Tim Eicke KC

Having completed his distinguished nine-year term as judge at the European Court of Human Rights elected in respect of the United Kingdom, Tim Eicke K.C. now returns to full-time practice. During his term at the Court, Tim was involved in a significant number of important cases and assumed different roles of responsibility. Key cases in which he has been involved, as a judge, include the Grand Chamber decisions and judgments concerning:

  • climate change (he wrote the sole Dissenting Opinion)[1] and large scale environmental pollution;[2]
  • the relationship between Article V of the New York Convention (in the context of sports arbitration) and the Convention.[3]
  • the 2008 armed conflict between Russia and Georgia[4] as well as the (2014 and current)armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine (including the downing of MH17);[5] and
  • the application of sharia law in Greece under the 1913 Treaty of Athens, the 1920 Treaty ofSèvres and the 1923 Lausanne Peace Treaty (wrote joint separate opinion on general principles applicable to the assessment of just satisfaction for losses incurred in third country).[6]

Tim has native/bi-lingual fluency in English and German and professional  proficiency in French

Before he became a judge at the Court, Tim was considered one of the leading advocates in Public and Constitutional Law, European Union Law, International Human Rights Law and Public International Law who combined his advocacy with a broad advisory practice, advising the UK and foreign governments, government departments, companies and individuals. Tim has particular expertise in cases involving the inter-relationship and interaction between two or more of these (at times competing) systems or areas of law, exemplified by his work on economic sanctions in the context of UN, EU and ECHR obligations.

He was a highly experienced and internationally respected advocate and his extensive litigation practice involved frequent appearances in the highest domestic as well as international courts and tribunals, including the UK Supreme Court, the Court of Justice of the European Union and the European Court of Human Rights. Tim was one of a small number of advocates who, by the time of his appointment, had already appeared in more than 20 reported cases in the UK Supreme Court.

Alison Macdonald KC

Alison has an extensive practice in public international law, arbitration, human rights and criminal law,  in both domestic and international courts and tribunals. She is described in the legal directories as “one of the smartest, most charming advocates at the Bar”, with “killer litigation instincts”, and as “an intellectual giant” who “works incredibly hard [and] is very cool under pressure”. Clients consider her to be “a superstar”; a “brilliant oral advocate who performs exceptionally well before the most prestigious international courts and arbitral tribunals”, and “the consummate professional”. As well as her legal skills, she is “adored by clients”, “very responsive”, and “a true team player”.

Early in her career, Alison was named as one of the ‘Future Stars of the Bar’ by The Times (2008); on appointment as Queen’s Counsel in 2017 she was selected as a ‘star silk’ by The Lawyer. In 1999 she was elected a fellow of All Souls College, Oxford. Alison is recommended in the leading UK legal directories in six areas: (1) public international law; (2) international arbitration; (3) international human rights law; (4) civil liberties and human rights; (5) administrative and public law; and (6) business and regulatory crime. She is also listed in Chambers Global as a leading silk in the field of public international law, is named in Who’s Who Legal: Arbitration as a leader in the field of international arbitration, and was nominated by the Legal 500 Bar Awards as Public International Law Silk of the Year in 2022 and 2023, and as International Arbitration Silk of the Year in 2024.

Tariq Baloch KC

Professional practice

Tariq Baloch’s practice encompasses international arbitration (international investment treaty claims and international commercial arbitration), public international law and commercial litigation. He is highly sought after for international arbitration and arbitration related court cases, and on three occasions has been recognised by his peers and the major directories as the International Arbitration junior of the year (2019, 2022 and 2024).  He is regularly instructed by parties and states as a lead advocate to conduct advocacy in high stakes cases most recently in a series of cases in the English Courts for the Kingdom of Spain and in multi-billion dollar arbitrations. His most recent victory was in the Court of Appeal (before Vos (MR), Flaux (Chancellor) and Snowden LJ) where as lead advocate he successfully defended an application to make Spain’s appeal conditional on paying into court c 120 million euros [2024] EWCA Civ 52.

