Dr Sonja Heppner
Dr Sonja Heppner
Professional experience
Representative experience
Representative experience
- Prison Project – Advising a major contractor in an Australian domestic arbitration under the ACICA Arbitration Rules in respect of claims arising under a design and construct contract, including on legal implications of project changes, variations, extensions of time, and claims management.
- AIG Australia Ltd v Gold Ridge Mining Ltd I Supreme Court of Queensland proceeding 6067/24 – Advising AIG Australia Ltd on its right to payment from gold production at a mine in the Solomon Islands, including in proceedings commenced against the mine operator in Queensland seeking payment of the amount owing under the production payment deed secured by a mining mortgage.
Gold Ridge Mining Ltd v AIG Australia Ltd | High Court of Solomon Islands proceeding 236/24 – Assisting AIG Australia Ltd with defending its right to payment under the production payment deed in the High Court of the Solomon Islands. - Energy Company – Assisted a diversified energy company operating across several areas of the energy sector, including oil refining and renewable energy, with successfully defending claims in an international commercial arbitration commenced by the counterparty under the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules (2021) and seated in London.
- Chevron ats CBI Constructors [2024] HCA 28 – Assisted Chevron with resisting an appeal against a first instance decision (Chevron v CBI Constructors [2021] WASC 323, affirmed on appeal by the Court of Appeal in [2023] WASCA 1) that ruled an arbitral award should be set aside by the Court because the tribunal was functus officio when it made the award.
Rankings and recognitions
Rankings and recognitions
- Rory Brady Prize for Excellence in International Conflict Management 2019
- Rory Brady Prize for Excellence in International Conflict Management 2018
- Rory Brady Prize for Excellence in International Conflict Management 2017
- Rory Brady Prize for Excellence in International Conflict Management 2014
Education
Education
- Ph.D., School of Law, Trinity College Dublin, 2019
- LL.M., School of Law, Trinity College Dublin, 2014
- Dipl.-Jur., The University of Hamburg, 2013
Admissions
Admissions
- Solicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales 2023
- Solicitor, qualified in Ireland 2023
Publications
Publications
Annual country reports on legal developments Ireland (2021-present) and Australia (2024-present) in German law journal Recht der Internationalen Wirtschaft (Co-author)
"EU hofft auf neue Freihandelsabkommen mit Staaten im Indopazifik" (2024) Europäische Zeitschrift für Wirtschaftsrecht 193-194 (Co-author)
"The Impact of Transparency on the Public Perception of International Arbitration" (2022) 37(12) Mealey's International Arbitration Report 1-2 (Comment)
"Recent Court Decisions in the EU"(2022) 37(3) Mealey's International Arbitration Report 1 (Comment)
"The Self-Perpetuating Nature of Arbitral Law-making in Investor-State Arbitration (2018) 73(1) Dispute Resolution Journal 105-130 (winner of the Rory Brady Prize 2018 sponsored by the American Arbitration Association).
"A Critical Appraisal of the Investment Court System Proposed by the European Commission (2017) 72(2) Dispute Resolution Journal 93-114 (winner of the Rory Brady Prize 2017 sponsored by the American Arbitration Association).
"A Critical Appraisal of the Investment Court System Proposed by the European Commission (2016) 19(1) Irish Journal of European Law 38-63, cited in Patrick Costello v The Government of Ireland, Ireland and the Attorney General [2022] IESC 44 at para 175 (MacMenamin J).
"Arbitral Justice for Victims of Human Rights Violations" (2015) 38 Dublin University Law Journal 103-128.
Speaking engagements
Speaking engagements
“Investor-State Arbitration: A Good Investment of Time”, School of Law, Trinity College Dublin, 2024 (together with Alan de Rochefort-Reynolds)
“Arbitral Precedent in Sports Arbitration and Investor-State Arbitration – Its Benefits and Challenges”, Dublin International Arbitration Day Conference, 2024 (Panellist)
"Investment Arbitration and Costello v Ireland", School of Law, Trinity College Dublin, 2022
"Determining Governing Law in Light of Enka v Chubb", ICC Annual Arbitration and ADR Conference 2022: Dispute resolution in a changing world, Young Arbitration & ADR Forum, 2022 (Panellist)
"Procedural Transparency in Investor-State Arbitration", School of Law, Trinity College Dublin, 2018
"Emergency Arbitration", Young Practitioners' Arbitration Ireland Seminar 2018 (Panellist)
"The Self-Perpetuating Nature of Arbitral Law-making in Investor-State Arbitration: Cause and Consequences", Ontario Legal Philosophy Partnership Philosophy of Law Conference 2018
"A Critical Appraisal of the Investment Court System Proposed by the European Commission", Irish Association of Law Teachers Annual Conference, 2017
"The First Amendment and a Right of Public Access to Investor-State Arbitration", Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva, 2016
“Investor-State Arbitration and Popular Information”, Trinity Long Room Hub Arts & Humanities Research Institute, Trinity College Dublin, 2017
Memberships and activities
Memberships and activities
- Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, Associate, 2021 - present
Languages
Languages
- English
- German
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