arbitration for international commerce
London based international commercial arbitrator
James Clanchy, FCIArb. London based arbitrator in independent practice
I practise full-time as an arbitrator, taking appointments in disputes arising from international commerce, particularly in shipping, energy, commodities, finance, and insurance.
As a lawyer with a background in these sectors and having served as the Registrar of the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) and as the Honorary Secretary of the London Maritime Arbitrators Association (LMAA), I am familiar with the rules and practices in ad hoc, trade association and institutional arbitration.
I have been in independent practice as an arbitrator since 2016, full-time since April 2022.
I have been appointed in arbitrations seated in London, Singapore, Dubai and Copenhagen, as sole arbitrator and on two and three-member panels. I have been involved in more than 50 awards and have drafted more than 30.
No longer practising as a solicitor, I am an Associate Member of Six Pump Court Chambers in London (profile here) and an Aspiring Full Member of the LMAA (profile here).
I accept appointments on the LMAA Terms, under institutional rules, and on ad hoc terms, on the basis of hourly rates and fixed fees.
Contact me on +44 (0)7704 658508 or email jclanchy@jamesclanchy.com.
- International commercial arbitration – more than 30 years as solicitor, arbitrator, case assessor, claim handler
- Aspiring Full Member of the London Maritime Arbitrators Association (LMAA)
- Registrar of the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) 2008 – 2012 – valuable insights
- Four years in Paris in 1990s and admitted as avocat 1994 – 2008 - practical experience of civil law
Arbitration Expertise
as solicitor and arbitrator
- Ad hoc and institutional – appointments by parties, institutions, and by the President of the LMAA
- Law, procedure, and regulation – writer and speaker on policy and developments in arbitration
- International trade – cases involving sale and purchase, transport, financing and insurance of commodities
- Energy – oil and gas exploration, production, sale and purchase, transportation; offshore wind, solar projects
- Shipping – charterparties, bills of lading, MoAs, bunker supply contracts, superyacht management, insurance, containers
- Cruise and travel – outsourcing contracts, employment, trade disruption and liability insurance claims
- Joint Ventures – ICC, LCIA and ad hoc arbitrations in shipping, oil and gas, and construction industries
- Africa – cases involving Algeria, Libya, Nigeria, Senegal, Mali, Côte d’Ivoire, Malawi, South Africa
Career summary
- Nov 2019 - : SIX PUMP COURT CHAMBERS, London
Associate Member, Arbitrator - 2016 - 2022 : LEXISNEXIS (BUTTERWORTHS LTD), London
Professional Support Lawyer, Lexis®PSL Arbitration (part time) - 2015 – 2016: STEPHENSON HARWOOD LLP, Solicitors, London
Senior Associate, International Arbitration Group - 2012 – 2014: THOMAS MILLER & CO LTD, London
Senior Legal Advisor, Thomas Miller Legal (ATE Insurance and Third Party Funding) - 2008 – 2012: LONDON COURT OF INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION (LCIA), London
Registrar and Deputy Director General - 1994 – 2008: HOLMAN FENWICK WILLAN, Solicitors, London
Senior Associate, Trade & Energy Group - 1988 - 1994: WITHERS, Solicitors, London and Paris
Trainee and Assistant Solicitor (litigation and arbitration)
Expertise
Shipping
- More than 60 appointments as sole arbitrator, co-arbitrator, and Chair in LMAA ad hoc arbitrations under the LMAA Terms, Intermediate Claims Procedure, and Small Claims Procedure: charterparties, ship sales, offshore support, yacht management, container leases, bunker supply, cruise crew claims;
- Institutional appointments as sole arbitrator by Danish Institute of Arbitration: bunker supply disputes.
As solicitor, acted for shipowners, charterers, P&I and Defence Clubs, ship managers, cargo insurers, port agents, shipbrokers, and cruise operators in contractual disputes in ad hoc arbitration (LMAA), LCIA, Commercial Court in London, Chambre Arbitrale Maritime de Paris, collaborated with and supervised lawyers in French courts, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Malta, Cyprus, Algeria, Tunisia, Nigeria, Liberia, Bénin, Ghana, South Africa, UAE, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, Pakistan, India, Canada, USA.
Visited vessels (containers, general cargo, reefer, cruise, superyacht), took evidence and attended court in Rotterdam, Antwerp, Paris, Le Havre, Rouen, Nantes, Marseille, Naples, Valletta, Algiers, Tunis, Istanbul.
Co-editor (Arbitration), Lloyd’s Maritime Law Newsletter, writing and editing anonymised summaries of London maritime arbitration awards.
Lecturer on charterparties on the Maritime Law Short Course of the Institute of Maritime Law, Southampton University.
Commodities
- Appointed by LCIA Court in a DIFC-LCIA arbitration (Dubai seat): metal trading dispute;
- Selected as presiding arbitrator by two co-arbitrators and appointed by LCIA Court in an LCIA arbitration (London seat): sale and purchase of coal;
- Party appointments to tribunals in LMAA arbitrations: metal and coal trading disputes (London seat);
- Selected as presiding arbitrator by two co-arbitrators and appointed by Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) in a SIAC arbitration (Singapore seat): sale and purchase of palm oil.
- Institutional appointment as sole arbitrator in SIAC arbitration (Singapore seat): sale and purchase of cement clinker.