In commercial arbitration, he has represented or advised private parties under all the major arbitral rules in a wide range of sectors. His experience includes acting for some of the world’s largest companies in high value complex arbitrations involving disputes around the world. His cases are often multi-jurisdictional and raise complex procedural and substantive private law questions, calling upon his expertise in the fields of restitution, contract and remedies (having taught the subjects and written a leading text on them). He is often instructed on technical cases to conduct the cross examination of the experts, including on quantum.

In the past few years he has been involved in some of the more important precedent setting investor-state cases concerning issues such as the impact of the landmark Achmea judgment on the validity of investment treaties, the power of tribunals to issues interim measures preventing a state from pursuing criminal procedures, prosecution of pure customary international law claims under an investment treaty, the scope of reflective loss claims and state succession issues. He is also one of the handful of counsel who is equally in demand by investors and states and so has real insight into how both sides typically conduct their investor state cases.

He regularly represents parties in challenge, recognition and enforcement proceedings in the English courts. Most recently he represented the Kingdom of Spain as lead advocate in the Court of Appeal in one of the Lawyer magazine’s Top 10 appeals for 2024, appealing a judgment [2023] EWHC 1226 that has been described as “one of the most significant judgments on state immunity and international arbitration in decades”, as it provides “guidance […] on many issues of the interaction between UK primary legislation, international customary law [sic], the ICSID Convention and EU law”. Other significant cases in recent years include Operafund v Spain [2024] EWHC 82 (first case raising question of partial enforcement of an ICSID award), NIOC v Crescent [2023] EWCA 826 (a rare and probably first summary dismissal of s 67 challenge; and now the lead judgment on s 73 and on the scope of s67(4) of the Arbitration Act 1996); Crescent v NIOC [2024] EWHC 835 (successful invocation of s 423 of the Insolvency Act to retransfer a major asset in London; now on appeal on a novel question of trust law) and Infrastructure v Spain [2024] EWCA Civ 52 (lead judgment on applications to the Court of Appeal for conditions to be attached to the appeal). He is also instructed in another enforcement action against a large Asian state which raises novel issues about the operation of issue estoppel in claims against states.

Prior to entering practice, he was a full time academic and had been a lecturer and tutor at the University of Oxford and assistant professor at the London School of Economics. He regularly writes and speaks on international arbitration, international law, and law of obligations including at the Harvard Law School and the British Institute for International and Comparative Law. His book Unjust Enrichment and Contract (Hart, Oxford, 2009) is cited in leading English texts, including Chitty on Contracts and Goff and Jones: The law of Unjust Enrichment, and was described by the professor of English law at Oxford as the “definitive” work in the area. He is the author of the inaugural chapter on arbitration in Phipson on Evidence (20th ed, 2021), one of the leading English texts on the law of evidence. He was educated at Queen Mary, University of London (Herchel Smith Scholar), Harvard Law School (Kennedy Scholar) and the University of Oxford (Graduate Scholar), where he obtained his DPhil (PhD). He is also a proud trustee of the Kennedy Memorial Trust.

Edward Batrouney

Ed is a dual qualified English and Australian barrister. Ed is available to act as arbitrator in a broad range of commercial matters, including energy disputes, shipping, financial services, insurance & reinsurance, and professional negligence. He is currently sitting as arbitrator on a LCIA panel in a dispute involving parties to a share sale agreement.

As counsel, Ed has substantial experience in international arbitration conducted under a range of arbitral rules.  Ed has also acted as sole counsel and as part of larger counsel teams in high value commercial disputes, class actions, regulatory matters and commissions of inquiry. Since 2020, Ed has been recognised annually in Doyle’s Guide as a leading commercial litigation and dispute resolution barrister in Victoria, Australia. Prior to his call to the Bar in Australia, Ed was an associated in dispute resolution at Freshfields Bruckhaus Derringer LLP in London.

Examples of Ed’s recent and ongoing work as counsel in arbitration include:

  • Acting in an ICC arbitration (seated in Toronto) defending a c. $250m claim for alleged misuse of trade secrets and confidential information involving emerging technology in the energy sector.
  • Acting in a substantial LMAA arbitration relating to the management of vessels and involving issues of Greek and Liberian law.
  • Acting in an ad-hoc international arbitration before Sir Bernard Rix.
  • Acting for a US based policyholders in English seated arbitrations in which the policyholders seek coverage under New York law governed excess liability policies.
  • Acting for an insurer in an international arbitration relating to COVID-19 business interruption losses allegedly suffered by a luxury international hotel group.

