono work at the International Court of Justice
Jun. 2026Dr. Vaccaro-Incisa has been invited to address the audience, in the Great Hall of Justice of the Peace Palace and before the Court, and present his decade-long engagement in founding and organizing the UNICUM International Friendly Rounds in support of the Telders International Moot Court Competition on International Law, aiming to promote a better understanding of international legal values and sensitivity, as well as the development of public speaking skills in the next generation of lawyers.Publications
Book chapter on "The International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes", authored by Dr. Vaccaro-Incisa, published
Jun. 2025 Dr. Vaccaro-Incisa authored an analysis on the contribution of the International Convention for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) to the evolution of the field of International Economic Law. The article is featured as Chapter 9 of the book edited by Prof. J. Chaisse and Prof. C. Herrmann, titled “The International Law of Economic Integration” and published by Oxford University Press.Speaking Engagements
Speaking at the European-China Law Studies Association annual conference on the latest Chinese Investment Agreements (Barcelona, Spain)
Sept. 2026 On 8 Sept. 2026, during the annual conference of the European-China Law Studies Association, Dr. Vaccaro-Incisa will present his review of the latest Chinese Investment Agreements, in an update of his 2021 monograph work on China Treaty Policy and Practice in International Investment Law & Arbitration (Brill).Representative Experience
Expert Opinion for the Supreme Court of New York
Sept. 2025Dr. Vaccaro-Incisa delivered an expert opinion to the Supreme Court of the State of New York, in the context of a dispute between Italian and American entities over the interpretation and application of Italian and New York law.Pro Bono Publico
9th edition of the International Friendly Rounds for the Telders Moot Court
21-23 May 2026 Through Associazione UNICUM, Dr. Matteo Vaccaro-Incisa serves once again as administrator for the 2026 International Friendly Rounds for the Telders International Law Moot Court Competition. This will be the last time for Dr. Vaccaro-Incisa, as the Association will soon welcome a new Chair. Thanks to the good offices of Professor Marko Jovanovic, the event will take place at the Law Faculty of the University of Belgrade on 21-23 May 2026, and it is co-sponsored by law Ashurst LLP. The event will be attended by 8 national representatives and over 30 international law & moot court experts.Linguistic Skills
Native
Professional working proficiency
Professional working proficiency
Professional working proficiency
Conversational
Conversational
Basic
Video
When the pandemic struck Italy, Italians were at first mandated not to leave their homes – and this, for about two months. The business schedule overwhelmed, and finding myself quite bothered by the lack of completeness or neutrality of the information offered by mainstream media and “opinion leaders” on a range of domestic and international issues, I decided to devote the forcible free time to learning something new, i.e., some video-making, hash-tagged #reflectionisnotpollution (and the Italian equivalent #pensarenoninquina).
