Rodolphe Ruffié-Farrugia is a partner and a member of the International Arbitration practice group.
A Franco-Maltese national, Rodolphe focuses his practice in international commercial arbitration, investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS), government negotiations, mediation, and public international law. His dispute prevention and resolution practice encompasses all continents, with a particular focus on Asia-Pacific and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Rodolphe advises parties to high-stake cross-border disputes, projects, and transactions in a wide range of industries and jurisdictions. In addition to energy, resources, and infrastructure, he has a specific experience in outer space activities, esports and video games, and the medicinal cannabis industry. Among other notable credentials, he is Registrar at the International Games and Esports Tribunal (IGET), Advisor at the Space Court Foundation, and a recurring delegate to the UNCITRAL Working Group III. He regularly speaks at industry conferences, delivers training to governments, and teaches at university in these areas.
Rodolphe has acted as counsel, arbitrator, and tribunal secretary under most of the main arbitration rules, including the ICC, UNCITRAL, ICSID, SIAC, LCIA, HKIAC, CIETAC, AAA/ICDR, SCC, NAI, WIPO's UDRP, and Swiss Rules. He is registered as an arbitrator with various institutions worldwide.
Rodolphe also has experience handling international trade disputes (WTO) and award enforcement and execution proceedings, including in relation to sovereign states.
Rodolphe has consistently been listed among the Lexology Index (formerly Who’s Who Legal) Future Leaders in Arbitration and recommended by Legal 500 for his experience in international arbitration, mining, and esports.
Throughout his career, Rodolphe has worked at global and domestic law firms, alongside prominent arbitrators, and at arbitral institutions (including ICSID) in Paris, Shanghai, Taipei, Washington, Seattle, Geneva, Zurich, and Perth.
- Registrar at the International Games and Esports Tribunal (IGET)
- Advisor at the Space Court Foundation
- Councillor at the WA Chapter of the French-Australian Chamber of Commerce (FACCI)
- Volunteer at Alliance Française
- Guest lecturer, University of Western Australia: Interim Measures in Arbitration, July 2025
- Panelist, Global Esports Industry Week (GEIW) ESIC Global Esports Summit in Austin: Game Changers: The Future of Dispute Resolution, 20 June 2025
- Moderator and Panelist, Global Esports Industry Week (GEIW) IGET Experts Workshop in Austin: Esports Law: State of the Game & Fighting (Legal) Games: Resolving Esports Disputes, 19 June 2025
- Presenter, International Games and Esports Tribunal (IGET), Official Public Online Information Session, 7 May 2025
- Lecturer, Agence française de développement (AFD) Judicial Services, Training and Institutions (JuSTICE) Project Workshop to Lao Government in Vientiane: Contractual Protection and State Liability, 5-9 May 2025
- Panelist, IPBA 32nd Annual Conference and Meeting in Chicago: Game On! Navigating the Legal Complexities of the Gaming (and Gambling) Industry, April 2025
- Panelist, Talking Space Affairs' WA Space Week event in Perth: Talking Foreign Affairs: New Space, New International Law?, November 2024
- Panelist, CFA 40 Dîners de l'arbitrage in Paris: Arbitrage et Espace, November 2024
- Moderator, Francophone Africa in Western Australia Forum in Perth: Sustainability, Environment, and Investment Protection, September 2024
- Panelist, Esports Insider (ESI) Play by the Rules summit in Lisbon: Esports Dispute Resolution: Arbitration and Mediation, September 2024
- Panelist, SPACETIDE Conference in Tokyo: Legal implications and challenges of lunar exploration, July 2024
- Guest lecturer, University of Western Australia: Enforcement of Arbitral Awards, June 2024
- Panelist, IPBA 32nd Annual Conference and Meeting in Tokyo: Pioneering Space: Commercial Opportunities and Legal Challenges, April 2024
- Delegate, UNCITRAL Working Group III (ISDS) 47th Session on behalf of IPBA, January 2024
