Catherine Drummond

International Court of Justice:

• Counsel for Antigua and Barbuda in Obligations of States in respect of Climate Change (Advisory Opinion proceedings);
• Counsel for Belize in Sovereignty over the Sapodilla Cayes (Belize v. Honduras);
• Counsel for Belize in Guatemala’s Territorial, Insular and Maritime Claim (Guatemala/Belize);
• Counsel for a State intervening in Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (South Africa v. Israel);
• Counsel for Belize in Legal Consequences arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem (Advisory Opinion proceedings);
• Advising a State intervening in Allegations of Genocide under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Ukraine v. Russian Federation);
• Counsel for Belize in Legal Consequences of the Separation of the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius in 1965 (Advisory Opinion proceedings);
• Counsel for Chile in Obligation to Negotiate Access to the Pacific Ocean (Bolivia v. Chile).

European Court of Human Rights:

• Counsel for a State in an inter-State case before the European Court of Human Rights concerning property rights, the right to a fair trial and ethnic discrimination;
• Assisting as a pupil on an intervention in the Grand Chamber case of Semenya v. Switzerland;
• Counsel for Slovenia in Slovenia v Croatia concerning the treatment of a State-owned Slovenian bank by the Croatian authorities.

Inter-State arbitration:

• Counsel for the UK in its arbitration with the EU commenced under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement concerning the fishing of sandeels.

Other international courts and bodies:

• The Situation in The State of Palestine (International Criminal Court) – Counsel for intervener Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association in respect of the ICC’s jurisdiction over Israeli nationals;
• The Situation in The State of Palestine (International Criminal Court) – assisting Counsel for victims represented by Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association in respect of the territorial scope of the Prosecutor’s jurisdiction;
• The Prosecutor v. Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo (International Criminal Court) – Counsel for the REDRESS Trust in the filing of an amicus curiae brief concerning reparations for international crimes;
• Counsel for a human rights defender in a complaint against a central Asian State submitted to the United Nations Human Rights Committee;
• Authoring an amicus curiae brief in Cases 003 and 004 at the Extraordinary Chambers of the Courts of Cambodia on the content of crimes against humanity under customary international law in the 1970s (with Professors Dapo Akande and Philippa Webb).

English courts:

• Al-Haq v Secretary of State for Business and Trade – acting for Al-Haq in challenging decisions by the Secretary of State for Business and Trade not to suspend licenses for arms exports to Israel in the context of its conduct in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (led by Phillippa Kaufmann KC and Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh KC);
• Border Timbers Ltd & anor v Republic of Zimbabwe – appeared in the Court of Appeal (led by Christopher Harris KC) on behalf of Border Timbers Ltd in an appeal (joined with Infrastructure Services Luxembourg SÀRL & Anor v Kingdom of Spain [2023] EWHC 1226 (Comm)) concerning whether a State can resist registration of an ICSID award on grounds of State immunity;
• Argentum Exploration Ltd v South Africa [2024] UKSC 16; [2024] 2 WLR 1259 – assisted as a pupil in a case concerning South Africa’s claim to be immune in a salvage action in the first ever case to consider section 10(4)(a) of the State Immunity Act 1978 (led by Stephen Hofmeyr KC).

Advisory work and training:

• Advising on regime interaction in the context of climate change;
• Advisor to the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (2018-2022);
• Advising on the inter-governmental negotiations for an international legally binding instrument under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ, now called the High Seas Treaty);
• Advising the International Service for Human Rights (ISHR) on a range of public international law matters, including the obligations of the United Nations Human Rights Council, regimes for the protection of human rights defenders and the domestic implementation of international human rights law in an African State;
• Advising an international non-governmental organisation on a range of public international law matters, including the use of strategic litigation to obtain compensation for human rights violations;
• Advising Hapag-Lloyd AG on the public international law implications of its acquisition of United Arab Shipping Company S.A.G., a company established under a treaty and not incorporated in any domestic jurisdiction;
• Advising a non-governmental organisation on the extent to which a peace agreement concluding a non-international armed conflict gave rise to obligations of guarantee for States and international organisations that signed as ‘guarantors’ of the peace agreement;
• Providing preparatory and real-time analysis and advice to participants during the first implementation conference for the Arms Trade Treaty (with a focus on risk assessment thresholds for serious violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law, and related import, export, transit and trans-shipment obligations);
• Delivery of a capacity-building workshop for government officials on the resolution and management of disputes relating to transboundary resources (UNGA side event, New York);
• Delivering training in international humanitarian and criminal law to the Australian Defence Forces;
• Providing submissions to Australian Parliamentary inquiries into the legality under international law of Australia’s actions relating to refugees and asylum seekers.