 

 

John Robb

John specialises in commercial litigation.  He is ranked in the fields of banking and finance, civil fraud, international trade, public & administrative law and shipping.

John has been listed as one of the top 10 juniors for Commercial Litigation under eight years’ call and is regularly praised for being “incredibly hardworking and very bright”, “fiercely intelligent and able to deliver perfectly reasoned and strategic advice quickly“, a “very thoughtful, calm junior with excellent communication and technical skills”, and an “excellent team player”.  He is also described as having “an unparalleled ability to deal with difficult clients in highly-pressured situations”, and as being “a powerhouse of an advocate”.

A substantial part of John’s practice is in the Commercial Court or in arbitrations.  He has acted (led and unled) in the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court in heavyweight commercial litigations including Tchenguiz v SFO (2013-2014), Tchenguiz v Grant Thornton (2015-2018) and Suppipat v Narongdej (2020-2023).  He has considerable experience of interlocutory and procedural law, including freezing injunctions, jurisdiction, partnership disputes and disclosure-related applications.

Professor Dapo Akande

Professor Akande is the Chichele Professor of Public International Law at the University of Oxford, Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford, and a member of the United Nations International Law Commission. He acts as counsel, adviser, consultant or expert on international law for states, international organizations, non-governmental organizations, corporations and individuals. Professor Akande has acted as counsel, advocate, adviser or consultant in a variety of cases and accepts arbitral appointments.

He has acted in disputes before a wide range of international tribunals. Notable cases as counsel include:

  • at the International Court of Justice, the Chagos Advisory Opinion (for Zambia), the Armed Activities Case (DRC v Uganda, for Uganda); Land and Maritime Delimitation and Sovereignty over Islands (Gabon/Equatorial Guinea, for Equatorial Guinea) and the Genocide Convention Case (Gambia v Myanmar, for the UK as intervenor);
  • in the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights – Hanan v Germany (for the applicant)
  • the first inter-state case at the African Court of Human and Peoples’ Rights, DRC v Rwanda (for Rwanda)
  • at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, the San Padre Pio case (for Nigeria)

He has acted as expert and adviser in disputes before international arbitral tribunals in mixed disputes, World Trade Organization and North American Free Trade Area Dispute Settlement panels. He has also acted as adviser or expert in cases in national courts in the UK (including the Supreme Court), the US and Australia. In 2019 he was appointed as international law expert for the Public Inquiry into Operation Burnham (established by New Zealand Government) which  dealt with the conduct of New Zealand Defence Forces in military operations in Afghanistan.

In addition to his work in disputes, Dapo is regularly instructed to provide advice on questions of international law to governments and international organizations (including United Nations bodies, the African Union Commission, the Commonwealth Secretariat and ASEAN.) He is or has recently been a member of the

  • the Secretary of State’s Advisory Committee on International Law (United States Department of State)
  • the UK Ministry of Defence AI Ethics Advisory Panel;
  • the Ukrainian Presidential Working Group on compensation for damage caused to Ukraine as a result of the armed aggression by the Russian Federation;
  • the ICRC’s Global Advisory Board on Digital Threats During Conflict.
  • UK Parliament’s All Party Parliamentary Group on Drone’s inquiry into the Use of Armed Drones (Legal Adviser to the Inquiry 2017/18)
  • the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Human Rights (2016-18)

Dapo is one of the authors of Oppenheim’s International Law: The United Nations (2017, OUP), which was awarded the 2019 Certificate of Merit by the American Society of International Law. He is one of the editors of the Oxford Guide to International Humanitarian Law (2020, OUP); of Human Rights and 21st Century Challenges: Poverty, Conflict and the Environment (2020, OUP), and of Practitioners Guide to the Application of Human Rights Law in Armed Conflict (2016, OUP). He was a member of the International Advisory Panel for the American Law Institute’s project on the Restatement Fourth, The Foreign Relations Law of the United States (2018).

