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Contact

Contact with chambers should be made through the Practice Management Team. They are happy to discuss client requirements and provide further information on such matters as the expertise and experience of individual members, fees, working practices and languages spoken. We have members able to work in French, German, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Swedish, Greek and Chinese (Mandarin).

Outside working hours, a member of our team is always available to be contacted on matters of an urgent nature. Contact should be made using the Chambers main number or email.

For our Singapore office, for client enquiries please contact our BD Director, Asia Pacific, Lara Quie and for all other queries please contact Lynn Quek. Out of office hours calls will automatically be diverted to our clerking team in London.

London

20 Essex Street
London
WC2R 3AL

enquiries@twentyessex.com
t: +44 20 7842 1200

Singapore

28 Maxwell Road
#02-03 Maxwell Chambers Suites
Singapore 069120

singapore@twentyessex.com
t: +65 62257230

Contact

Contact with chambers should be made through the Practice Management Team. They are happy to discuss client requirements and provide further information on such matters as the expertise and experience of individual members, fees, working practices and languages spoken. We have members able to work in French, German, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Swedish, Greek and Chinese (Mandarin).

Outside working hours, a member of our team is always available to be contacted on matters of an urgent nature. Contact should be made using the Chambers main number or email.

For our Singapore office, for client enquiries please contact our BD Director, Asia Pacific, Lara Quie and for all other queries please contact Lynn Quek. Out of office hours calls will automatically be diverted to our clerking team in London.

London

20 Essex Street
London
WC2R 3AL

enquiries@twentyessex.com
t: +44 20 7842 1200

Singapore

28 Maxwell Road
#02-03 Maxwell Chambers Suites
Singapore 069120

singapore@twentyessex.com
t: +65 62257230

Sir Daniel Bethlehem KCMG KC

Sir Daniel Bethlehem KCMG KC

Silk: 2003 Call: 1988

Daniel Bethlehem is a barrister practising in the field of public international law from Twenty Essex chambers in London, in which role he acts both as arbitrator and as counsel / adviser. From May 2006 to May 2011, he was the principal Legal Adviser of the U.K. Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO). Prior to this, he was in practice at the Bar from 1990 until 2006. In parallel with his Bar practice, he was Director of the Lauterpacht Centre of International Law at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of Clare Hall, Cambridge. In addition to his legal practice, Daniel is the founder and director of Legal Policy International, a discreet strategic consultancy advising on high legal content international policy and political issues. He was knighted in the Queen’s Birthday Honours’ List 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. While he sits frequently as presiding arbitrator, he has also been appointed by both claimants and respondents. Daniel is a member of the ICSID Panel of Arbitrators, designated by the United Kingdom pursuant to Article 13(1) of the ICSID Convention, and a panellist, designated by the United Kingdom, on the WTO Indicative List of Panellists maintained by the WTO Secretariat in accordance with Article 8.4 of the WTO Dispute Settlement Understanding. He is also 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, European Court of Human Rights, and others. 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 and has an affiliation with the Department of Law at Columbia University in New York, where he has previously been a visiting professor. He remains a Senior Fellow at the Human Rights Institute of Columbia Law School. Daniel’s 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.

Amongst other appointments and affiliations, Daniel is a member of the Board of Palantir Technologies UK Ltd, 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.

 

 

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Professional memberships

Education

Incredible strategic vision combined with a forensic approach make Daniel a Grand Master in his field.

The Legal 500 UK Bar 2023

He's an intellectual giant in the field.

Chambers UK Bar 2023

His mastery of international law and strategy is commendable and is unmatched

Chambers UK Bar 2022

Truly impressive, with an encyclopedic knowledge of international law and a refined sense of litigation strategy

The Legal 500 UK Bar 2022

Vast experience of both counsel work and arbitral appointments

Chambers UK Bar 2022

A benchmark to which others aspire

Chambers UK Bar 2022

He is indefatigable, user friendly, and honest

The Legal 500 UK Bar 2022

An exceptional advocate who is incredible in front of the tribunal and conveys a real gravitas.

Chambers UK Bar 2021

The ultimate academic authority.

Chambers Global 2020

Pre-eminent in this area.

The Legal 500 UK Bar 2020

Formidable counsel.

Chambers UK Bar 2020

He has an extraordinary work ethic and ability to keep a holistic perspective on a case.

Chambers UK Bar 2019

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