- Panelist, Japan Arbitration Club conference in Tokyo: Urgent & Necessary Celebration: 忘年会 Dinner Around Emergency Arbitration, 30 November 2023
- Panelist, Australian Arbitration Week CIArb YMG conference in Perth: From Down Under to Up Above: Mining & Arbitrating in Space, 11 October 2023
- Panelist, Australian Arbitration Week UNCCA conference in Perth: Australian Insights: Update on the UNCITRAL Working Group III and the future of ISDS reform, 11 October 2023
- Presenter, Indo-Pacific Space and Earth Conference in Perth: Starbitration: Alternative Dispute Resolution to Pacify New Space Disputes, 24 October 2023
- Keynote speaker, Space & Beyond Ventures seminar in Tokyo: Space Tech For A Sustainable Future – Environmental, Commercial, And Legal Perspectives, 29 June 2023
- Panelist, Paris Tech Arbitration and Jus Mundi conference in Paris: Esport & Arbitrage – Actualité & Perspectives, 15 June 2023
- Lecturer, US Department of Commerce's Commercial Law Development Program Workshop to Lao Government in Vientiane: International Arbitration, 12-14 June 2023
- Panelist, ICC YAAF webinar: Picking the Right Arbitrator for You, 18 May 2023
- Panelist, Anderson Mori & Tomotsune and Asia-Pacific Forum for International Arbitration (AFIA) conference in Tokyo: Arbitration and New Tech Horizons: Brighter Days Ahead?, 19 April 2023
- Panelist, Paris Arbitration Week conference: Bubbles & Stars: A Champagne Breakfast Exploring Space Resources Disputes, 29 March 2023
- Panelist, IPBA 31st Annual Conference and Meeting in Dubai: Mediation in Investor-State Disputes – Introducing the IPBA IASC's Decision-Tree, March 2023
- Delegate, UNCITRAL Working Group III (ISDS) 44th Session on behalf of IPBA, January 2023
- Guest lecturer, University of Western Australia: Public Policy in International Arbitration, November 2022
- Guest lecturer, Paris I Sorbonne University: Fundamentals of International Investment Law and Application to Space Mining Projects, November 2022
- Lecturer, Amsterdam Institute Global Education: Cannabis business law in Australia and Cannabis business dispute resolution & prevention, March 2022
- Guest speaker, Global Law & Business Blog: International Dispute Resolution, 22 February 2022
- Delegate, UNCITRAL Working Group III (ISDS) 41st and 42nd Sessions on behalf of IPBA, November 2021 and February 2022
- Presenter, CAA & NTU's ACWH Taipei International Conference on Arbitration and Mediation: Arbitrating in Taiwan, 2021
- Panelist, International Cannabis Business Conference in Berlin: Doing business internationally, 26-27 August 2021
- Panelist and moderator, ENERAP Australia Inaugural Conference: Across the Indian Ocean: Opportunities and Challenges for Asia-Pacific Companies in Sub-Saharan Africa, 22 July 2021
- Panelist, IPBA's 30th Annual Meeting and Conference: The Impact of Online Dispute Resolution and AI, 2021
- Arbitrator, ILC Cup Sports Arbitration Moot Competition (online), 2021
- Guest speaker, The Arbitration Happy Hour: Arbitration: A Cure for the Cannabis Industry?, 29 April 2021
- Moderator, Space Court Foundation's online conference: Toward Space Arbitration and Beyond – Taking UNCLOS and ICSID to the Stars, 14 April 2021
- Moderator, It's in the Law online conference: eSport and the Law– Uncheating Cheaters, 26 March 2021
- Delegate, UNCITRAL Working Group III (ISDS) 39th and 40th Sessions on behalf of IPBA, October 2020 and February 2021
- Panelist, AAMEG seminar in Perth: Tips & Tricks of Litigation Funding, June 2020
- Delegate to UNCITRAL Working Group III (ISDS) 38th Session (continued) on behalf of UNCCA/LAWASIA, 39th and 40th Session on behalf of IPBA, January 2020
- L. Shmatenko, O. Volkov, R. Ruffié-Farrugia (eds.), Esports Law & Practice, Edward Elgar Publishers, 2025
- S. Greenberg, K. Rozycka, R. Ruffié-Farrugia, J. Banks, Mining Arbitrations in Africa, Global Arbitration Review, May 2025
- Contributed to D. Schramm, Review of the Recent Case Law of the Swiss Federal Supreme Court, in: C. Müller et al., New Developments in International Commercial Arbitration 2018, Stämpfli Editions, 2018
- Contributed to A. Mourre, Gas price reopeners: is arbitration still the answer?, IBA IDR Vol.9 No. 2 – October 2015
