Biography
President Emeritus of the European Council
Minister of State
Former Prime Minister of Belgium
President Emeritus of the European Council
Minister of State
Former Prime Minister of Belgium
A lawyer by training and a member of the Brussels Bar for 11 years (2003–2014), Charles Michel was elected as a federal member of parliament at the age of 23. He later served as mayor, minister, and party leader before becoming, at 38, the youngest Prime Minister of Belgium.
During his term (2014–2019), he successfully led major socio-economic reforms – praised by the OECD - to strengthen competitiveness and ensure security in a context marked by the terrorist attacks in Paris and Brussels.
Unanimously elected in 2019 and re-elected in 2022 as President of the European Council from 2019 to 2024, Charles Michel is responsible for chairing meetings of the European Union’s leaders and facilitating the search for compromises among Member States on the Union’s major political directions. He was pivotal in orchestrating the European Union’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, implementing large-scale recovery plans, and providing immediate support to Ukraine after Russia’s full-scale invasion. He also prioritized advancing the EU’s unified efforts in addressing climate change and driving energy and digital transformation.
Relentlessly, Charles Michel has worked to make the EU more sovereign, more strategic, more competitive, more innovative and more secure.
His diplomatic engagements have been extensive, including efforts to mediate a number of conflicts (including in the Caucasus and the Western Balkans) and fostering relations with key global partners.
Charles Michel is a Distinguished Professor at the China-Europe International Business School (CEIBS) and a Visiting Professor at the College of Europe (Tirana campus, Albania).
Over the last ten years, Charles Michel has engaged with global leaders, including Presidents Obama, Xi Jinping, Biden, Trump, Zelensky, Erdogan and Putin, as well as Prime Ministers from India, Japan, China, the UK, and many others on issues ranging from security to economic cooperation. He took part in all G7 and G20 meetings between 2019 and 2024.
At 50 years of age, Charles Michel has a wealth of experience in policy making, high-level diplomacy and multifactorial negotiation. He has an in-depth knowledge of strategic sectors: energy, connectivity, infrastructure, natural and digital resources, international trade and investments… He also has a genuine geopolitical expertise and experience.
Charles Michel is a Distinguished Professor at the China-Europe International Business School (CEIBS) and a Visiting Professor at the College of Europe (Tirana campus, Albania).
At Clay Arbitration, Charles Michel continues his professional commitment to dispute resolution by working on complex cases with significant geopolitical exposure.
Professor Clay has a leading practice as arbitrator in domestic and international arbitration. He has vast experience as chairman, sole arbitrator or co-arbitrator, in a wide range of sectors, including energy, telecommunications, construction and distribution. He was appointed by the French Republic as arbitrator in the first ICSID arbitration brought against France, and presently sits on several ICSID tribunals. He has also been involved in arbitrations conducted under the aegis of other major arbitration centres, including the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce (SCC), the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), the Arbitration Chamber of Milan (CAM), the OHADA Common Court of Justice and Arbitration and the Mediation and Arbitration Centre of Paris (CMAP).
Professor Clay has also developed specific expertise in sports law. He is on the list of arbitrators for the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and the French National Olympic and Sports Committee (CNOSF).
Professor Clay has deep experience advising and representing States, multinational corporations and private clients in domestic and international arbitrations, with a specific focus on disputes involving energy, telecommunications, construction and distribution.
Professor Clay also has a leading sports practice. He has advised and represented motor sport companies and professional footballers, including the French captain Kylian Mbappé against the football club Paris Saint-Germain.
A leading authority on French arbitration law, Professor Clay is frequently instructed to advise and represent clients in relation to set-aside and enforcement proceedings before the Paris Court of Appeal and the French Court of Cassation.
Professor Clay is a professor agrégé at the Sorbonne Law School (Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne), where he directs the International Arbitration Law and Alternative Dispute Resolution programme.
