Frank Berman

Sir Franklin Delow Berman, (born 23 December 1939) is a British barrister and leading authority in international law. He was Legal Adviser to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office from 1991 to 1999.

Berman was born in South Africa.^[1] He was educated at Rondebosch Boys' High School, the University of Cape Town (BA in Mathematics 1959, BSc 1960), and Wadham College, Oxford, where he was a Rhodes Scholar, and took first class honours in Jurisprudence. He then undertook doctoral work at Nuffield College, Oxford, where he held a studentship.

Berman joined Her Majesty's Diplomatic Service in 1965, and was called to the bar of Middle Temple in 1966. He was assistant legal advisor for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office from 1965 to 1971, legal advisor to the British Military Government of Berlin from 1971 to 1972, legal adviser at the British Embassy, Bonn, from 1972 to 1974. He was a legal counsellor for the FCO from 1974/5–82, counsellor for the UK Mission to the United Nations from 1982 to 1985. He became deputy legal adviser in 1988 and served as Legal Adviser to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office from 1991 to 1999. He was made an honorary Queen's Counsel in 1992.

He joined Essex Court Chambers in 2000, where he continues to practice law with a specialisation in international arbitration and advisory work in international law. He served as an ad hoc judge for the International Court of Justice from 2003 to 2005, and has been a member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration since 2010. He is a visiting professor of international law at the University of Oxford and the University of Cape Town, and of King's College London.

Berman has served as an arbitrator in ICSID, LCIA and ICC cases. He was appointed in 2010 as the Legal Member of the Court of Arbitration between Pakistan and India under the Indus Waters Treaty.

Ha presidido la Asociación del Servicio Diplomático (1979-1982), la Junta de Apelaciones del Fondo Internacional de Indemnización por Contaminación por Petróleo (1985-2004), el Patronato de la Universidad de Ciudad del Cabo (miembro desde 1999, presidente desde 2010), el Fondo Nacional Austriaco para la Indemnización de las Víctimas de la Persecución Nazi (2001-presente) y la Junta de Apelaciones del Servicio Diplomático (2002-2006); y ha sido miembro del consejo de administración o fideicomisario de muchas otras organizaciones.

Berman fue nombrado Caballero Comendador de la Orden de San Miguel y el 31 de diciembre de 1993. ^{[ 2 ]} Se convirtió en miembro honorario del Wadham College en 1995 y de la Sociedad de Estudios Jurídicos Avanzados en 1997. El Gobierno austriaco le otorgó la Gran Condecoración de Honor en Oro con Estrella en 2007. ^{[ 3 ] [ 4 ]} La Universidad de Ciudad del Cabo ofrece anualmente el Premio Sir Franklin Berman de Derecho Internacional. ^{[ 5 ]}