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Judiciary

Court Judges

The Rt. Hon. The Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd

President of the Court

Lord Thomas has been President of the Qatar International Court since 2018.

Lord Thomas was called to the Bar of England and Wales in 1969, becoming a Queen’s Counsel in 1984. In 1996, he was appointed a High Court Judge and was assigned to the Queen’s Bench Division, serving on the Commercial Court. In 2003, he became a Lord Justice of Appeal and was appointed to the Privy Council. He served as the Senior Presiding Judge from 2003 to 2006. 

In 2008, he was appointed Vice President of the Queen’s Bench Division and Deputy Head of Criminal Justice. In 2011, he became President of the Queen’s Bench Division. Thereafter, in 2013, he succeeded Lord Judge as Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales. He retired from that post in 2017, prior to taking up the present position in Qatar where he succeeded Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers. 

Lord Thomas holds several extra-judicial posts, including as Honorary Fellow of Trinity Hall, Cambridge and Fellow of the Universities of Cardiff, Aberystwyth, Swansea and Bangor and Honorary Doctor of Law of the Universities of South Wales, the West of England, Wales and of Cardiff Metropolitan University. He is a Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales.

In 2016, he formed the Standing International Forum of Commercial Courts. He was appointed Chairman of the Financial Markets Law Committee in November 2017. He has been Chancellor of Aberystwyth University since January 2018.
 

Rashid Al Badr

Enforcement Judge

Rashid Al Badr has held the position of Enforcement Judge of the Qatar International Court since 2012. Rashid was appointed Junior Magistrate of the Criminal Courts of First Instance in 1992 before becoming Senior Magistrate of the High Civil and Criminal Courts in 1996. From 2001-2003, he was Magistrate of the Court of Appeals before becoming Deputy Chairman of the Court of Appeals in 2003. In 2008, Rashid became the Chief Justice of the Court of Appeal, a position he still holds. He holds an LL.B. from the United Arab Emirates University, a post graduate Diploma from the University of Essex in England and an LLM in American Legal Studies from Case Western University in Ohio, USA.

Dr Hassan Al Sayed

Dr Hassan Al Sayed has been a judge of the Qatar International Court since 2010. Dr Hassan is an Associate Professor of Law at Qatar University’s College of Law. He was Dean of the College of Law from 2007-2010, having received his doctorate in Law in 2003 from the University of East Anglia in the UK. As Dean of the College of Law, he played an important role in the separation of the College of Law from the College of Sharia (Islamic Studies) and developed a new independent legal curriculum which incorporated English language at the College.

Dr. Al Sayed previously practiced as a lawyer in Qatar, specialising in constitutional law, administrative disputes and state contracts, and was formerly the Vice President of the Qatari Bar Association. He has been appointed to numerous committees, including the International Centre for Dialogue between Religions and the Bar Admission Committee. He has contributed to a weekly column in Qatar’s renowned Al-Sharq newspaper and has published articles and op-eds in several peer-reviewed journals.

Chelva Rajah SC

Chelva Rajah has been a judge of the Qatar International Court since 2011. He was President of the Law Society of Singapore from 1990-1992 and held the position of Judicial Commissioner of the High Court of Singapore from 1995-1997. He was appointed a Senior Counsel in 1998.

He is on the panel of Accredited Arbitrators at the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) and was appointed Chairman of Maxwell Chambers in 2008, a position he held until his appointment to the Board of SIAC in 2010. In 2011, he became the first Singapore appointed member of the Commonwealth Secretariat’s Arbitral Tribunal.

He is Senior Partner of the dispute resolution team at the law firm Tan Rajah and Cheah, based in Singapore, where he has developed a distinguished practice in both litigation and arbitration, particularly in substantial commercial disputes, property-related matters and insolvency. He was admitted to the Singapore Bar in 1972 and was called to the Bar of England and Wales by the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple.

Sir Bruce Robertson

Sir Bruce Robertson has been a judge of the Qatar International Court since 2013. He was appointed a Judge of the High Court in Auckland, New Zealand, in 1987, and was Executive Judge and a Judge of the Commercial List. He was a divisional member of the Court of Appeal from 1996 and was appointed a full-time member from 2005. He was President of the Law Commission from 2001-2005. Sir Bruce was formerly Acting Chief High Court Judge and Acting Chief Justice as the senior puisne Judge. He took early retirement in 2010 and continues to sit in various Pacific jurisdictions, holding a number of statutory and advisory roles.

