Daniela De Palma

Managing Associate

daniela.depalma@belex.com

Main office: Milan

Expertise

Banking and finance, with particular expertise in:
- project financing and project bonds
- advice on tenders
- infrastructures and transport law
- drafting and negotiation of financial documents, project documents and legal opinions

Key sectors:
- infrastructures
- energy

Foreign languages: English

Background

Member of the Africa Team

Joined the firm in 2012

Qualifications

Member of the Italian Bar
Master’s degree in banking and finance law from the Queen Mary University of London
Law degree from the University of Milan

Knowledge Sharing

The latest developments in the Ethiopian banking industry

The latest Council of Ministers meeting earlier this month approved the long-awaited policy that allows foreign investors to invest in the Ethiopian banking industry. Given that foreign banks stopped operating in Ethiopia when the Derg took power, the opening-up of the banking industry is ex …

US Supreme Court on Discovery: private international arbitrations do not qualify as foreign or international tribunals under Section 1782 of the U.S. Code

On 13 June 2022 a long-awaited ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court decided that private adjudicatory bodies do not count as “foreign or international tribunals” under Section 1782 of the U.S. Code, not even where a sovereign is a party. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the test to be carri …

ICSID has amended its Rules

On 21 March 2022, the ICSID Member States approved wide-ranging amendments to the ICSID Institution Rules, Arbitration Rules and the Additional Facility Rules, which will come into effect on 1 July 2022. The new rules aim to streamline procedures improving efficiency, increasing transparency, a …

Enforcement risk for failure to pay tax on capital gains realised by non-Egyptian residents on the sale of unlisted securities

Capital gains tax has always been an issue for non-Egyptian resident entities. And since the Ministry of Finance issued guidelines in December 2020 on capital gains realised by non-residents on the sale of securities (i.e., shares and quotas) not listed on the Egyptian Stock Exchange, the ET …

Initial comments on the arbitration reform

On December 9 the framework law to reform civil proceedings was published in the Official Gazette. Some of the proposed changes introduced in the world of arbitration, such as granting arbitrators powers to order interim relief, are of historic importance, whilst others appear less significan …

UK Supreme Court confirms rift between England and France on law governing arbitration agreements

In the absence of an express choice of law governing arbitration agreements, which law applies and why does it matter? The UK Supreme Court recently dealt with this question in the Kabab-Ji case and reached a different conclusion than the French Court of Appeal. Our

Two more nails in the coffin of investment arbitration in the EU

Two recent decisions by the Court of Justice of the EU confirm the doctrine of incompatibility of investment arbitration with EU law and expand its scope to arbitral proceedings based on ad hoc arbitration agreements and multilateral treaties. Our

Waiting for the much-desired Supreme Court’s clarification of Section 1782 discovery applications in international commercial arbitration

The discovery application in private international arbitration, as provided for under Title 28 of the U.S. Code, Section 1782, has been debated in US Federal Courts, with conflicting decisions from the Circuit Courts. The clarification from the U.S. Supreme Court in Servotronics Inc. v. Rolls-R …

ICC Arbitration Rules 2021

New Arbitration Rules of the ICC will enter into force on 1 January 2021 and will apply to proceedings commenced after that date. The 2021 Rules reflect the most recent trends in the industry (e.g., transparency, the digital transition, flexibility and streamlining of the proceedings), witho …

Covid-19 and Egyptian Law Key Issues: Amendments to personal income tax law

The Covid-19 outbreak in Egypt and in many areas of the Middle East and North Africa has led to a public health emergency and unforeseen challenges for businesses. It has also led to uncertainties, including from a tax/legal perspective. No doubt you are asking yourself many questions, espec …

Covid-19: impact on construction companies’ arbitrations

In the current Covid-19 scenario dispute finance can be a useful alternative to corporate finance tools. Government-imposed shutdowns are having serious financial implications for construction companies involved in international projects. Managers are having to choose between competing prio …

The United States, Mexico and Canada Agreement (“USMCA”)

With the conclusion of the ratification process, the United States Mexico and Canada Agreement (USMCA) is set to enter into force on July 1, 2020. The USMCA, replacing the NAFTA, will notably limit the scope of using arbitration to resolve investment disputes to those concerning violation of …

Maritime disputes and arbitration during Covid-19: current trends and future prospects

Which is the impact of the COVID-19 emergency in international arbitration? Our Shipping & Transport Focus Team and International Arbitration Focus Team give an overview of the measures adopted by the arbitral institutions, including those specialized in maritime disputes, to facilitate …

Latest from the US

Recent US cases regarding discovery and challenges of award deserve attention. Our International Arbitration Focus Team comments US decisions on: Discovery under Section 1782 admitted for commercial arbitration The extraterritorial reach of discovery under Section 17 …

The ICSID Rules Amendment Proposals #3: a good chance to increase consensus?

