DR. GABRIEL CAVAZOS VILLANUEVA
International Arbitrator · Commercial and Foreign Investment Arbitration · Mexico
International Arbitrator and Lawyer specializing in Dispute Resolution
A career devoted to excellence and effective conflict resolution
Gabriel Cavazos Villanueva holds a law degree from the Universidad Regiomontana (Monterrey, Nuevo León, 1988); a Master of Laws (LLM) from the University of Toronto (Ontario, Canada, 1997); a Master of Laws (LLM) from Tulane University (Louisiana, United States, 2001); and a PhD in International and Comparative Law from the same university (2008).
He has worked with all three levels of government in Mexico (city, state,federal) and with the Legislative Branch. Among other positions, he served as Legal Director of the Secretariat of Economic Development of the State of Nuevo León (Mexico).
He was a professor and Dean at the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Studies (Tecnológico de Monterrey), and a visiting professor at various institutions in the United States, Spain, and the United Kingdom.
International Career in Arbitration and Comparative Law
He is a member of, among others, the Spanish and Ibero-American Arbitration Club (CEIA); the Advisory Board of the Center for US and Mexican Law at the University of Houston (Texas, USA); and the Advisory Board of the Autonomous University of Nuevo León (Nuevo León, Mexico). Since April 2026, he has been a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators , having obtained a Diploma in International Commercial Arbitration from the University of Oxford. He is Vice President of the Arbitration Committee of the Nuevo León Chapter of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) – Mexico. He also serves on the Advisory Board of the Observatory of Autonomous Constitutional Bodies of Mexico. He is a professor of Arbitration, International Law, and Comparative Law at the University of Monterrey (UDEM), the Autonomous University of Nuevo León (UANL), and the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).
He has been retained as an expert witness on comparative law matters in litigation before U.S. state and federal courts. He has participated with other Mexican jurists as amicus curiae in a case before the U.S. Supreme Court. He has also been appointed on several occasions as a panelist/arbitrator to resolve trade disputes under Chapter 19 of NAFTA concerning antidumping and countervailing duties.
He has published books, book chapters, and articles in academic journals specializing in arbitration, international commercial law, and foreign investment, both in Mexico and abroad.
He is currently a lawyer and independent arbitrator, and also a Senior Advisor at the consulting firm Monarch Global Strategies.
Experience as an Arbitrator, NAFTA Panelist, and Party Counsel
He has a solid track record as an arbitrator and lawyer for parties in commercial arbitrations under the regulations of the ICDR, National Chamber of Commerce (CANACO) and the Arbitration Center of Mexico (CAM). He served as a panelist and chair in the final stage of proceedings in Panel MEX-USA-2012-1904-02 ( Ether Case ), and as a panelist in Panel USA-MEX-2014-1904-02 ( Rebar Case ), both under Chapter XIX of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), between 2014 and 2018. His experience also includes his role as an assistant to panel judges Dale Tursi and Joseph Liebman in Panels MEX-USA-2005-1904-01 and MEX-USA-2006-1904-02, in Mexico City (2007-2008), as well as an assistant to panelist Lisa B. Koteen in various binational proceedings, both in Mexico and Canada, between 1999 and 2003.
International Arbitration, Legal Consulting and Expert Services
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International and Domestic Arbitration (arbitrator and counsel)
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Domestic and International Negotiation
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Legal Advisory for foreign investors in Mexico
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Expert witness on International, Comparative and Mexican Law issues before foreign courts
Academic Training in Arbitration and International Law
Since 2023, he has been a professor at the Faculty of Law of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), where he teaches Contemporary Legal Systems and Legal English, in addition to actively participating in research and university outreach projects. Since 2020, he has also been a professor at the Faculties of Law of the University of Monterrey (UDEM) and the Autonomous University of Nuevo León (UANL), where he has taught specialized courses in Private International Law, International Commercial Arbitration, and International Contract Law.
His teaching work has been complemented by important contributions to the comparative analysis of law, the internationalization of legal practice and the strengthening of arbitration as a dispute resolution mechanism, consolidating his profile as an academic reference in the field of international and commercial law.
Relevant research work:
- The Invalidity of an Arbitration Clause in a Contract of Adhesion: A Comment on the Supreme Court of Canada's Decision in Uber Technologies Inc. v. Heller. or Legal Research Institute · April 25, 2023
- An Assessment of the Chapter 19 Dispute Settlement Mechanism in the Context of the NAFTA Renegotiation o Maryland Journal of International Law · September 7. 2018
- Chapter: Arbitration and Investment Protection in the Context of Energy Reform in Mexico: A First Approach Based on the Cases of COMMISA v. Pemex and KBR v. Mexico or Tirant lo Blanch · Jan. 1, 2016
- Chapter: Arbitration and Investment Protection in the Context of Mexico's Energy Reform: A First Approach from the COMMISA v. Pemex and KBR v. Mexico Cases. Tirant lo Blanch · Jan. 1, 2016
- Chapter: Arbitration and Investment Protection in the Context of Mexico's Energy Reform: A First Approach from the COMMISA v. Pemex and KBR v. Mexico Cases
- Chapter: Investment Protection Standards in the Mexico–U.S. Bilateral Investment Treaties: Fair and Equitable Treatment and Full Protection and Security. Frankfurt – PL Academic Research · Jun. 11, 2014
-El Paso Energy International Company v. Argentine Republic (case commentary). ICSID Review (Oxford Journal) · Jul. 4, 2012
-Challenges of Criminal Justice Reform: Balancing the Presumption of Innocence and Public Safety. Monterrey: EGAP-Renace · Jan. 1, 2009
-The Fair and Equitable Treatment Standard in International Investment Law: The Mexican Experience. VDM – Saarbrücken · Nov. 1, 2007
-Private Parties in the NAFTA Dispute Settlement Mechanisms: The Mexican Experience. Tulane Law Review · Mar. 4, 2003
-Binational Panels of Arbitration: Impartial Adjudicators or Spawning Ground of New Ideas? The Mexican Experience Under the Mechanism for Dispute Resolution of Chapter 19 of the NAFTA. University of Toronto · Sep. 10, 1997