He was Chairman to the Search and Search Warrants Committee, which published its final report in 1988. From 2001-2005, he was President of the New Zealand Law Commission. He has been involved in professional training and advocacy and was President of the Legal Research Foundation. He has held various community posts within New Zealand and has written extensively, particularly in criminal law and law reform. He is one of a few New Zealand members of the American Law Institute. In 1995, he was an Inns of Court Fellow in London and, in 1998, he was a Visitor at Emmanuel College, University of Cambridge.

Her Honour Frances Kirkham CBE

Frances Kirkham has been a judge of the Qatar International Court since 2013. Frances Kirkham was a senior circuit judge, the designated Technology & Construction Court (TCC) judge in Birmingham, England. The majority of work undertaken was in the High Court and was responsible for all TCC work that both initiated and transferred to Birmingham. Prior to this, she was partner at three national solicitors' practices in Birmingham. Between 2006 and 2011, she acted as Commissioner at the Judicial Appointments Commission, speaking at several meetings of the Irish, Franco-British Judicial Co-operation Committee. Frances spent a period at the Palais de Justice in Paris, where she observed the work of the French courts, specifically with regards to construction and engineering disputes.

Frances regularly acts as an arbitrator, adjudicator, and mediator, and completed her TCC judicial mediation training in 2010. She has worked as a deputy High Court judge in the Mercantile, Chancery and Administrative Courts, and has also undertaken general Queen’s Bench Division work. Frances has received numerous awards, including the Birmingham Law Society’s Lifetime Achievement Award and the Clare Edwards Memorial Award, recognising her extensive contribution to the practice of construction law. Notably, Frances was founder committee member and first secretary of the United Kingdom Association of Women Judges.
 

Lord Hamilton

Lord Hamilton has been a judge of the Qatar International Court since 2015. Lord Hamilton was admitted to the Faculty of Advocates in 1968 and appointed Queens Counsel (QC) in 1982. He was an Advocate Depute, a Scottish prosecutor from 1982 until 1985, Chairman of the Medical Appeals Tribunals from 1988 to 1992, and President of the Pensions Appeal Tribunal in Scotland from 1992 to 1995. Over several months in 1992 to 1993, he acted as a temporary Sheriff Principal in the sheriffdom of Tayside, Central and Fife, due to the indisposition of the incumbent Sheriff Principal. 

From 1988 to 1995, he was a Judge of the Courts of Appeal of Jersey and Guernsey.

In 1995, Lord Hamilton was appointed a Senator of the College of Justice. Between 1997 and 2000, he was a full-time commercial judge dedicated to commercial business and responsible for oversight of that aspect of Court of Session business. In January 2002, he was appointed as a Judge of the Inner House of the Court of Session, where he sat principally on appellate business. In 2005, the Scottish Executive announced that he would succeed Lord Cullen as Lord Justice General and Lord President of the Court of Session, upon the latter's appointment to the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords. As Lord President and Lord Justice General, he was responsible for the supervision of these Courts and for the determination of policy and rules of court procedure. He also made appointments to some tribunals and made recommendations to The Queen for the appointment of Queen’s Counsel.

George Arestis

George Arestis has been a judge of the Qatar International Court since 2015. He studied at the Law School of Athens University, graduating in 1968. He subsequently went to England and read Political Science at the University of Kent at Canterbury, graduating with a Master’s in Comparative Politics and Government.

After practising as a lawyer for ten years, he was appointed as a judge in 1982 and, in 2003, he attained the office of Judge of the Supreme Court of Cyprus. He has been Cyprus’ first judge at the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg, a position from which he served for a period of ten years. In 2013, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Law by the University of Kent.

George has given lectures on European Union law, mainly at universities in Cyprus, Greece, the UK, Germany, Belgium and Bulgaria.

With an interest in poetry, he has published a collection of poems “To Taxidi mou” (“My Journey”) (2009).  
 

Dr. Rashid Hamad Al-Anezi

Dr. Rashid Hamad Al-Anezi is a Kuwaiti legal academic, international arbitrator and a private lawyer. He holds a PHD in International Law from Cambridge University and is a partner in the Kuwait law firm, International Legal Group Law, in strategic alliance with an international law firm Baker Botts LLP.

