Sergei Lebedev 1934-2016

Professor Sergei N. Lebedev 1934 - 2016

Professor Sergei N. Lebedev, a longstanding ICCA Council Member and Vice-President of ICCA, died in Moscow on 11 April 2016. He was 81.

He was born in Sevastopol in the family of a Soviet naval officer. In 1961-1962 he was the first Soviet student admitted to the Michigan University in USA.

Prof. Lebedev was an acclaimed and highly respected jurist in both his native Russia and internationally. Although he successfully contributed several fields of law, in particular sale of goods and maritime law, he is probably most known internationally for his great contributions to the development of international arbitration.

In Russia he served for many years as President of the Maritime Arbitration Commission, and was a Member of the Presidium of the International Commercial Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Internationally prof. Lebedev for long took an active part in the work of UNCITRAL for adoption of model laws and other instruments relating to international arbitration. Due to his personal efforts the UNCITRAL Model Law was adopted in Russia as law on international commercial arbitration.

Among his many other contributions to the field of international arbitration, prof. Lebedev also played an important role in the elaboration of the Optional Arbitration Clause for Russian-American contracts 1977, which recommended US and USSR companies to submit their disputes to ad hoc arbitration under the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules in Stockholm. This Optional Arbitration Clause, being the only recommendation with regard to the choice of foreign arbitration forum, for many years was considered by Soviet, and then Russian companies, as almost binding instructions to arbitrate in Sweden. This, to a great extend, contributed to the popularity of Stockholm as a place of arbitration for West-East disputes.

Prof. Lebedev published more than 200 books and articles in Russian and foreign languages. His works on international arbitration are still considered in Russia as one of the most authoritative sources. Moreover, he was appointed as an arbitrator in more than 600 cases in Moscow, Stockholm, London, Zurich, Warsaw and other cities around the world.
In recognition of his important contribution to international arbitration prof. Lebedev in 2003 was appointed Commander of The Royal Order of the Polar Star by the Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf.

Prof. Lebedev was a great and good man who will be will be deeply missed by his many friends and colleagues all over the word.

Ulf Franke, 13 April 2016