Professor Clay has played a leading role in shaping the arbitration landscape in France. He founded Sorbonne Arbitrage, an association which acts as a central hub for the Sorbonne’s arbitration law activities. Before that, he founded the University of Versailles’ Masters Programme Arbitration and Business Law, known as the “MACI”, a genuine talent incubator, which he also directed for twelve years. At the University of Versailles, he also served as Vice-President and Dean of the Faculty of Law.
Professor Clay has published a dozen books, approximately 180 articles and delivered over 150 lectures, many of them abroad.
For over twenty years, Professor Clay has written the Panorama of Arbitration Law and Alternative Dispute Resolution, published annually in the Recueil Dalloz.
A full list of Professor Clay's publications may be found here.
Professor Thomas Clay has been ranked in the category “Excellent Arbitrator” by Décideurs Magazine every year between 2010 and 2021, and subsequently in the category “Incontournable” (Top Tier) in 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025 (Rank 1).
He was also ranked “Excellent Lawyer in Arbitration Law” by Décideurs Magazine in 2022, 2023 and 2024, and “Incontournable” (Top Tier) from 2025 onwards. He received the 2011 Trophy for Best Arbitrator, awarded by Décideurs Magazine and the Paris Bar, and was distinguished among the Elite of the 30 Best Lawyers of the Paris Bar in 2020.
He was described by Who’s Who Legal in 2015 as a “high-qualified, reliable and efficient arbitrator”, in 2016 as a “skilful practitioner” with an “intimate understanding of French Arbitration Law”, and in 2021 as “a key figure in the market”, being referred to as “one of the most prominent sole practitioners in France” and “certainly among the very best”. He was ranked by Who’s Who Legal in 2022, 2023 and 2024 as an “Arbitration Thought Leader”.
Professor Clay was ranked by Chambers in 2023 in the category International Arbitration: Arbitrators – France, as well as in the category Most in Demand Arbitrators – Europe. He is described there as “excellent”, “very bright and talented”, “very fair, very proactive and knows the cases well”, and his extensive experience as an arbitrator in Africa is also highlighted.
Press articles
Le Monde
Other publications
Radio and television appearances
Interviews and portraits
Special Adviser to the President (Bâtonnier) and Vice-President (Vice-Bâtonnière) of the Paris Bar (2026–2027)
Member of the Board of Directors of the Paris Bar School (École de Formation du Barreau) (2026–2027)
Vice-President of "Paris, place d'arbitrage"
Member of "Paris, place de droit"
Head and founder of "Sorbonne Arbitrage" (Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne)
Associate member of the International Chamber of Commerce Institute
Member of the Board of Directors of the French Arbitration Association
Member of the Institute for International Arbitration
Member of the Orientation board of the Club de l'arbitrage
Co-chair of the Italian Arbitration Association in France
Member of the International Association of Procedural Law
Member of the American Association of Private International Law
Member of the academic board of the International Academy of Law and Economics
Expert of the French Institute of International Legal Experts
Member of the Association of Law Teachers
Member of the Institute for Expertise, Arbitration and Mediation
Member of the Advisory Board of the European Court of Arbitration of Versailles
Member of the Advisory Board of the European Court of Arbitration
Member of the Venezuelan Arbitration Committee
Member of the Board of the OHADAC Regional Arbitration Center
Member of the Editorial Board of the Paris Journal of International Arbitration
Member of the "Sorbonne Private and public economic law" research department
Co-director of the "Sorbonne Sport Law" research department
Honorary Director of the University Research Team in International Arbitration Law (University of Versailles)
Member of the Editorial Advisory Board of the Journal of International Dispute Settlement
Member of the Editorial Board of the Revista brasileira de arbitragem
Member of the Advisory Board of the Journal of Arab Arbitration
Member of the Scientific Board of ohada.com
Member of the Scientific Committee of the International Review of Law and Political Science (Cameroon)
Member of the Editorial Board of Arbitration and Mediation Magazine (Brazil)
Member of the Pedagogical Committee of the International School of Alternative Dispute Resolution.