The International and Ibero-American Arbitration Center of Madrid (CIIAM) incorporated into its Plenary three jurists of recognized prestige: José Astigarraga, Andrea Orta and Eugenio Ribón.
With these appointments, the CIIAM strengthens its institutional structure with international profiles that bring a solid track record in the public and private sectors.
The Plenary is the supervisory and oversight body of the CIIAM. Its responsibilities include approving the institution’s strategic guidelines and internal regulations, as well as appointing the other governing bodies. In accordance with the CIIAM Statutes, the Plenary comprises 16 members of diverse nationalities, with extensive experience as arbitrators, lawyers in law firms, in-house counsel, and leaders in academia.
With the new appointments, the composition of the CIAM Plenary is as follows: José María Alonso (Spain), José Astigarraga (USA/Cuba), Eliana Baraldi (Brazil), Urquiola de Palacio (Spain), Adolfo Díaz-Ambrona (Spain), Javier Íscar (Spain),
María José Menéndez (Spain), José Ignacio Monedero (Spain), Andrea Orta (Mexico), Elena Otero-Novas (Spain), Giulio Palermo (Switzerland/Italy), Eugenio Ribón (Spain), Francisco Ruiz Risueño (Spain), María Agnes Salah (Chile), Juan Serrada (Spain) and Ximena Vial (Chile).
Thus, the termination of the mandate of Josef Fröhlingsdorf, Pilar Perales, Emilio Ramírez and Julio César Rivera is made effective, to whom the Center expresses its gratitude and recognition for the great work carried out during the exercise of their position and for having contributed decisively to the good functioning and development of the institution.
New members of the CIIAM Plenary
José Astigarraga (USA/Cuba) is a renowned lawyer and international arbitrator specializing in complex commercial disputes, particularly those with a cross-border dimension and strong ties to Latin America. He founded the firm Astigarraga Davis and later joined Reed Smith, where he leads international arbitration, mediation, and multi-jurisdictional litigation cases.
Andrea Orta (Mexico), founder of Orta GS, has over 16 years of experience in dispute resolution and corporate and transactional matters in the infrastructure, transportation, energy, corporate, and financial sectors. She has participated in national and international arbitrations as counsel, sole arbitrator, president of the arbitral tribunal, co-arbitrator, emergency arbitrator, and secretary of the arbitral tribunal.
Finally, Eugenio Ribón (Spain), Dean of the Madrid Bar Association (ICAM) and President of the Spanish Association of Consumer Law (AEDC), is an expert in Consumer Law and has spearheaded some of the most significant legal actions in defense of consumer and user rights. He has also trained more than 8,000 professionals in consumer law cases to represent victims in bar associations throughout Spain.
Internationally, he has represented Spain in European bodies, participated in the EU-Japan Dialogue and collaborated with the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office and the European Commission in the process of enlargement of the European Union.