Dapo is frequently asked to speak to the media on issues of international law and has been invited to address several international bodies including the UN Security Council, the UN Human Rights Council, and the Committee of Legal Advisers on Public International Law (CAHDI) of the Council of Europe.

Ciaran Keller KC

Ciaran actively accepts arbitration appointments. He has experience in arbitrations across a wide range of commercial and chancery disputes under various institutional rules (e.g. LCIA, SIAC, UNCITRAL, DIFC-LCIA) as well ad hoc arbitrations. He also has expertise in claims to enforce or resist enforcement of foreign awards (including against states and state entities) in England and multi-jurisdictional litigation to enforce English awards overseas. He has acted in various claims for and against states and state entities.

Ciaran is an experienced commercial advocate, who is recommended in the latest editions of the Legal Directories in 7 practice areas: commercial dispute resolution; chancery commercial; civil fraud, banking and finance; energy; partnership and offshore.

Prior to his appointment as King’s Counsel in 2025, Ciaran was nominated as the Legal 500 Junior of the Year for 2024 and was the Chambers and Partners Commercial Dispute Resolution Junior of the Year for 2023.

Commentators endorse him as “a superstar”; “outstanding”, “absolutely phenomenal”, “sublime”, and “the complete package”. He has “razor sharp intellect” and “incredible mind”, which “cuts to the heart of the case”. He is “a fantastic strategist” with “a great feel for how a Court will react to an argument”. He is noted as “a really formidable courtroom performer” whose “ability to take complex and intricate arguments and present them compellingly is extraordinary”. He is “a superb cross-examiner” and “an exceptional advocate who will get the result the client wants”. He is also known as a “super responsive”, “practical and commercial”, “a team player”, and “a pleasure to work with”.

Ciaran’s practice encompasses the full range of commercial and commercial chancery disputes, with exceptional knowledge and ability to navigate disputes involving: civil fraud; banking and financial services; company and shareholder disputes and insolvency matters; energy and minerals; fiduciaries; partnership; and professional negligence. He is regularly instructed in complex, large-scale international disputes and cases involving applying foreign law, with recent experience of the laws of Thailand, Portugal, Mozambique, Russia, Uganda, Iran, the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

In addition to his arbitration and English court work, Ciaran has a notable offshore practice (BVI, the Cayman Islands, Jersey, the Isle of Man and Hong Kong). Ciaran was called to the bar in British Virgin Island in 2013.

Before being called to the Bar (2004), Ciaran was a Fast-Stream Diplomat, serving at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office in London and overseas at the United Nations in New York and the British Embassy in Lisbon (1998-2002).

He is a member of the LCIA, ICCA, Commercial Bar Association, Chancery Bar Association, Association of Partnership Practitioners, and the LexisNexis Expert Panel on Arbitration.

Languages: Portuguese (Proficient); French (Proficient)

Stuart Cribb

Stuart specialises in international commercial litigation and arbitration. As an advocate, he has argued at all levels of the English judicial system, including before the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. In arbitration, he has advised and acted in disputes seated in various jurisdictions, and has experience of cases under the ICC, UNCITRAL, LCIA, LMAA, CIARB, SIAC, CIETAC and DIAC rules.

Stuart has a particular interest in arbitrations with a connection to:

  • The Caribbean (where he is called to the bar of the British Virgin Islands, and has acted in disputes connected with the BVI, Nevis, the Cayman Islands, the Bahamas and Trinidad and Tobago);
  • Africa (where he has acted in disputes connected with Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Egypt); and
  • The Middle East (where he has acted in disputes connected with Dubai, Kuwait, Qatar, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Iran).

Stuart has substantial experience of litigation and arbitration, with a key focused on energy and natural resources. His cases have spanned issues of force majeure relating to interruptions in supply under long-term gas sale contracts, gas pricing, production sharing agreements, and litigation arising out of catastrophic oil spills. Energy disputes in which Stuart is involved typically involve difficult technical issues of expert evidence, including in relation to the extraction, marketing and behaviour of hydrocarbons or other natural resources.

