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Clifford Chance

Clifford Chance
Elliot Luke

Elliot Luke

Counsel

Counsel
Elliot Luke

Elliot is a Counsel in the International Arbitration Group at Clifford Chance, based in Perth. He specialises in investor-State arbitration and the commercial applications of public international law (including international human rights law and international environmental law).

Elliot is currently representing investors in high-profile arbitrations against Myanmar, Peru, Republic of Congo (three cases), Cameroon, and Greenland and Denmark.

He holds an LLM from Cambridge University, a JD from the University of Melbourne, an MSc from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and a BA from University College London.

Elliot speaks fluent Spanish and is proficient in French and Portuguese. He is admitted to legal practice in Victoria (Australia), New York and the District of Columbia.

Investment Arbitration

  • EEPL Holdings in an ICSID arbitration against the Republic of Congo under the Mauritius-Congo BIT concerning the alleged expropriation of the Badondo Iron Ore Project
  • Midus Holdings and Congo Mining SA in an ICSID investment arbitration against the Republic of Congo following the revocation of its mining licence for the Mayoko-Moussondji Iron Ore Project
  • Bright Mountain Pty Ltd in an ICSID Additional Facility arbitration under the AANZFTA against the Republic of the Union of Myanmar concerning the Bawdwin Lead Silver Project
  • Cadence Minerals and REM Mexico Ltd in a dispute under the UK-Mexico BIT in relation to Mexico’s cancellation of the concessions comprising the Sonora Lithium Project
  • Odebrecht Latinvest S.a.r.l. in an ICSID arbitration against Peru in relation to Peru’s expropriation of its investment in a gas pipeline
  • Greenland Minerals Ltd in an arbitration against the Government of Greenland and the Government of Denmark regarding legislative measures taken against the Kvanefjeld Technology Metals Project (ad hoc, Copenhagen seat)
  • Sundance Resources Limited and Congo Iron SA in an ICC investment arbitration against the Republic of Congo following the revocation of its mining licence for the Nabeba-Mbalam Iron Ore Project
  • Sundance Resources Limited and Cam Iron SA in an ICC investment arbitration against the Republic of Cameroon following the government’s refusal to grant a mining permit for the Mbalam-Nabeba Iron Ore Project
  • Autopistas del Atlántico, S.A. de C.V. in a contractual ICSID arbitration against the Republic of Honduras relating to the construction and operation of a toll road.
  • Eco Oro Minerals Corp. in an ICSID arbitration against the Republic of Colombia relating to environmental restrictions impacting Eco Oro’s investments in a gold mine*
  • Glencore International A.G., C.I. Prodeco S.A. and Sociedad Portuaria Puerto Nuevo S.A. in an ICSID arbitration against Colombia relating to antitrust measures affecting the claimants’ investments in a port*
  • a major global energy company in a treaty dispute with the Republic of Ecuador arising from the implementation of retrospective tax measures (settled)*
  • the Republic of Chile in an international boundary dispute with the Plurinational State of Bolivia before the International Court of Justice*

Advisory Experience

  • advising an Australian mining company on investment protection strategies for a lithium project in Argentina
  • advising an Australian mining company on investment protection strategies for a uranium mine in Namibia
  • advising a Middle Eastern conglomerate on investment protection structures for a portfolio of investments in North Africa and the Middle East
  • advising an Australian lithium mining company on investment protection strategies in relation to potential nationalisation measures
  • advising a Canadian mining company on investment protection strategies for a mining project in Turkey
  • advising an international organisation on the interaction of norms of international environmental law and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child
  • advising multiple government agencies in relation to a recent United Nations General Assembly request for an Advisory Opinion from the International Court of Justice concerning the international obligations of States to protect against climate change.

* Experience prior to joining Clifford Chance

News and client work

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Contact details

Career and qualifications

  • University College London (BA), 2003
  • London School of Economics and Political Science (MSc), 2004
  • University of Melbourne (JD), 2010
  • Admitted as a Lawyer in Victoria, 2011
  • Lawyer, Allens (Melbourne), 2011
  • Research Fellow, Melbourne Law School, 2012
  • University of Cambridge (LLM), 2015
  • Foreign-qualified lawyer, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (Paris), 2015
  • Associate, Herbert Smith Freehills (London), 2016
  • Associate, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer (Washington, DC), 2016
  • Admitted as a Special Legal Consultant in the District of Columbia, 2017
  • Admitted as an Attorney-at-Law in New York, 2021
  • Joined Clifford Chance, 2021

Professional bodies

  • Law Society of Western Australia
  • Australia-Latin America Business Council