Team

The Public International Law practice at Herbert Smith Freehills now has 18 partners advising on PIL matters. The team is spread across the globe from New York, through London, Brussels and Paris, to Beijing, Hong Kong, Sydney and Tokyo.

The practice is well-known for its expertise in investment disputes, but has an increasingly distinguished practice in State to State matters, including international boundary disputes, treaty disputes and inter-governmental negotiations.

Key highlights for this year include acting for six sovereign States, including in an ongoing dispute over interpretation of an inter-governmental agreement, a new instruction for an African government on its maritime boundary disputes, and a panel appointment to advise the Chinese government on investment disputes. The team have also undertaken significant oil company work including advising upon sovereignty in the Western Sahara, a major dispute under a stabilization clause with an African government, continuing representation over disputes arising upon the secession of South Sudan from the Republic of Sudan and defence of a human rights claim arising from activities in the DRC.

Significant clients include the Kingdom of Spain, the Republic of Tunisia and the International Seabed Authority, as well as BP, Chevron, Rio Tinto, INPEX and CNPC. Recent appointments include to the International Crimes Evidence Project, on a project to establish an International Constitutional Court for Tunisia, and to task forces of the ICCA/ASIL, ICC and UNCITRAL in relation to arbitrations involving States. Significant publications include a chapter on the continental shelf for the forthcoming IMLI Manual on International Maritime Law.