Independent International Arbitrator
Gonzalo Flores
Recognized expert in international investment law and international dispute resolution, with more than 25 years of leadership at the World Bank's International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).
Deputy Secretary-General of ICSID from 2016 to 2025, played a pivotal role in shaping ICSID's institutional development and advancing its global dispute resolution practice.
Gonzalo Flores
American Society of International Law (ASIL)
Asociación Latinoamericana de Arbitraje (ALARB)
Portuguese Arbitration Association (APA)
Indian Review of International Arbitration - Editorial Board (2021-present)
Colegio de Abogados de Chile A.G.
Libertades Públicas A.G., Santiago, Chile (Founding Member, 1997-present)
Read more about Gonzalo
Gonzalo Flores is an independent arbitrator and recognized authority in international investment law and investor-State dispute settlement (ISDS), based in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area. A Chilean national with extensive experience across civil law and common law jurisdictions, Gonzalo holds law degrees from the University of Chile and Cornell University Law School.
From 2016 to 2025, Gonzalo served as Deputy Secretary-General of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID, known as CIADI in Spanish), the world's leading institution devoted to the resolution of international investment disputes. Elected by ICSID member States for two consecutive six-year terms, he frequently acted as Secretary-General.
After years in private practice, Gonzalo joined ICSID in 1998. Through his tenure, he supervised hundreds of international investment arbitrations and conciliation proceedings conducted under the ICSID Convention, the ICSID Additional Facility Rules and the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules. His experience encompasses landmark cases that shaped international investment law and spans disputes arising under investment laws, international treaties and contracts, across a wide range of economic sectors.
As Deputy Secretary-General, Gonzalo led the Centre's operational management, overseeing a Secretariat of more than 75 professionals, while helping define ICSID's strategic direction. He spearheaded major institutional initiatives, most notably the 2022 revision of the ICSID Rules and Regulations and the Code of Conduct for Arbitrators in International Investment Disputes, developed jointly with UNCITRAL.
Gonzalo is a frequent speaker at conferences on international investment law and procedure worldwide. He has lectured at leading universities across the Americas, Asia and Europe, and contributed to training programs for government officials and private sector practitioners around the globe.
He is fluent in English and Spanish, with working knowledge of French.
Curriculum Vitae Download PDFPractice Areas
Investor-State Arbitration and Conciliation
International Commercial Arbitration
ICSID Rules, Regulations and Procedures
Annulments and Post-Award Remedies
State Relations | International Law Consulting | Dispute Prevention
Arbitrator Services
Sole arbitrator, co-arbitrator or presiding arbitrator.
Publications & Interviews
Selected publications and interviews since 2016 — Full list available upon request.
Publications
El Arbitraje CIADI según las Nuevas Reglas de 2022
At the Forefront of International Investment Law: Modernizing the Rules and Regulations of the ICSID
International Investment Law and the Modernization of the Rules and Regulations of the ICSID
Comments to Keynote Remarks: The Math: Caution + Habit + Bias
Interviews
Young ICSID Profiles — Special Interview with Gonzalo Flores
Diez Preguntas con Gonzalo Flores
Young ICSID Arbitration Stories: Episode One — Conversation with ICSID Deputy Secretaries-General
CIADI alista cambios a reglamento para tener arbitrajes más efectivos en tiempo y costos
Speaking Engagements
Selected engagements since 2016 — conferences, keynotes, training sessions, and lectures worldwide. Full list available upon request.
Exposure Bias and Decision-Making in International Arbitration
From Washington to Buenos Aires: Did ISDS Deliver on its Founding Promise?
Sciences Po Law School and Squire Patton Boggs — Keynote Speaker: Roundtable Discussion: Checks and Balances in the ICSID System
IV Comillas Arbitration Day — Keynote Speaker: El papel de Hispanoamérica en el desarrollo del arbitraje de inversiones
XX Congreso Internacional del Club Español Iberoamericano del Arbitraje — Visión LATAM 360: Economía Estratégica del Arbitraje Latinoamericano. Arbitraje Internacional y Valor Económico: de la Estrategia Financiera a la Ejecución Efectiva
Presiding Arbitrator, Final Round, XIII Competencia de Arbitraje Internacional de Inversión (CAII)
¿Debe Haber una Inversión para Obtener la Protección de Inversiones? Perspectivas de la Práctica — Opening Conference XIII CAII
ROAP Americas 2025/6 Finals — Arbitrator (Video)
The Adaptation of Investment Arbitration: Geopolitics and Sector Synergies
Present and Future of Foreign Investment Dispute Resolution
Tendencias en el Arbitraje de Inversiones y el Rol de Latinoamérica en el CIADI — Keynote Speaker
Contractual and Conventional Tools for the Protection of Foreign Investors and State’s Regulatory Power
60th Anniversary of the ICSID Convention — Opening Remarks
Introduction to ICSID Procedure
Damages and Reparation in Investment Arbitration: ICSID’s Perspective
Opening Remarks
Introduction to ICSID
Looking Through a Prism: Perspectives on Contemporary Issues in Energy Disputes
Tendencias en el Arbitraje de Inversión en Latinoamérica: Actualidad y Desafíos
The Impact of Third-Party Funding on Investment Arbitration
The New ICSID Rules and Regulations 2022
El Nuevo Reglamento CIADI 2022 — Keynote Speaker
The 2022 Amended ICSID Rules
The Evolving ISDS Landscape
The ICSID Rules 2022, an Introduction — Keynote Speaker
World Arbitration Update — ICSID Rules Amendments
Enmiendas 2022 a las Reglas del CIADI: Principales novedades
Un nuevo marco para la solución de controversias entre Estados e inversores: ¿reforma o revolución?