Dr. Rashid started practicing in the academic field when he joined the faculty of the College of Law at Kuwait University. He was the Head of International Law Department and Assistant Dean in the College of Law. Currently, he is a professor of International Law in the College of Law at Kuwait University. Dr. Rashid has published six books and more than 20 articles in both Arabic and English.

He is a registered arbitrator in Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) in Laussane, Kuwait Sports Arbitration Authority, GCC Commercial Arbitration Centre and Saudi Arabian Sports Arbitration Centre. An active international participant, Dr. Rashid is a member of various international organisations and associations, including the Kuwait Bar Association, Kuwait Environment Protection Society and the American Society of International Law. He is also a member of the Ethics Panel of Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA) and Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer in the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA).

Sir William Blair

Sir William Blair has been a judge of the Qatar International Court since 2017.

He graduated from the University of Oxford and practiced at the English Bar, where he specialised in the law of banking and finance. He became a Queen’s Counsel in 1994 and was Chairman of the Commercial Bar Association between 2003 and 2005. He was appointed a High Court Judge in England and Wales in 2008 and became President of the Board of Appeal of the European Supervisory Authorities in 2012. Sir William served as Chairman of the Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Tribunal until March 2011 and was a judge in London’s Commercial Court between 2008 and 2017, becoming Judge in Charge of the Commercial Court in 2016. 

Sir William is a member of London’s Financial Markets Law Committee and chairs the Monetary Law Committee of the International Law Association (MOCOMILA). He is a Visiting Professor at the London School of Economics (LSE), Peking University (PKU) and East China University of Political Science and Law (ECUPL).

In 2016, the College of Law at Qatar University established the Sir William Blair Chair in Alternative Dispute Resolution. In 2017, Sir William was appointed Professor of Financial Law and Ethics at Queen Mary University of London, based at the Centre for Commercial Law Studies.

In August 2018, he was appointed Chair of the Bank of England’s new Enforcement Decision Making Committee.
 

Fritz Brand

Fritz Brand has been a judge of the Qatar International Court since 2019.

Immediately after receiving his LL.B in 1972, he was appointed as senior lecturer at the law faculty of the University of Stellenbosch, where he taught until the end of 1976. In 1977, he joined the Cape Bar where he practiced as an advocate until September 1992. During that period, he served on the Cape Bar Council for about ten years. In 1989, he received his letters patent as a senior counsel. In 1992, he was appointed as a judge of the High Court in Cape Town. After serving as an acting judge of appeal at the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein in 2000, he was appointed permanently to that court. In 2010, he was appointed as an acting judge to the Constitutional Court for two terms, retaining his permanent position on the Supreme Court of Appeal bench. Since his retirement from that Court in 2015, he has been appointed to the Appeal Court of Botswana and to the Supreme Court of Fiji - positions which he still holds.

Ali Malek KC

Ali Malek KC has been a judge of the Qatar International Court since 2019.

He is recognised as one of the leading silks at the Commercial Bar of England and Wales. He is ranked in six different practice areas in both the Chambers & Partners guide, and the Legal 500. Ali has a wide and substantial practice with many of his cases having a strong international element. He has expertise in the field of international arbitration, banking and finance.

Ali, who is of British-Iranian heritage, was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1996, an Assistant Recorder in 1998, and a Recorder in 2000. He was appointed a Deputy High Court Judge in 2008 and is authorised to sit as a Deputy Judge at the Commercial Court of England and Wales. He also sits as an arbitrator in institutional and ad hoc commercial arbitration cases, including ICC, ICSID, LCIA and SIAC.

Helen Mountfield KC

Helen Mountfield KC has been a judge of the Qatar International Court since 2019.

She was called to the Bar of England and Wales in 1991 and appointed Silk in 2010. She has a wide-ranging practice, particularly in the fields of Administrative and Public Law, Human Rights and Civil Liberties and Employment Law. She is particularly well-known for cases concerning discrimination and equality questions as they arise in public law, employment, commercial and other contexts. Helen is on the Equality & Human Rights Commission’s panel and sits as a Deputy High Court Judge in the Administrative Court, a civil and criminal Recorder, and on the Courts of Appeal of Jersey & Guernsey.  She is Principal of Mansfield College, Oxford.

Tribunal Judges

Sir William Blair

Chairman of the Regulatory Tribunal

Sir William Blair has been a judge of the Qatar International Court since 2017.