As solicitor, acted for producers, traders, shipowners, charterers, and cargo insurers in LCIA, GAFTA, FOSFA, RSA, LMAA arbitrations, mediations and court in relation to sale and purchase, production sharing, carriage and insurance of crude oil, rice, corn, wheat, soya beans, palm oil, sugar, steel, scrap metal, cement.
Substantial experience in the sale and carriage of rice and corn to North and West Africa from eg India, Vietnam, Thailand, Ukraine, acting for traders, brokers, charterers, and underwriters in numerous disputes relating to quality and condition, certificates final, moisture damage, infestations, dangerous cargoes, rejection of goods, frustration of contract, performance bonds, working with local correspondents and experts.
Lecturer on Gafta training courses for traders and arbitrators in Tripoli (Libya), Madrid, Cambridge, London (2004 – 2006).
Arbitration Law & Procedure
As solicitor, in Commercial Court in London, obtained and challenged anti suit injunctions for breaches of London arbitration clauses; Arbitration Act 1996, s44 applications for preservation of evidence; ss67 and 68 challenges to arbitration awards; in France, obtained saisies conservatoires as security for arbitration claims.
As LCIA Registrar, oversaw the administration of more than 1000 arbitrations under LCIA and UNCITRAL Rules, including appointments of tribunals, challenges to arbitrators, determination of arbitration costs; assisted the LCIA Court with revisions to the LCIA Arbitration Rules.
At LexisNexis UK, maintained practical guidance content on arbitration rules and arbitration case law.
Talks
Speaker on arbitration, costs, and third party funding at conferences in UK (CIArb, LCIA, IALS), France, Hungary (2009), Poland (Warsaw University, 2010), Ghana (2010), Russia (English Law Week, Moscow, June 2011), Norway (ITechLaw, Oslo, October 2011), Croatia (Croatian Arbitration Days, Zagreb, December 2015), Denmark (ICMA XX, September 2017), Turkey (Altinbas University, October 2017), Slovenia (UNCITRAL-LAC joint conference, March 2018), Portugal (CIArb European Branch, April 2018), Ukraine (LMAA-ICAC joint conference, Odessa, September 2018), USA (ABA Section of International Law, Washington DC, April 2019), Brazil (ICMA XXI, Rio de Janeiro, March 2020), Greece (LMAA, Piraeus, May 2022), Dubai, UAE (ICMA XXII, November 2023).
Lecturer on CIArb International Maritime Arbitration Diploma course.
Books & Articles
- Co-author of A Commentary on the LCIA Arbitration Rules 2014 – published by Sweet & Maxwell (2015) (excellent and authoritative, Global Arbitration Review; helpful and clear, Law Quarterly Review)
- Chapter A Neglected Blueprint: The LMAA’s Small Claims Procedure in Expedited International Arbitration: Policies, Rules, and Procedures (Herman Verbist and Alan M Anderson ed, Kluwer, forthcoming in 2024)
- Money makers: Can third party funding in arbitration diminish the menace of the unfunded claimant?, New Law Journal, Vol 166 7704, 24 June 2016
- Navigating the Waters of Third Party Funding in Arbitration, Arbitration, Vol 82, No.3, Aug 2016, pp222-232
- Rigorous steps short of champerty, New Law Journal, Vol 167 7738, 17 March 2017
- Conflicting Perceptions of Ethics in International Arbitration, with Cherine Foty, Arbitration, Vol 85, No. 2, May 2019, pp185 - 202
- Ad hoc Arbitration and its Enemies, Arbitration, 86, No.4, December 2020, pp 536-551
EDUCATION / qualifications
- 2015 Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, London
Admitted as a Fellow (FCIArb), November 2015 - 1991-93 Ecole de Formation du Barreau, Paris
Stage Conseil Juridique (French bar training course)
Admitted to the Paris Bar (Avocat à la Cour), Sep 1994 (withdrew from roll in 2008) - 1990 Solicitor (England and Wales)
admitted November 1990 (non-practising since November 2019) - 1986-88 City of London Polytechnic
Law Society Final Examination
Common Professional Examination - 1982-86 St Anne’s College, University of Oxford
BA and MA, Classics and Modern Languages (French) - Languages: English (native), French (fluent, including commercial, legal, maritime)
MEMBERSHIPS
- London Maritime Arbitrators Association (LMAA) (Aspiring Full Member - profile here)
- London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) (European Users’ Council)
- London Chamber of Arbitration and Mediation (Panel – profile here; former Board member)
- Singapore Chamber of Maritime Arbitration (SCMA) (Arbitrators Panel – profile here)
- Dubai International Arbitration Centre (DIAC) Arbitrator List
- Minor Metals Trade Association (MMTA) Arbitration Panel
- Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb) (Fellow; former Honorary Secretary, London Branch; former member, Professional Conduct Committee - profile here)
- Worshipful Company of Arbitrators (Liveryman)
- Commodities Arbitration Club
- Energy Arbitration Club
- Francophone Arbitration Club of London
- International Trust Arbitration Organisation (Advisory Board - website here)
- LexisNexis UK Arbitration Consulting Editorial Board
- Law Society Arbitration Working Group
CIArb Member Profile: “Hot topics” can be a nuisance
In an interview with the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb), I was asked about my opinion of current “hot topics” in arbitration. I gave examples of issues which have been blown out of proportion, including the law of the arbitration agreement and third-party funding.
Click the link below to download James Clanchy's CV as a PDF.