Ethically Challenged? A Commentary
Proceso de enmiendas a las reglas y reglamento del CIADI: ¿Dónde estamos y hacia dónde vamos?
A Adesão de Angola à Convenção de Washington Sobre Arbitragem de Investimentos
Building Arbitrator Diversity in International Law — Opening Remarks
Introduction to ICSID Arbitration
Investment treaties and disputes: What’s the forecast for CIS-related disputes?
Mediación en materia de infraestructura y de Inversión
Chile ante el CIADI: Hermanos Ríos contra la República de Chile
Procedural and Substantive Issues in Investment Treaty Arbitration — ICSID History, Procedure and Upcoming Reforms
Tendencias y últimas novedades en arbitraje de Inversión desde la óptica del CIADI, UNCTAD y situación en México
Addressing the Key Challenges Facing International Arbitration After the COVID-19 Pandemic
Procedimiento de Arbitraje de Inversiones bajo CIADI
ICSID-SIMC Cooperation Agreement Signing Ceremony — Opening Remarks
The Rise of Technology in International Arbitration
COVID-19 and International Arbitration
Angola and ICSID: An Introduction to Investor-State Dispute Resolution at ICSID
Practical Implications of Economic & Political Sanctions on Law Arbitration
Law of the Energy Transition
Arbitraje y Derecho Societario — Arbitraje Doméstico e Internacional en Derecho Societario
Latin American International Arbitration Course (LAIAC)
Executive Training on Investment Treaties and Arbitration for Government Officials
ICSID Rules Reform / Arbitration Reform II: Modernising Institutional Rules and Practices
Virtual Arbitration Proceedings Amidst COVID-19: Efficacy and Checklist for Best Practices
Las enmiendas del CIADI y la iniciativa de mediación
Enhancing International Peace, Cooperation, and Sustainability through Dispute Settlement — Keynote Speaker
Arbitraje de Inversión: Chile y el CIADI. Hacia la próxima década — Keynote Speaker
Innovations and Current Perspectives of Leading Arbitral Institutions
Effective and Reliable Dispute Resolution for Foreign Investment
Is it Really Possible to Annul an ICSID Award?
2nd Inter-Sessional Regional Meeting on Investor-State Dispute Settlement Reform
Briefings on the Proposed Amendments to the ICSID Rules — Series of 12 Presentations
Current Issues and Potential for Reforms — 5th International Conference for a Euro-Mediterranean Community of International Arbitration
Contemporary and Emerging Issues on the Law of Damages and Valuation in International Investment Arbitration
ICSID Rule Amendments Process
Proposed Amendments to the ICSID Rules: Disqualification, Incapacity and Resignation of Arbitrators
Seminario web sobre Propuesta de Enmiendas a las Reglas del CIADI (Video)
First Inter-Sessional Regional Meeting on ISDS Reform — Duration of ICSID Proceedings
Regional Economic Integration, Trade Disputes, and the Construction of the Rule of Law
Introduction to ICSID and Overview of the Proposed ICSID Rules Amendments
International Organizations and the Promotion of Effective Dispute Resolution
Introduction to ICSID
CIADI: Su procedimiento desde la perspectiva de la jurisprudencia más reciente y las enmiendas al Reglamento de Arbitraje. España y sus casos de energías renovables
Diversity and Inclusion in International Arbitration — Commentator to Keynote Remarks
A Conversation with Mr. Gonzalo Flores
Women in Arbitration Panel
As Actividades do ICSID e os Seus Mais Recentes Desenvolvimentos — Keynote Speaker
Current Issues in Investor-State Dispute Settlement — Keynote Speaker
Joint Workshop on Investor-State Dispute Settlement
Mechanics of Arbitration: A Practical Guide Through an Arbitral Proceeding
Investor-State Dispute Settlement — Keynote Speaker and Panelist
ICSID and its Role in Investor-State Dispute Settlement
Taller – Introducción al CIADI para funcionarios de Gobierno
Restatement of the Law, The U.S. Law of International Commercial Arbitration
The 2016 International Institutional Arbitration Reports and Important Case Updates
International Monetary Fund Seminar: Argentina Litigation & Settlement — Roundtable Discussion
Introduction to ICSID and ICSID Arbitral Practice for Member State Officials