THE IDR GROUP® is a small group of international dispute resolution specialists. The membership is made up of arbitrators, lawyers and other professionals from a number of countries around the world. They are qualified and experienced in international commercial arbitration and other dispute resolution processes.
The Group has a wide geographical spread, with members in key locations – Africa, Bangladesh, China, Europe, the Middle East, Russia, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
The experience of the Group reaches into the State level of international dispute resolution - members have sat as Judges and Arbitrators in the International Court of Justice and the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, and in the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in Hamburg.
In addition to experience in the ICJ, the PCA and ITLOS, members of this group of independent international arbitrators and practitioners sit as arbitrators and / or act as advocates in the world’s major commercial centres - including Beijing, Cairo, Geneva, Hong Kong, London, Paris, The Hague, Stockholm, Vienna and Washington.
Members have experience in international arbitrations conducted in those cities under the Rules of various institutions including the ICC (International Chamber of Commerce), the LCIA (London Court of International Arbitration), SCC (Stockholm Chamber of Commerce), CIETAC (the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission), ICDR (the International Centre for Dispute Resolution, the international section of the American Arbitration Association), ICSID (International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes in Washington D.C.) and various other arbitration institutions. Members also have experience in ad hoc arbitrations (including arbitrations conducted under the UNCITRAL Rules).
The Group’s membership includes some of the world’s leading arbitrators: for example, China’s Professor Tang Houzhi, Russia’s Professor Alexander Komarov, and Egypt’s ProfessorAhmed El Kosheri.
Members’ experience reaches into the commercial and banking fields: one example is Stockholm lawyer Johan Gernandt who is Chairman of the General Council of the Swedish Central Bank as well as being Chairman of the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce.
And the expertise of the Group is not just in the international commercial dispute resolution field. It is also in the wider political and diplomatic fields: another member of the Group is Ambassador Dr. Wafik Kamil, Secretary General of the Asian-African Legal Consultative Organisation. Almost all the major States from Asia and Africa are members of AALCO, and four Regional International Commercial Arbitration Centres have been established under its auspices in Cairo, Kuala Lumpur, Lagos and Tehran.
Panel of Consultants
Connected to the Group is a separate Panel of Consultants: university professors and other professionals who may not be in practice as lawyers or arbitrators, but who are experts in fields relevant to international dispute resolution - and are available to assist the Members of the Group and their clients. The Consultants include experts in areas such as petroleum, mining, metals, commercial crime - and international affairs: Lord Anderson of Swansea chaired the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Commons, and now sits on an equivalent body in the House of Lords.
London Base and Group Administrator
Lamb Chambers, the Chambers of John Cherry QC, is the London base for the Group. Lamb Chambers is housed at Lamb Building, Temple, in the City of London. It is a long-established set of Barristers’ Chambers. Former members include a Lord Chancellor, an Attorney General, and a number of Judges.
Although based at Lamb Chambers, the Group operates independently and entirely separately from Chambers: the Lamb Chambers’ administrative and clerking systems do not apply to the Group. The Group’s Administrator is Dr. Christina Lockwood. Christina is a solicitor and German qualified lawyer, and an accredited Mediator. She has a background in international banking and trade finance, and speaks German, English and Spanish.
The independence of the Group can be seen from the fact that the traditional approach of requiring “overseas” lawyers to join barristers’ chambers as door tenants has been deliberately avoided. With one exception members of the Group are not members of Lamb Chambers, but carry on their practices from their various offices around the world. The exception is Anthony Connerty, Head of the Group and a barrister in practice at Lamb Chambers.
Administrative Support
The Group is not an arbitral institution. It does not have a set of arbitration rules, and does not appoint arbitrators. Administrative support services for the Group are provided by the City Disputes Panel, London. The CDP is a not - for - profit dispute resolution organisation founded in 1994 with the backing of the Bank of England, the City of London Corporation, Lloyds of London, and the Securities and Futures Authority. The CDP is now operated by IDRS Limited, a division of The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.
For further information on the Members Click Here and for Consultants Click Here.
THE IDR GROUP® is a not–for–profit organisation. Members do not share fees with each other or with the Consultants.
