Benito Zelaya
Managing Partner - Honduras
- Phone: +504 2242-6490
- Email: bzelaya@lexincorp.com
Benito primarily focuses on corporate legal advice, business structuring, and implementation, as well as the structuring of infrastructure projects, energy, and more. He also specializes in company acquisitions, financing structuring, trust structuring, structuring of vehicles with specific purposes, corporate governance structuring, compliance and competition plans, and providing comprehensive legal advice on the operations of companies across various industries.
Benito has extensive experience in dispute resolution. He has been involved in various high-value complex disputes related to infrastructure projects, energy, real estate development, highways, public-private partnerships, concessions, condominium regimes, distribution contracts, insurance contracts, shareholder disputes, and more. He has acted as a legal advisor to companies, as a party’s lawyer in arbitral and jurisdictional tribunals, and as an arbitrator, conciliator, and secretary.
Benito has been a professor in the Master’s program in Commercial Law at the Autonomous University of Honduras since 2019, teaching the course on the history, sources, subjects, acts, and elements of commercial law (Due Diligence, Corporate Governance, International Standard Contracts, and Alternative Dispute Resolution Methods).
- Has participated in over 30 international and national arbitrations as Sole Arbitrator, Presiding Arbitrator, and Co-Arbitrator, in various areas such as Infrastructure, Corporate, Distribution Contract Disputes, Civil and Commercial Disputes, Energy, Concession Contracts, Public-Private Partnerships, among others.
- Has acted as an expert witness on Honduran law in international arbitration proceedings under the rules of the Arbitration Court of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Madrid (construction and energy dispute).
- Has acted as an expert witness on Honduran law in international arbitration proceedings under the ICC rules (construction dispute).
- Provided advisory in the pre-arbitration stage for International Arbitration, UNCITRAL Rules, UNIDROIT Principles as applicable law; (infrastructure dispute).
- Represented in International Arbitration, UNCITRAL Rules, Honduran law, related to a construction contract.
- Provided legal advisory in International Arbitration under LCIA Rules, Honduran law, related to an airport concession contract.
- Advised in the pre-arbitration stage for Domestic Arbitration, CCA-CCIT Rules, Honduran law, based on the Investment Promotion and Protection Law, investor dispute.
- Represented in Domestic Arbitration, CCA-CCIT Rules, Honduran law, regarding a subcontract derived from a Public-Private Partnership Agreement.
- Represented in Domestic Arbitration, CCA-CCIC Rules, Honduran law, regarding a construction contract.
- Represented in International Arbitration, CCA-CCIT Rules, German law, regarding a Representation and Distribution Agreement.
- Represented in Domestic Arbitration, CCA-CCIT Rules, Honduran law, regarding a goods purchase contract.
- Represented in Domestic Arbitration, CCA-CCIT Rules, Honduran law, regarding a joint venture agreement.
- Represented in Domestic Arbitration, CCA-CCIT Rules, Honduran law, regarding the banking and finance sector.
- Represented in Domestic Arbitration, CCA-CCIT Rules, Honduran law, regarding the airport sector.
- Represented in Domestic Arbitration, CCA-CCIT Rules, Honduran law, related to Dispute Boards contracts.
- Served as Sole Member of the Dispute Resolution Commission (DAB) in a road construction project with JICA financing, FIDIC contract, CRC, regulated by Dispute Board regulations.
- Served as Sole Member of the Dispute Resolution Commission (DAB) in a road construction project with JICA financing, FIDIC contract, CRC, regulated by Dispute Board regulations.
- Represented the Honduran State Agency in four Dispute Boards, ICC Rules, FIDIC Contracts, Contract Management.
- Advised on Contract Management for a collaborative administration, operation, and maintenance contract of 3 airports in the airport industry.
- Advised on Contract Management for a Public-Private Partnership contract in the energy industry.
- Advised on Contract Management for a Concession contract for the construction, operation, and maintenance of an airport.
- Advised on Contract Management for more than a dozen FIDIC contracts for a public institution in Honduras.
- Representative for Honduras at the Dispute Board Foundation 1/2022 to present.
- Delegate to the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce 2022 – 2024.
- Representative at the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) for Honduras from 2017 – 2021.
- Founder and President of the Honduran Chapter of the Spanish Arbitration Club 2015 to present.
- Member of the Board of Latin American International Arbitration – LIA.
- Member and Reporter for Next Generation of the Latin American Arbitration Association.
- Trainer at the Bar Association of Honduras.
- Trainer at the Mediation and Arbitration Center of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Tegucigalpa.
- Trainer at the Honduran Chamber of Construction.
- Trainer at the College of Civil Engineers.
- Trainer at Honduras Young Arbitrators.
- Has participated in the commission for the reform of the arbitration regulations of the Bar Association of Honduras.
- Has participated in the commission for the review of the arbitration regulations reform of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Cortés, Honduras.
- Has contributed to the study for the creation of the report on the Doing Business indicators for 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022 “Training for Reform,” which objectively measures business regulation, conducted by the Bank.
- Holds a Master of Laws (LLM) in Law from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile.
- Has a Master’s in Business Management from the Technological University of Central America (Unitec).
- Postgraduate degree in International Business from Georgetown University.
- Postgraduate degree in Civil Procedural Law, Mediation, and Arbitration from the University of Salamanca.
- Currently a Doctoral candidate in Law at the University of San Carlos of Guatemala.
- Has received training in Commercial Arbitration, Investment Arbitration, Corporate Arbitration, and Construction Arbitration.
- Completed the Advanced Pida for Litigators “Study of a Complex Practical Case” – Under the rules of the International Chamber of Commerce.
- Attended the “International Internship in Investment Arbitration” organized by the Arbitration and Conciliation Center of the Bogotá Chamber of Commerce, Colombia.
- Has been trained in Fidic Contracts by the International Federation of Consulting Engineers.
- Has received training in the USA, Colombia, Peru, Panama, and Costa Rica.
- Member of the Latin American and Iberian Chapter of the ICC Institute of World Business Law.
- Member of the Latin American Arbitration Group of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).
- Member of the Central America and Caribbean Arbitrators Group.
- Member of the Latin American Association of Arbitrators.
- Founder, member, and reporter for Honduras of the Latin American International Arbitration.
- Next Generation member and reporter for Honduras of the Latin American Arbitration Association (Alarb).
- Founder and member of the Honduran Chapter of the Spanish Arbitration Club.
- Member of the Latin American Construction Law Association (Aldec).
- Member of the Ibero-American Lawyers Federation (FIA).
- Member of the International Bar Association (IBA).
- Member and country representative of the Dispute Board.