Otakar Hájek is a Prague-based arbitration practitioner with over ten years of experience in international commercial and investment treaty arbitration across the world.
Otakar has represented States and private investors in ICSID investment treaty arbitrations and in international commercial arbitrations conducted under the ICC, VIAC, HKIAC and other arbitration rules. He has also advised investors on structuring their investments, asserting their rights against host states and negotiating settlements. He sits as arbitrator at the Czech Arbitration Court and is a member of various local arbitration associations.
In addition to his arbitration work, Otakar regularly represents clients before Czech courts in complex litigation matters and in proceedings before the CJEU. He has also broad transactional experience, especially in the areas of international capital markets, financial derivatives, collective investment, and real estate.
Before establishing his own practice, Otakar spent over ten years at Allen & Overy's International Arbitration Group in Prague and Hong Kong.
Otakar regularly publishes in law journals, speaks at conferences, gives lectures and acts as arbitrator at the Annual Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot and FDI International Arbitration Moot. He speaks Czech, English, German and Slovak.
Otakar graduated from the Law Faculty of Charles University in Prague in 2006 and obtained an LL.M. degree focused on international arbitration and financial law at King’s College London in 2008. He became qualified as Czech solicitor in 2011.