Santiago Soto García is an Associate at Wordstone, with experience in international investment and commercial arbitration under various institutional rules including ICSID, ICC, PCA and UNCITRAL. He has also advised clients in relation to ad hoc arbitration proceedings.

Santiago’s experience includes disputes in various sectors such as energy, construction, mining, oil and gas, telecommunications and shipping. Santiago also has experience as a tribunal assistant in proceedings before the ICC, the Bogotá Chamber of Commerce, the Lima Chamber of Commerce and the Medellín Chamber of Commerce.

Prior to joining Wordstone, Santiago was an associate in the Paris office of a global law firm. Before that, he was an intern in two Colombian firms specialized in arbitration and public law, where he worked mainly in disputes and state contracting matters, including public utilities, infrastructure and mining.

• Representing a South American State-owned enterprise in an ICSID arbitration against a South American State concerning the construction of a power transmission line.
• Representing a Caribbean State in an ICC commercial arbitration commenced by a Spanish company, concerning a concession contract for the construction and operation of a wind farm, as well as the negotiation of a power purchase agreement with a state-owned entity.
• Representing a Caribbean State Entity in an UNCITRAL commercial arbitration commenced by a Spanish company concerning the rehabilitation of the country’s electricity transmission networks and force majeure allegations in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Representing a Central American State in an UNCITRAL investment arbitration commenced by an Israeli company operating in the electricity distribution sector concerning criminal tax fraud claims brought by the country’s tax administration.
• Representing a South American State in two ICSID arbitrations commenced by a Mexican and a Spanish Company, concerning a concession contract in the telecommunications industry, a decision of the Constitutional Court of the State and a decision of a domestic arbitral tribunal.
• Representing a South American State against a Portuguese Company in an UNCITRAL commercial arbitration concerning the construction of a Bus Rapid Transit line in the capital of the country.
• Representing a South American State Entity in a commercial arbitration under the UNCITRAL Rules arising from a project for the development and implementation of a customized enterprise resource planning (ERP) software.
• Representing a South American State in a commercial arbitration under the UNCITRAL Rules arising from alleged breaches of a participation agreement for the exploration and exploitation of crude oil, an exploitation operational agreement and their amendments.
• Representing a Caribbean State and a State entity against a Panamanian company in a commercial arbitration under the ICC rules related to a power purchase agreement for the construction of a power plant and the selling of the energy produced by said company.

Universidad de los Andes, Lawyer, 2019

Bogotá
Admitted to practice as a foreign legal consultant in France

English, French and Spanish

• Co-authored Presunción de competencia y deber de diligencia de los inversores internacionales (to be published by Revista Jurídica del Centro de Arbitraje de México, 2024)
• Co-authored Perspectivas antagónicas frente a los beneficios de la consolidación del derecho internacional de la inversión extranjera como subsistema del derecho internacional económico (published by Universidad del Rosario, Bogotá, Colombia, July 2020).

Club Español e Iberoamericano del Arbitraje

Comité Colombiano de Arbitraje