Harish Salve KC is one of the world’s leading arbitration counsel.
He is a very experienced and senior lawyer with a global reputation for international commercial arbitration and litigation. His practice also encompasses public international law, human rights, civil fraud, public, energy and tax.
Salve is admitted to the Bar in England & Wales and was appointed a King’s Counsel in 2020.
Salve was formerly Solicitor General of India and is a Senior Advocate at the Indian Bar (1992), practicing largely in the Supreme Court of India. In 2015, it was announced that Salve had been awarded one of India’s highest accolades, the Padma Bhushan.
Salve is one of the world’s leading international arbitration counsel.
Salve has arbitrated commercial cases under ICC, LCIA, SIAC and UNCITRAL rules and has a particular expertise in the area of Bilateral Investment Treaty Arbitrations.
He has been appointed by the ICC and the LCIA as an arbitrator in arbitrations in London, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Delhi. He is an SIAC panel member.
Lawdragon Honors
| Honor | Year | Practice |
|---|---|---|
| The 2026 Lawdragon 500 Leading Global Litigators | 2026 | International Arbitration & Litigation |
| The 2025 Lawdragon 500 Leading Global Litigators | 2025 | International Arbitration & Litigation |
| The 2024 Lawdragon 500 Leading Global Litigators | 2024 | International Arbitration & Litigation |
| Lawdragon 500 Leading Global Litigators | 2023 | International Arbitration & Litigation |
| The Lawdragon Global Litigation 500 | 2021 | International Arbitration & Litigation |
Cases
Vodafone BV v Union of India
2012-20
Successfully represented Vodafone BV in a Bilateral Investment Treaty arbitration against India over whether the phone company should have withheld $2.2bn in capital gains taxes. The Tribunal consisted of Sir Franklin Berman, Hon’ble Yves Fortier and Dr. Rodrigo Oreamuno.
ArcelorMittal USA LLC v Essar Steel Limited and others
[2019] EWHC 724 (Comm)
Acted for ArcelorMittal USA in a claim for enforcement of foreign arbitral award worth in excess of US$1bn involving applications for search, freezing and information orders in England and various foreign jurisdictions, including Cayman Islands, Mauritius, USA and India, in dispute between two multi-national companies.
Vedanta v Union of India
2015-19
Represented Vedanta, a UK listed company, in a Bilateral Investment Treaty arbitration against India. The Tribunal panel consisted Mr. Michael Hwang, Mr. James Spigelman and Mr. Donald McRae.
Indian Metals & Ferro Alloys Limited (India) v. The Government of the Republic of Indonesia
2015-18
Represented the IMFA in an investment treaty claim against Indonesia under the India-Indonesia Bilateral Investment Treaty arising out of a failed coal mining project, which lead to a breach of the India-Indonesia BIT.
RIL Oil and Natural Gas Corporation v Government of India
2011-18
Represented Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) in a $1.7 billion UNCITRAL dispute against the Indian Government.
Ras al-Khaimah Investment Authority (RAKIA) v. India
2016-17
Represented RAKIA in a BIT claim against India arising out of a failed MoU between the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh (A.P.) and RAKIA for bauxite supply, which was allegedly cancelled due to the concerns of the tribal people of that area. The cancellation of the project was alleged to be a breach of the Indian-UAE BIT. The Tribunal comprised of L. Hoffmann, J.W. Rowley and C.K. Prasad.