Professional Ethics at the International Bar

Over the past twenty years, the volume of international litigation and arbitration has increased exponentially. As the number of new international courts and tribunals has proliferated, the diversity and volume of advocates appearing before the international courts has also increased. With this increase, the ethical standards that apply to counsel have become a growing field of interest to practitioners of public international law. Problems threatening the integrity of the international judicial process and concerns about divergent ethical standards amongst counsel have multiplied in the international judicial system, prompting early attempts by senior members of the 'international bar' to articulate common ethical standards.

Professional Ethics at the International Bar examines the question of how to articulate common ethical standards for counsel appearing before international courts and tribunals, and the legal powers and practical ability of international courts to prescribe and enforce such standards. It conducts original research into both the theory and practice of the issues arising from this nascent process of professionalization. Using various sources, including interviews with judges, registrars, and senior practitioners, it argues that the professionalization of advocacy through the articulation of common ethical standards is both desirable and feasible in order to protect the integrity and fairness of the international judicial process.

Arman Sarvarian, Lecturer in Law, University of Surrey

From 2009-2010 Arman Sarvarian acted as legal secretary to the International Law Association Study Group on International Courts and Tribunals, throughout the drafting of the ILA Hague Principles on Ethical Standards for Counsel before International Courts and Tribunals. Since 2011, he has been a member of the International Bar Association Task Force on Counsel Ethics in International Arbitration. Arman completed the Bar Vocational Course on a Lord Denning Major Scholarship from the Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn and was called to the English Bar in 2010. He has authored articles and papers about public international law, including common ethical standards for counsel before the European Court of Justice, European Court of Human Rights, investment and commercial arbitration, and the Nuremberg International Military Tribunal. He is currently a lecturer in law at the University of Surrey.

1. Introduction
Part I: Theoretical and Historical Background
2. The Role of Counsel Ethics in International Litigation
3. The Historical Development of National Ethical Traditions
4. The Historical Development of International Advocacy until 1945
Part II: Advocacy before International Courts and Tribunals
5. The International Court of Justice
6. The European Court of Justice
7. The European Court of Human Rights
8. The International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes
9. The International Criminal Court
Part III: Counsel Ethics before International Courts in the Twenty-First Century
10. Professionalisation before International Courts
11. Towards an International Bar
12. Conclusions