He graduated from the University of Oxford and practiced at the English Bar, where he specialised in the law of banking and finance. He became a Queen’s Counsel in 1994 and was Chairman of the Commercial Bar Association between 2003 and 2005. He was appointed a High Court Judge in England and Wales in 2008 and became President of the Board of Appeal of the European Supervisory Authorities in 2012. Sir William served as Chairman of the Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Tribunal until March 2011 and was a judge in London’s Commercial Court between 2008 and 2017, becoming Judge in Charge of the Commercial Court in 2016. 

Sir William is a member of London’s Financial Markets Law Committee and chairs the Monetary Law Committee of the International Law Association (MOCOMILA). He is a Visiting Professor at the London School of Economics (LSE), Peking University (PKU) and East China University of Political Science and Law (ECUPL).

In 2016, the College of Law at Qatar University established the Sir William Blair Chair in Alternative Dispute Resolution. In 2017, Sir William was appointed Professor of Financial Law and Ethics at Queen Mary University of London, based at the Centre for Commercial Law Studies.

In August 2018, he was appointed Chair of the Bank of England’s new Enforcement Decision Making Committee.

Edwin Glasgow CBE KC

Edwin Glasgow KC has been a judge of the QFC Regulatory Tribunal since 2015.
He has extensive experience in commercial and general litigation, as counsel, arbitrator and mediator. In addition to his UK practice, he has been involved in commercial cases in the USA, Hong Kong, Africa, Australia and the Caribbean; professional negligence in Singapore and USA; and Human Rights cases in a number of jurisdictions including Malaysia and Africa.


With more than 40 years of legal experience, Edwin has served as a judge on several prestigious panels and lectured on law and advocacy around the world. He is renowned for his advocacy and forensic skills but also as a popular and approachable arbitrator and outstandingly successful mediator.

Laurence Li SC

Laurence Li SC has been a judge of the QFC Regulatory Tribunal since 2011.

Laurence Li SC has extensive and multi-faceted expertise in financial law and regulation.  As a barrister, he is a foremost practitioner in this area in Hong Kong.  Previously, he worked as a regulator in senior positions in the Securities and Futures Commission.  Laurence chairs the Financial Services Development Council, a body tasked to promote the financial services industry and markets.

Gopal Subramanium

Supplementary Judge

Gopal Subramanium has been a supplementary judge of the QFC Regulatory Tribunal since 2015. Gopal is a Senior Advocate of the Supreme Court of India. In 1993, he was designated as Senior Counsel suo motu by the Supreme Court of India before becoming Additional Solicitor General of India in 2005 through 2009 whereby he was made Solicitor General of India - a post he held until 2014. From 2010-2011, he was Chairman of the Bar Council of India.

Sean Hagan

Sean Hagan has been a judge of the QFC Regulatory Tribunal since 2019.

He was General Counsel and Director of the Legal Department since 2004, until his retirement from the IMF in 2018. In this capacity, he advised the Fund’s management, Executive Board and membership on all legal aspects of the Fund’s operations, including its regulatory, advisory and lending functions. He has published extensively on both the law of the Fund and a broad range of legal issues relating to the prevention and resolution of financial crisis, with a particular emphasis on insolvency and the restructuring of debt, including sovereign debt.

Prior to beginning work at the IMF, Sean was in private practice, first in New York and subsequently in Tokyo. He received his Juris Doctor from the Georgetown University Law Center and received a Master’s in International Political Economy from the London School of Economics and Political Science. He is currently a Visiting Professor of Law at Georgetown Law. 

Regulatory Tribunal Judicial Appointment

Regulatory Tribunal Judicial Appointment

The Qatar International Court announced the appointment of Dr. Muna Al-Marzouqi as a Judge of QFC Regulatory Tribunal.

The QFC Regulatory Tribunal is a specialist appeals body, established pursuant to the Law of the Qatar Financial Centre, designed to hear appeals raised by individuals and corporate bodies against decisions of the QFC Authority, Regulatory Authority and other QFC Institutions. In addition to its Chairman, it comprises five judges from Qatar, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, India, and the United States of America.

Registry

Judicial Advisory Board

  • The Rt. Hon. The Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd

    President of the Court

  • Sir William Blair

    Chairman of the Regulatory Tribunal

  • Her Honour Frances Kirkham CBE

    Representative of the Judges

  • Dr Hassan Al Sayed

  • Faisal Rashid Al-Sahouti

    Chief Executive Officer

  • Christopher Grout

    Registrar