On 16 August 2019, ICSID issued for the third time its proposals for amendment of its rules. The proposals aim to respond to the main challenges and criticism of the ICSID system in the last decades, such as those relating to transparency in the conduct and outcome of proceedings, disclosure …

Going beyond Trump’s wall: the extraterritorial reach of Section 1782 to discovery

In a recent decision dated 7 October 2019 (In re del Valle Ruiz, 2019 WL 4924395), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that a Federal Court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1782 may order a party within its jurisdiction to produce documents located outside of the United State …

The revised Milan Chamber of Arbitration Rules: Leading the way in arbitral procedure

On 1 March 2019, the Milan Chamber of Arbitration issued its revised Rules on Arbitration, which apply to all proceedings commenced after that date. The CAM Rules seek to incorporate the innovations that have emerged in the last decade, raising the CAM’s profile in the competitive arbitrat …

Does the substantive law matter in international arbitration?

Our International Arbitration Focus Team discusses about aspects of the arbitrators’ decision makings process, with particular focus on the law applicable to the merit of the case and on the legal concepts in the head of arbitrators. Listen to our point of view and watch the video of the e …

The Prague Rules: wind of change?

The Prague Rules represent an alternative to the IBA Rules on the Taking of Evidence in International Arbitration. They aim at reducing time and costs of international arbitration. Our International Arbitration Focus Team in Milan discussed in a seminar with leading arbitration practitioners …

Why arbitration is becoming the preferred dispute resolution method in the luxury industry?

Luxury and fashion companies are often involved in cross-border operations and disputes arising from such transaction are therefore likely to involve companies from different jurisdictions. A smooth management of such disputes is paramount also to preserve commercial relationship with the diff …

US Supreme Court: renewed support for Arbitrators to decide Arbitrability

On January 8, 2019 the United States Supreme Court issued a ruling whereby it stated that arbitral tribunals are competent to evaluate whether a claim is "arbitrable", regardless of whether the basis for arbitration is grounded or not. Our International Arbitration Focus Team analyses

Quantification of damages in commercial arbitration: mission impossible?

Quantification of damages in commercial arbitra …

EAIAC 2018: The Implications of Regional Investment Arbitration

On 30 August 2018 Laurence Shore, spoke at the 2018 East Africa International Arbitration Conference, which took place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The topic of his presentation was “Towards Regional Investment Arbitration?” in Africa. He addressed three main issues concerning investor-sta …

Achmea: the future of investment arbitration in Europe

The European Court of Justice’s controversial judgment in Achmea v Slovak Republic has cast serious doubt on the continued viability of arbitration under intra-EU bilateral investment treaties. In an interesting webinar available here, our four i …

Third Party Funding: a useful tool to know in international arbitration

The funding of arbitration by a litigation funder on a non-recourse basis is a tool that can give companies access to massive amounts of capital and it can be tailored to meet the specific needs of the client. On 15 May 2018, BonelliErede held a seminar on TPF in international arbitration, d …

Caught in the “Crossfire”: quantum calculations in international arbitration

One of the primary challenges that arbitral tribunals face is the quan …

Arbitration clauses in intra-EU BITs are not compatible with EU law: a momentous decision by the European Court of Justice

The ruling of the European Court of Justice regarding the arbitration clause in the Netherlands-Slovak Republic BIT will change the European investor-state arbitration landscape. The Court stated that the arbitration clause is incompatible with EU law. This ruling, which did not adopt the Opini …

Insights

BonelliErede crowned “Law firm of the year Project Finance” at the 2017 Legalcommunity Finance Awards - 3 March 2017

Thursday 2 March: BonelliErede was crowned “Law firm of the year – Project Finance” at the Legalcommunity Finance Awards. The judging panel highlighted the team’s high credibility and ability to bring added value to deals, and praised their “extensive understanding of the market a …