Daniel Bethlehem is a barrister and arbitrator practising in the field of public international law from Twenty Essex chambers in London.  From May 2006 to May 2011, he was the principal Legal Adviser of the U.K. Foreign & Commonwealth Office, now the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).  Prior to this, he was in practice at the Bar and, in parallel, Director of the Lauterpacht Centre of International Law at the University of Cambridge and Fellow of Clare Hall, Cambridge.  In addition to his legal practice, Daniel is the director of Legal Policy International Ltd, a strategic consultancy advising on high legal content international policy and political issues.  He was knighted in June 2010.

As arbitrator, Daniel has been appointed in both investor-State and non-investment cases, with notable experience in both PCA and ICSID-administered arbitrations.  Daniel is a member of the ICSID Panel of Arbitrators and a panellist on the WTO Indicative List of Panellists maintained by the WTO Secretariat, in both cases designated by the United Kingdom.  He is also designated by the European Commission on the list of candidates suitable for appointment as Chairpersons for Arbitrations and is a member of the Chairpersons Arbitration Panel designated jointly by the United Kingdom and the European Union pursuant to Article 171 of the EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement.  Given the extent of his investor-State arbitral practice as arbitrator, Daniel does not as a general matter accept instructions as counsel in investor-State cases.

As counsel, Daniel has appeared in every major international forum, including the ICJ, ITLOS, UNCLOS VII tribunals and the so far sole UNCLOS Annex V conciliation commission, WTO panels, the Iran – U.S. Claims Tribunal, the European Court of Human Rights, and others.  He has also appeared at every level of English courts and tribunals, from the Employment Tribunal to the United Kingdom Supreme Court, in cases involving questions of international law.  He is frequently asked to put together and lead specialist strategic advisory and litigation teams dealing with complex and multi-faceted disputes.  He is experienced in both behind-the-scenes advisory and upfront litigation roles.  On high legal content policy matters, he has been consulted on issues ranging from peace negotiations to third-party conciliation processes and engagement in multilateral and regional diplomatic fora.  He has extensive experience of engagement with and at the United Nations, various of its Specialised Agencies, and other inter-governmental and supra-national organisations.

In parallel with his legal and advisory practice, Daniel is Visiting Professor in the Department of War Studies at King’s College London.  His previous academic appointments include the London School of Economics and Cambridge University, at which he taught graduate courses in United Nations law, GATT/WTO and international trade law, and advanced general courses in public international law, including the use of force, the law of armed conflict / international humanitarian law, the law on State responsibility, immunities, and more.  He has also been a Visiting Professor in the Department of Law at Columbia University in New York and a Senior Fellow at the Human Rights Institute of Columbia Law School

Amongst other appointments and affiliations, Daniel is Chair of the Advisory Board of the Lauterpacht Centre of International Law at the University of Cambridge, and a Member of the Advisory Committee on International Law of the U.S. Department of State.

Read a full version of Daniel’s CV.