Area of specialisation
Bar admission
Experience with legal system
Professional experience
Maarten Draye is an independent arbitrator and counsel, practising through Draye Law in Brussels.He has been involved in over 75 arbitrations in different capacities, under the ICC, LCIA, UNCITRAL, ICSID, SCC, Swiss, CEPANI, CRCICA, DIS, NAI, SIAC, Hamburg Chamber of Commerce and OHADA rules, as well as ad hoc. Since 2011 he has sat as president of the tribunal, sole arbitrator, co-arbitrator and emergency arbitrator.
He acts as counsel and co-counsel in international arbitration and, before the Belgian courts, in the recognition, enforcement and setting aside of arbitral awards, in interim measures in support of arbitration, and in commercial disputes.
His independent practice allows him to act across a wide range of industries, jurisdictions and party configurations. He works in English, Dutch and French, with a working knowledge of German.
He is co-author of Arbitration in Belgium: A Practitioner's Guide (Kluwer Law International, 2016; second edition forthcoming) and co-editor-in-chief of b-Arbitra, the Belgian Review of Arbitration. He teaches international commercial arbitration at KU Leuven and co-chairs CEPANI's Academic Committee. He has represented CEPANI at UNCITRAL Working Group II since 2016 and advised the Department of Justice on the revision of the Belgian arbitration law (2021-2024).
Chambers & Partners ranks him in its Global and Europe arbitration guides (2026), noting his experience "acting as both arbitrator and arbitration counsel in high-profile commercial arbitrations and enforcement proceedings". Lexology Index names him a Thought Leader in arbitration (2026) and has listed him in every edition since 2017. Peers describe him as "a rigorous and thoughtful arbitrator" (WWL 2024).