Dr. Nikolaus Pitkowitz is founding partner of Pitkowitz & Partners and heads the firm’s Dispute Resolution practice.
He is internationally recognized as a world-leading arbitration practitioner. Dr. Pitkowitz has acted as party counsel and arbitrator in over 140 international disputes with seats across Europe, the Americas, and Asia. His mandates include acting as counsel in the largest arbitration ever conducted in Austria, as well as leading and advising on some of the most significant arbitrations in the region and beyond.
In addition to arbitration, Dr. Pitkowitz regularly represents parties in high-stakes, complex litigation, including proceedings of major public importance and cases before the European Court of Justice (ECJ).
Dr. Pitkowitz has extensive experience across a broad range of industries, including energy, automotive, telecommunications, arts and cultural assets, (post-)M&A, real estate, and construction.
Dr. Pitkowitz served as president of the Vienna International Arbitral Centre (VIAC) and regularly sits as arbitrator under the rules of leading arbitration institutions. He is Court Member of CIMAC, Casablanca and Co-Chair of the ILA Committee on Conflict-of-Laws Issues in International Arbitration.
Dr. Pitkowitz holds law degrees from University of Vienna (JD and PhD) and the University of Sankt Gallen (MBL). He holds the TechCred 2025 Credential Badge for advanced expertise in digital arbitration, is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb), and certified as a mediator.
A sought-after speaker and lecturer, Dr. Pitkowitz has authored more than 70 publications, including the leading monograph Setting Aside Arbitral Awards and the Handbook on Third-Party Funding in International Arbitration (2nd ed., 2025). He is Co-Editor of the Austrian Yearbook on International Arbitration and initiator of the Arbitration World Café, a highlight of the Vienna Arbitration Days.
- 2021: Founding Partner with Pitkowitz & Partners
- 1995 – 2021: Founding Partner with Graf & Pitkowitz Rechtsanwälte GmbH
- 2004: Admission as Certified Mediator
- 1999: University St.Gallen, M.B.L.- (Master of European Business Law)
- 1990 - 1994: Partner with Preslmayr & Partner, Vienna
- 1991: Georgetown University, School of Law (Orientation in the US Legal System)
- 1986 & 1991: Working experience with law firms in New York
- 1985 - 1989: Associate with Preslmayr & Partner, Vienna
- 1979 - 1985: Employed with international trading firm in Vienna, London and New York
- 1984: University of Vienna, legal faculty, Mag.iur (Master) and Dr. iur. (Ph.D))
Selection of publications:
- Commentary of Section 12 FlexKapGG (form of share transfers and takeovers) in Schneeweiss/Hule (ed.), FlexKapGG Commentary, LexisNexis (2024), 143 - 178 (co-author)
- Handbuch Schiedsgerichtsbarkeit und ADR
- The Legal Nature of Third-Party Funding Agreements
- The Vienna Propositions for Safeguarding Public Interest, Public Policy, Competition and Insolvency in International Arbitration
- Confidentiality and Protection of Confidentiality in Arbitration
- The Arbitrator’s Duty to Challenge Corruption
- The Belt and Road Initiative – Legal Risks and Opportunities Facing Chinese Engineering Contractors Operating Overseas
- Vertraulichkeit und Schutz der Vertraulichkeit im Schiedsverfahren
- The Vienna Innovation Propositions, Venturing into New Fields and New Ways of Arbitration – Revisiting Traditional Ways of Arbitration
- Kommentar der Artikel 8 und Artikel 9 Wiener Regeln
- Handbook on Third-Party Funding in International Arbitration
- Verbrauchergerichtsstand 2.0
- 2022/07: Does the right to be heard also extend to comments on cost submissions
- 2022/05: Austrian Supreme Court scrutinises admissibility of contingency fee arrangements
- 2022/01: Austrian Supreme Court sets delimiters for consumer rights in arbitration
- 2021/04: Supreme Court analyses conflicting forum selection clauses
- 2020/12: Can eye rolling be a reason to challenge an arbitrator
- 2020/10: Supreme Court scrutinises admissibility of videoconference hearings
- 2020/10: Supreme Court specifies reasoning standards for awards
- 2020/07: Supreme Court scrutinises decision awarding costs to losing party
- 2020/01: Supreme Court takes strict stance on conflict of interest
- 2019/07: Supreme Court evaluates hybrid arbitration agreement
- 2018/07: Counsel beware when submitting unspecified notices of arbitration
- 2018/04: Vienna International Arbitral Centre issues new arbitration and mediation rules
- International Law Institute (ILA), Secretary of Austrian Branch and member of the International Arbitration Committee
- International Bar Association (IBA), head of the Advisory Board of the Real Estate Section
- American Bar Association (ABA), Vice Chair of the Arbitration Committee of the International Law Section
- AmChamAustria – American Chamber of Commerce in Austria
- Austrian Arbitration Association (ArbAut)
- German Institution of Arbitration (DIS)
- Swiss Arbitration Association (ASA)
- Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb)
- London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA)
- Austrian Council of Shopping Places (ACSP)
- CDRC Vienna – the IBA and VIAC consensual dispute resolution competition, Director
- European Chinese Arbitrators Association (ECCA)
- Austrian Chinese Business Association (ACBA)
- Permanent Forum of China Construction Law (PFCCL)
- China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC), Panel of Arbitrators
- Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC), Panel of Arbitrators
- Korean Commercial Arbitration Board (KCAB), Panel of Arbitrators
- Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC), Panel of Arbitrators