WEDNESDAY JULY 15 @ 2 P.M.
Ambassador Andrew Jacovides
Former Ambassador of Cyprus to the United Nations and the United States
Head of the Cyprus delegation to the Law of the Sea Conference (1973-1982) and signatory to UNCLOS III
Faculty Member of the Rhodes Academy on Maritime Law
Special Advisor to the Foreign Minister of Cyprus
Ambassador Jacovides has extensive experience in the political, legal and economic fields, at both the bilateral and the multilateral level. He served in all the Annual Sessions of the U.N. General Assembly since 1960, represented Cyprus in numerous Conferences (including the Commonwealth, the Non-Aligned and OSCE), participated in major legal (Law of the Sea, Law of Treaties) and economic (including several Annual Meetings of the IMF and the World Bank) conferences; was non-resident Ambassador to several other countries including Brazil, Canada, Austria, and Denmark, represented Cyprus at the World Bank, the IMF, ICAO, the OAS and the U.N. Agencies in Vienna (IAEA, UNIDO); and carried out several bilateral missions (London, Moscow, Beijing, New Delhi, Bonn, Paris, Bern). He served for 3 terms as an elected member of the U.N. International Law Commission (1982-1996), as a Member of the Appraisal Group on the Future of the Commonwealth (1989-91), and a member of the Cyprus National Group of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (1989-93).
He taught Public International Law at the New School for Social Research in New York (1963-65) and was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws by the University of Indianapolis (1989) and Doctor of Humane Letters by Mount Vernon College (1981). He is an honorary citizen of many American cities, an active member (and frequent Panelist) of the American Society of International Law, Honorary Diplomatic Associate of the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University and an Associate of the International Peace Academy. He received major decorations by the Governments of Greece (1976) and of Austria (1992).
Ambassador Jacovides has written and lectured extensively at Law Schools, Universities, Think-Tanks, Foreign Affairs Councils and his publications include articles on U.N. Peacekeeping, the Law of the Sea, the Commonwealth, the Diplomatic Corps in Washington and the International Criminal Court.
Prior to his retirement, Jacovides was the most senior member of the Cyprus Foreign Service, having served as Ambassador to the United States (twice, for a total of 14 years), Ambassador to Germany, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ambassador/Permanent Representative to the United Nations. In Washington, he reached the position of Dean of the Diplomatic Corps and in New York he was Chairman of the Host Country Relations Committee.
He is currently dividing his time between the United States (New York and Washington) and Cyprus as an international lawyer and consultant. He is an Arbitrator with ICSID (World Bank) and the AAA (American Arbitration Association), a Commissioner of the U.N. Compensation Commission (Geneva), and adviser to the Government of Cyprus on the Law of the Sea and as representative to the Sixth (Legal) Committee of the U.N. General Assembly (New York) and serves on the Board of the A.G. Leventis Charitable Foundation and of public companies in Cyprus. He recently served as a Senior Judge (and earlier as an Arbitrator) of the Claims Resolution Tribunal (Zurich) and a member of the Protection of Minorities Committee of the Council of Europe (Strasbourg), and a former Chairman of the Cyprus Fulbright Commission. He has been actively involved with St. John’s College, Cambridge and, since 1999, he is an elected Honorary Fellow of the College. He is also a member of the Steering Committee for Mass Claims Processes at the Permanent Court of Arbitration (The Hague).
Ambassador Jacovides received his higher education in Law at the University of Cambridge, the Inns of Court and Harvard Law School.
Nicholas Karambelas, Esq.
AHI Legal Counsel
Nicholas Karambelas is a founding partner of Skas & Karambelas, LLP and practices in Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Maryland, New York City, NY with correspondent offices in Athens, Greece and Nicosia, Cyprus. He practices in the areas of business entity organization, international law and business transactions, e-commerce, securities, and franchising. He has written a treatise and numerous articles on business organization, transactional law and international law. Mr. Karambelas holds a B.A. from Union College, a J.D. from Fordham University School of Law and a Master of International Affairs (M.I.A.) from Columbia University School of Public and International Affairs. Mr. Karambelas is a member of the Board of Directors of the American Hellenic Institute and the American Hellenic Institute Foundation. He chairs the American Hellenic Lawyers’ Society of Greater Washington, D.C. He is Vice Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the American Community Schools of Athens, Inc. (Greece). Mr. Karambelas was named Attorney of the Year for 2015 by the Hellenic Lawyers Association of New York City. He was elected as Secretary of the D.C. Bar and served for 2004-2005. He is a CLE lecturer and teaches numerous areas of law including company law, international business transactions and commercial law to other attorneys.