Permanent Court of Arbitration
Denise Wohlwend currently serves as Assistant Legal Counsel at the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) since September 2025 and is a lecturer in Philosophy of Law and Public International Law at Université de Fribourg - Universität Freiburg since September 2022. Denise is also a Coordinating Committee Member of the Interest Group on the European and International Rule of Law with the European Society of International Law as of December 2023. Previous experience includes roles as a Senior Associate and Associate at Kellerhals Carrard from May 2021 to August 2025, and as an Associate at FRORIEP from April 2019 to April 2021. Denise has held various research and clerk positions at prestigious institutions, including the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law and the High Court of St. Gallen. Academically, Denise Wohlwend holds a Ph.D. in International Law from Université de Fribourg and is pursuing an LL.M. at Harvard Law School with a focus on International Climate & Environmental Law and Business & Human Rights.
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Permanent Court of Arbitration
The PCA is an intergovernmental organization with 122 member states. Established in 1899 to facilitate arbitration and other forms of dispute resolution between states, the PCA has developed into a modern, multi-faceted arbitral institution that now spans public and private international law to meet the rapidly evolving dispute resolution needs of the international community. Today, the PCA provides services for the resolution of disputes involving various combinations of states, state entities, intergovernmental organizations, and private parties. The PCA's Secretariat, the International Bureau, headed by its Secretary-General, provides full registry services and legal and administrative support to tribunals and commissions. Its caseload reflects the breadth of PCA involvement in international dispute resolution, encompassing territorial, treaty, and human rights disputes between states, as well as commercial and investment disputes, including disputes arising under bilateral and multilateral investment treaties. The PCA can assist in the selection of arbitrators, and may be called upon to designate or act as appointing authority. The PCA is also a center for scholarship and publication, and a forum for legal discourse.