• Counsel for the UK in its arbitration with the EU commenced under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement concerning the fishing of sandeels;
• Border Timbers Ltd & anor v Republic of Zimbabwe – appeared in the Court of Appeal (led by Christopher Harris KC) on behalf of Border Timbers Ltd in an appeal (joined with Infrastructure Services Luxembourg SÀRL & Anor v Kingdom of Spain [2023] EWHC 1226 (Comm)) concerning whether a State can resist registration of an ICSID award on grounds of State immunity;
• A v B (led by Ricky Diwan KC) – counsel resisting an application for anti-suit relief to injunct recognition and enforcement proceedings in a New York Convention State;
• Counsel representing a State in an LCIA arbitration relating to a power project;
• Counsel representing the Republic of Latvia in an ad hoc UNCITRAL arbitration under the Switzerland-Latvia BIT related to the dissolution of a Latvian bank;
• Counsel representing an international inter-governmental organisation in four commercial arbitrations consolidated under the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules concerning disputes relating to contracts for the provision of logistics services;
• Counsel representing two State-owned energy companies in an ICC arbitration concerning corruption in connection with the building of a power plant;
• Counsel representing an international energy company in an ICC arbitration concerning a long-term supply contract;
• Counsel representing a Fortune 500 company and related entities in an ICC arbitration against a Turkish company operating in the restaurant sector in relation to a post-M&A dispute;
• Investor-State arbitration merits reviews and advisory work;
• Assisting on three chapters on investor-State arbitration before English courts in the forthcoming updated edition of Mustill & Boyd: International Commercial Arbitration (3^rd ed, 2024).

• A v B (led by Ricky Diwan KC) – counsel resisting an application for anti-suit relief to injunct recognition and enforcement proceedings in a New York Convention State;
• Border Timbers Ltd & anor v Republic of Zimbabwe – appeared in the Court of Appeal (led by Christopher Harris KC) on behalf of Border Timbers Ltd in an appeal (joined with Infrastructure Services Luxembourg SÀRL & Anor v Kingdom of Spain [2023] EWHC 1226 (Comm)) concerning whether a State can resist registration of an ICSID award on grounds of State immunity;
• Argentum Exploration Ltd v South Africa [2024] UKSC 16; [2024] 2 WLR 1259 – assisted as a pupil in a case concerning South Africa’s claim to be immune in a salvage action in the first ever case to consider section 10(4)(a) of the State Immunity Act 1978 (led by Stephen Hofmeyr KC).

International Court of Justice:

• Counsel for Antigua and Barbuda in Obligations of States in respect of Climate Change (Advisory Opinion proceedings);
• Counsel for a State intervening in Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (South Africa v. Israel);
• Counsel for Belize in Legal Consequences arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem (Advisory Opinion proceedings);
• Advising a State intervening in Allegations of Genocide under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Ukraine v. Russian Federation);
• Counsel for Belize in Legal Consequences of the Separation of the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius in 1965 (Advisory Opinion proceedings);

European Court of Human Rights:

• Counsel for a State in an inter-State case before the European Court of Human Rights concerning property rights, the right to a fair trial and ethnic discrimination;
• Assisting as a pupil on an intervention in the Grand Chamber case of Semenya v. Switzerland;
• Counsel for Slovenia in Slovenia v Croatia concerning the treatment of a State-owned Slovenian bank by the Croatian authorities.

Other international courts:

• The Situation in The State of Palestine (International Criminal Court) – Counsel for intervener Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association in respect of the ICC’s jurisdiction over Israeli nationals;
• The Situation in The State of Palestine (International Criminal Court) – assisting Counsel for victims represented by Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association in respect of the territorial scope of the Prosecutor’s jurisdiction;
• The Prosecutor v. Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo (International Criminal Court) – Counsel for the REDRESS Trust in the filing of an amicus curiae brief concerning reparations for international crimes;
• Counsel for a human rights defender in a complaint against a central Asian State submitted to the United Nations Human Rights Committee;
• Authoring an amicus curiae brief in Cases 003 and 004 at the Extraordinary Chambers of the Courts of Cambodia on the content of crimes against humanity under customary international law in the 1970s (with Professors Dapo Akande and Philippa Webb).

Advisory work:

• Advising on regime interaction in the context of climate change;
• Advisor to the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (2018-2022);
• Advising on the inter-governmental negotiations for an international legally binding instrument under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ, now called the High Seas Treaty);
• Advising the International Service for Human Rights (ISHR) on a range of public international law matters, including the obligations of the United Nations Human Rights Council, regimes for the protection of human rights defenders and the domestic implementation of international human rights law in an African State;
• Advising an international non-governmental organisation on a range of public international law matters, including the use of strategic litigation to obtain compensation for human rights violations;
• Providing preparatory and real-time analysis and advice to participants during the first implementation conference for the Arms Trade Treaty (with a focus on risk assessment thresholds for serious violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law, and related import, export, transit and trans-shipment obligations);
• Delivering training in international humanitarian and criminal law to the Australian Defence Forces;
• Providing submissions to Australian Parliamentary inquiries into the legality under international law of Australia’s actions relating to refugees and asylum seekers.

English courts:

• Al-Haq v Secretary of State for Business and Trade – acting for Al-Haq in challenging decisions by the Secretary of State for Business and Trade not to suspend licenses for arms exports to Israel in the context of its conduct in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (led by Phillippa Kaufmann KC and Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh KC).

• Al-Haq v Secretary of State for Business and Trade – acting for Al-Haq in challenging decisions by the Secretary of State for Business and Trade not to suspend licenses for arms exports to Israel in the context of its conduct in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (led by Phillippa Kaufmann KC and Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh KC).