Jean-Francois Tossens

Area of specialisation

• Arbitration Construction, Engineering Corporate Law / M&A Distribution, Franchising Finance and Banking Joint Ventures, Consortia, Cooperation Sales, Purchases Sports

Bar admission

• Belgium

Experience with legal system

• Belgium

Professional experience

Jean-François Tossens has a longstanding experience in national and international arbitration, both as counsel and as arbitrator. He mainly acts in ICC, CEPANI or ad hoc proceedings. He also regularly intervenes before courts in arbitration related proceedings (enforcement and setting-aside proceedings).He has intervened in a hundred of cases related to arbitration.

His experience extends in particular to complex commercial, corporate and financial transactions and disputes, partnership agreements, shareholders’ agreement, post-acquisition disputes, construction, distribution and sport arbitration. An important part of his practice has concerned financial and industrial sectors such as (public) investment funds and private equity, aeronautics, insurance, energy and biotechnology.

Jean-François was admitted to the Brussels Bar in 1989. He started his career in the law firm Coppens, Horsmans & Malherbe, before founding in 1994 the law firm Tossens & Prioux and in 2013 the law firm Strelia. He co-founded the law firm Tossens Goldman Gonne in 2016, specialized in arbitration.

Jean-François teaches national and international arbitration law at the faculty of law of the Université Catholique de Louvain-la-Neuve (UCL). He is President of the international arbitration association Francarbi since 2022. He is a member of the board of directors of ICC Belgium. He is the author of various publications in arbitration and business law. He is member of the editorial board of the Belgian Review of Arbitration, b-Arbitra.

He is ranked in Chambers 2024 – Band 2 – Dispute Resolution Arbitration – Belgium. “Sources commend Jean-François Tossens of Tossens Goldman Gonne Lawyers for his expertise in arbitration. He acts on domestic and cross-border commercial arbitration.” He is also ranked in Who’s Who Legal (Arbitration) and in Leaders League Directory. He was named “Lawyer of the year” for Arbitration and Mediation by the Best Lawyers in Belgium 2023.