Masters of the Bench

Sir Franklin Berman joined HM Diplomatic Service in 1965 and was Legal Adviser to the Foreign & Commonwealth Office from 1991-99.  For the past 16 years he has been in practice in Essex Court Chambers specialising in international arbitration and advisory work in international law.  He is Visiting Professor of International Law at Oxford and the University of Cape Town.  His 45-year career in international law and diplomacy has spanned a wide and varied field.  Sir Frank has served as Judge ad hoc on the International Court of Justice and was appointed by the British Government in 2004 to the list of Arbitrators under the Washington Convention (ICSID).  He is a Member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration and currently chairs the Claims Committee of the Austrian General Settlement Fund for Victims of Nazi persecution.  In 2006 the Republic of Austria awarded him the Grand Decoration of Honour in Gold with Star and in 2014 the Kingdom of Cambodia the Grand Cross of the Royal Order.