Stuart also appeared as counsel in the leading English case on challenges to arbitration awards for serious irregularity under section 68 of the Arbitration Act 1996, Therapy Beach Club Incorporated v RAV Bahamas Limited & Bimini Resort Management Limited [2006] 1 A.C. 221.

In June 2024, Stuart was appointed onto the DIAC List of Arbitrators.

Matthieu Gregoire

Matthieu graduated from the University of Cambridge in 2008, completed his masters at Sciences Po Paris in 2010 and his LLM at Georgetown, D.C in 2010.  He was called to the New York Bar in 2011 during his time at an international law firm in Paris before being called to the Bar in England and Wales in 2013.  Since 2015, he has been Adjunct Professor of International Commercial Arbitration at Pepperdine University and appointed to the Attorney General’s PIL C Panel in 2017 whilst studying for the Paris Bar.

Matthieu specialises in commercial litigation, international commercial arbitration, and investor-state arbitrations.  He is recommended in Chambers and Partners and the Legal 500 as a leading junior  in international arbitration, public international law, commercial litigation and was a nominee in the Legal 500 Bar Awards for International Arbitration Junior of the Year 2022.

Matthieu’s has acted for governments, corporations and individuals in oil and gas, renewable energy, mining, manufacturing and finance disputes.  Many of which have included issues of civil fraud. Matthieu has recently acted in the following arbitrations:

  • Acted and/or advised in matters before all levels of English courts, in commercial and international disputes.
  • Acted and/or advised in numerous investment treaty arbitrations pursuant to a wide array of investment treaties with issues relating to most major legal sectors.  With exceptional experience of ICSID, SCC, UNCITRAL and ad hoc rules.  Matthieu’s recent experience also includes disputes under the OIC Investment Agreement and intra-EU BITs.
  • Acted and/or advised in numerous commercial arbitrations, with experience of  ad-hoc and institutional rules (ICC, LCIA, SCC, UNCITRAL), across a range of sectors and industries.  Many of which included issues relating to  a variety of international governing laws.
  • Advised States, non-governmental organisations, private commercial entities and private individuals on a diversity of commercial, arbitration and public international law issues, including treaty interpretation, WTO/Trade law, and implications of Brexit.

Helen Morton

Helen is an experienced lawyer with an established practice spanning the full range of commercial disputes. She acts as both sole and junior counsel and regularly appears in the Business and Property Courts and in arbitration.

Helen is particularly experienced in heavy commercial litigation, civil fraud, private international law, shipping, insurance and data protection. She acts in both the advisory and contentious contexts at all stages of the dispute resolution process, from initial advice to trial and enforcement actions.

She is currently acting in the notable s.69 arbitration appeal, Fimbank Plc v KCH Shipping Co, in which the Commercial Court determined in September 2022 that the Article III Rule 6 time-bar in the Hague-Visby Rules applies to misdelivery of cargo post-discharge. The position was previously undecided with debate in the caselaw, commentaries and international community going both ways. As the point arises frequently across the industry, the decision has considerable commercial significance and is currently being appealed to the Court of Appeal.

Other recent work highlights include acting:

  • For the defendants in US$ 2 billion fraud proceedings (Suppipat & Ors v Nop Narongdej & Ors), a multi-party conspiracy claim concerning the shares of Thailand’s largest renewable energy company;
  • For the claimant in one of the high-profile proceedings against the SFO (ENRC v The Director of the SFO, Gibson & Puddick) which includes claims for breach of confidence, misfeasance in public office and unlawful means conspiracy;
  • For the claimant in a major class action in relation to largescale data breaches by a global social media platform (SMO (A child) v TikTok); and
  • On behalf of the UK Government in a long running multi-billion pound damages dispute (Bank Mellat v Her Majesty’s Treasury) in which the Court of Appeal issued an important judgment on disclosure where there is an alleged risk of foreign prosecution.

Helen is co-author of the forthcoming edition of ‘The Common Law Jurisprudence of the Conflict of Laws, Hart’ which is due to be published in May 2023. Her chapter, ‘The Mixed Blessing of Vita Food Products: The Impact and Influence of the Privy Council’s Decision’, addresses issues in the conflict of laws and shipping.