Barbara Dohmann KC

Barbara Dohmann KC is one of the UK’s leading commercial silks whose practice has had a particular focus on, and is now exclusively, international arbitration. She has extensive judicial experience, both as an arbitrator and judge, including in the International Commercial Court of Qatar, and she has regularly acted as an expert in English Commercial Law.

Miss Dohmann's arbitration experience spans international joint ventures, bilateral investment disputes, metal trading, oil and gas trading (e.g. disputes between a state oil company and a private trading company), North Sea oil drilling contracts, power purchase agreements, commodity trading, the true construction of bare boat charters, alleged breaches of charter parties, telecoms, property, intellectual property, construction, trusts, family foundations, shareholder disputes, the sale of companies/mergers/acquisitions, international sporting events, media services and entertainment and many insurance and reinsurance disputes. She is a member of the LCIA and is and has repeatedly been an Arbitrator under the Rules of the LCIA , the ICC, ICSID, the HKIAC, the Swiss Arbitration Rules, the LME and an ad hoc Arbitrator under, eg, the UNCITRAL Rules. From 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2022 she was Chairman of the International Arbitration Centre in Astana, Kazakhstan.

Miss Dohmann has experience in a wide variety of areas of the common and the civil law. She has appeared in the Appellate Courts, High Court 1st instance (in both the Chancery Division and the Commercial Court, Queen's Bench Division), arbitrations (as both Arbitrator and Counsel) as well as at regulatory and disciplinary tribunals, and she is a CEDR accredited Mediator.

Miss Dohmann has extensive experience in appearing before foreign courts in very large commercial disputes, including Bermuda, Gibraltar, Singapore, Brunei, Grand Cayman, the Bahamas and The British Virgin Islands; she is a member of the BVI Bar.
She has given expert evidence on English law to courts in the USA, Ireland, France, Germany, Austria and Dubai.
She was a Recorder from 1987 to 2001, a Deputy High Court Judge from 1994 to 2002, and a judge of the International Court in Qatar from 2007 to 2017.

Miss Dohmann has been recognised by both of the main independent legal directories as a leading silk and award recipient.

Her appointments and awards include:

• Master of the Bench of Gray’s Inn
• Legal 500 Outstanding Achievement Award (2020)
• Chambers & Partners Lifetime Achievement Award (2006)
• Judge of the Civil and Commercial Court at the Qatar Financial Centre in Doha (2007-2017)
• Member of the Lord Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on Private International Law (-2021)
• London Metal Exchange - member of the Special Committee, Appeal Panel and Arbitration Panel.
• Recorder (from 1990) and Deputy High Court Judge (from 1994) in the Commercial Court, Queen's Bench and Chancery Division until 2002.
• She was first Chairman of the International Arbitration Centre in Astana, Kazakhstan, and is a Panel Arbitrator there.
• In 2022 she received the Order of Friendship of the Republic of Kazakhstan.