Beata Gessel-Kalinowska vel Kalisz, D.Sc.
Senior Partner
Attorney-at-law
Expert in arbitration, M&A transactions and private equity/venture capital and commercial law. Senior partner, founder of GESSEL law firm. In 2015, she became a Member of the ICC International Court of Arbitration. From 2011 to 2017 she served as President, and in 2017 became Honorary President of the Leviathan Court of Arbitration.

Languages:
BIO
Since 1995, arbitration has been an essential part of her career. She has extensive arbitration experience in permanent arbitration courts and ad hoc proceedings – to date, she has participated in more than 150 international and domestic arbitrations in the fields of mergers and acquisitions, construction law and commercial contracts. A list of selected appointments to the Court of Arbitration, available at this link. She is a member of the Audit Committee of the Polish Arbitration Association and chairman of the Audit Committee at the Polish Association of Capital Investors, an organization whose members include all private equity funds in Poland.
In addition to her work at the law firm, she also finds time for other passions such as contemporary art. In 1996, together with the National Museum, she created the Foundation for the Collection of Contemporary Art of the National Museum in Warsaw, which now includes almost 50 works. She spends her free time hiking in the Tatra Mountains and Podhale.

Experience
Construction cases
- International construction consortium vs. Polish – State owned – company, operating in energy sector. Co-arbitrator, ICC Court, engineering and construction agreement.
- Polish company, member of French consortium vs. Polish real estate developer. Co-arbitrator, ICC Court, construction contract.
- International construction consortium vs. Romanian – State owned – company, operating in energy sector. Co-arbitrator, ICC Court, FIDIC contract.
- International consortium, leader in development and management of infrastructure, renewable energy, water and services vs. Polish company in energy sector. Co-arbitrator, PCC, construction agreement.
- German investment fund vs. Real estate developer. Co-arbitrator, PCC, construction agreement.
- Leading European onshore drilling contractors vs. Investor in geothermal energy sector. Chairwoman, ICC Court, drilling project.
- Polish supplier of cranes and lifting platforms vs. Polish company trading in HVACR engineering and contracting sector. Chairwoman, Lewiatan Court of Arbitration, construction agreement.
- Publicly listed Polish construction company vs. Polish state entity. Co-arbitrator, PCC, FIDIC contract, road construction.
- International developer, constructor and operator of wind farms (State owned company) vs. Polish electricity producer and supplier Chairwomen, PCC, contractual penalties.
- International construction consortium vs. Polish State entity. Chairwoman, Ad hoc arbitration, FIDIC contract, motorway construction agreement.
- Polish construction company vs. Polish building contractor. Sole arbitrator, PCC, construction works.
- Polish engineering and consulting service provider to the energy and industrial sector vs. General contractor in energy projects. Chairwoman, PCC, design works in relation to power plant.
- Polish state entity vs. German subsidiary of the European construction company specializing in civil engineering and international tunneling markets. Co-arbitrator, PCC, construction of brakewater.
- Polish building contractor vs. Polish largest construction company. Chairwoman, Lewiatan Court of Arbitration, construction of real estate housing complex.
- Polish publicly listed construction company vs. Polish State entity. Expert, ICC International Centre for ADR, interpretation of the agreement for the construction and operation of the motorway.
M&A Cases
- Luxembourg company vs. International consortium in energy sector. Co-arbitrator, PCC, share purchase agreement.
- Dutch real estate fund vs. Luxembourg holding company. Co-arbitrator, PCC, share purchase agreement.
- Spanish construction company vs. Polish private individual. Co-arbitrator, ICC Court, investment agreement, breach of warranties.
- Cypriot investor vs. Hungarian company operating in energy sector. Chairwoman, ICC Court, Shareholder agreement, under Hungarian law.
- Group of Polish investment funds and insurance companies vs. International manufacturer in rubbery sector. Co-arbitrator, ICC Court, shareholders dispute based on Memorandum of Understanding.
- Investor – Polish subsidiary of American corporation vs. Polish State entity. Co-arbitrator, Ad hoc arbitration, BIT.
- Polish subsidiary of English investment fund vs. Biogas producer. Co-arbitrator, Ad hoc, UNCITRAL, preliminary share sale agreement.
- Polish motorway constructor vs. Polish state entity. Co-arbitrator, PCC, prayer for specific injunction, share purchase agreement.
News
& Insights
12.04.2023
Another market accolade for GESSEL
We’re hitting our stride in 2023, the year of our firm’s 30th anniversary, with another prestigious award – a Forbes Diamond, recognising persistency in growing value an...
17.03.2023
GESSEL honoured in Chambers Europe 2023
Chambers and Partners have announced the results of their Europe 2022 ranking. We are proud to point out that our firm has strengthened its position in Band 1 of the Cor...
11.01.2023
Training event “Performance of contracts in international trade”
On 31 January 2023, GESSEL, working in collaboration with Rzeczpospolita, presented an online training event for businesses looking to expand onto international markets ...
10.11.2022
Solidarity Arbitration and Mediation Days
The Solidarity Arbitration and Mediation Days, held in Warsaw between 16 and 18 November (organised by the Arbitration Court of the National Chamber of Commerce in Warsa...
Education and achievements

- Legal studies at the Faculty of Law and Administration of Warsaw University (1989)
- She received her doctorate in legal sciences from Stefan Cardinal Wyszynski University in Warsaw in 2009. Her doctoral dissertation entitled “Representations and warranties in a contract for the sale of shares in a limited liability company (in light of the principle of freedom of contract),” published by Wolters Kluwer, is the primary source of legal doctrine in this area in Poland. She is the author and editor of numerous publications in the field of mergers and acquisitions and economic arbitration, among which her edited works include: Diagnosis of Arbitration. Functioning of the law on arbitration and directions of postulated changes, Warsaw 2014 and The Challenges and the Future of Commercial and Investment Arbitration, Warsaw 2015
Awards
Science publications