Elsa Sardinha is a Research Associate at the Centre for International Law, focusing on the Centre’s International Investment Law and International Dispute Resolution programmes. She also assists Mr J. Christopher Thomas QC as a Practice Fellow on international investment arbitrations and commercial arbitrations.
Before joining the Centre, Elsa worked as Legal Counsel at the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA). In that capacity, Elsa advised arbitral tribunals and parties in proceedings administered by the LCIA, managed the day-to-day administration of over 80 cases under the LCIA and UNCITRAL Rules, assisted the LCIA Court in the appointment of arbitrators and the resolution of arbitrator challenges, and drafted case summaries and opinions on specific points of law and procedure.
Prior to joining the LCIA, Elsa served as Assistant Legal Counsel at the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague. In that context, working in both Portuguese and English, she provided in-depth legal and administrative support to tribunals and parties in several high-profile investor-State, inter-State, and intra-State disputes involving questions of public international law, assisted in investment disputes submitted under BITs, national laws, and the Energy Charter Treaty (notably, Yukos), assisted with contract disputes involving intergovernmental organizations, aided the Secretary-General with appointing authority matters under the UNCITRAL Rules, and drafted the 2012 PCA Annual Report.
After completing a scholarship-funded undergraduate degree in political science and international relations at the University of British Columbia (with one-year on exchange at the University of Queensland, Australia), Elsa studied law at the University of Windsor. During her time at Windsor Law, Elsa served as Chief Articles Editor of the Windsor Law Review, and was the recipient of several scholarships, including the Alex Fraser and Eva Shumer Goldberg Scholarship in Law, finishing first overall after first year and graduating in the top 10% of her class. For two years, Elsa also assisted a senior Professor on a research project funded by a major grant from the Canadian Bar Association’s Law for the Future Fund and volunteered at Community Legal Aid.
After graduating from law school, Elsa clerked at the Court of Appeal for Ontario for Judges Michael Moldaver (now at the Supreme Court of Canada), Karen Weiler, and Gloria Epstein. Thereafter, she completed an Advanced Masters of Law in Public International Law at Leiden University, where she was the recipient of the Leiden Excellence Scholarship. Her thesis was entitled “Contributions of the International Court of Justice to the Development of International Environmental Law and the Precautionary Principle”.
Prior to transitioning her career to international arbitration, Elsa worked as a commercial litigation lawyer for one of Canada’s largest law firms, Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, in Vancouver.
She is called to both the Ontario Bar and the British Columbia Bar as a Barrister and Solicitor.