Toby M. Cadman is a highly regarded international barrister with a broad practice spanning international arbitration, commercial litigation, international criminal law, public international law, extradition, mutual legal assistance, and human rights law. He is the Co-founder of the Guernica 37 Group and Joint Head of Chambers at Guernica 37 Chambers from 2016-2026. He is a Founding Member at The Mentors Group (UAE).
Mr Cadman is called to the Bar of England and Wales and is a member of the Courts of the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) and the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). He is a Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and has previously served as a Senior Crown Prosecutor for Extradition in the jurisdiction of England and Wales.
He has appeared as counsel in arbitration and commercial proceedings before the ICC, ICSID, LCIA, Permanent Court of Arbitration, London Commercial Court, and Bangladesh Commercial Court, representing sovereign states, institutional clients, and private parties in high-value multi-jurisdictional disputes. He has provided expert evidence and submissions before the European Parliament, United Nations, United States Congress, ICSID, LCIA, and World Bank, and has advised governments, law enforcement agencies, corporations, and international organisations across the Balkans, Middle East, South Asia, and Latin America.
Mr Cadman lectures extensively on public international law, international commercial law, dispute resolution, asset recovery, criminal procedure, and human rights law. He has designed and delivered judicial and legal training programmes in multiple jurisdictions including Bangladesh, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iraq, Montenegro, Pakistan, Syria, and Turkey, and has served as a legal and constitutional adviser to governments and attorney generals in multiple post-conflict states.
Expertise
Arbitration & Commercial Practice
Mr Cadman has extensive experience as lead counsel in complex, high-value international arbitration and commercial disputes. His arbitration practice encompasses investor-state disputes, institutional commercial arbitration, enforcement proceedings, and sanctions-related litigation across a broad range of governing laws and jurisdictional frameworks. He advises both state and private clients at all stages of the arbitral process, from the formulation of claims and jurisdictional challenges through to enforcement and parallel criminal proceedings.
He is frequently instructed in matters with a significant public international law dimension, including disputes arising from alleged treaty breaches, state interference with investment, expropriation, and the enforcement of foreign judgments. He also advises extensively on asset recovery, proceeds of crime, and financial sanctions compliance across multiple jurisdictions.
Selected matters include:
• Counsel for a Respondent Government in an arbitration before the LCIA.
• Counsel for the Government of Albania in ICC arbitration enforcement proceedings and parallel criminal proceedings.
• Counsel for the Claimant in an LCIA arbitration.
• Advising a Claimant on a potential investor-state arbitration before the ICC concerning Kyrgyzstan.
• Advising a Claimant on a potential investor-state arbitration before the ICC concerning Ukraine.
• Advising a Claimant on an arbitration matter before the DIAC concerning Crypto-investment.
• Counsel for the Respondent in an arbitration under the Bangladesh Arbitration Act 2001 before the Bangladesh Commercial Court.
• Counsel for the Claimant in Victor Pey Casado & Allende Foundation v. Republic of Chile — the longest-running ICSID arbitration.
• Counsel for the Respondent in AerSale 27469 Aviation Ltd v. Wahab & Another — a multi-million-pound, multi-jurisdiction commercial dispute before the London Commercial Court.
• Counsel in proceedings before the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague.
• Counsel in sanctions-related matters concerning Russia-Ukraine, Syria, Lebanon, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Uganda.
• International Legal Counsel and Special Adviser to the Office of the President of Madagascar on investigating financial crimes and recovering stolen state assets.
Interpol
Mr Cadman has extensive experience advising clients subject to Interpol Red Notices and Diffusions, acting for individuals and corporate entities seeking the removal or review of unlawfully issued notices through the Commission for the Control of Interpol's Files (CCF). He has led proceedings before the CCF on behalf of clients from a range of jurisdictions where notices have been issued for politically motivated purposes or in circumstances otherwise incompatible with Interpol's Rules on the Processing of Data, including cases involving alleged abuse of the Interpol system by state actors in the Middle East, Central Asia, and the former Soviet Union.
Mr Cadman advises at all stages of the Interpol process, from the initial assessment of a notice's validity and the preparation of CCF applications through to parallel proceedings in domestic courts and engagement with national central bureaux. He has further acted as Lead Counsel in arbitration proceedings before the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague in a matter involving Interpol directly.
Sanctions
He advises individuals, corporations, and sovereign entities on a broad range of sanctions-related matters, with particular experience in the UK, EU, UN, and US sanctions regimes. His practice encompasses challenges to asset freezes and travel bans, applications for licences and derogations, sanctions compliance and risk advisory, and the conduct of parallel criminal and civil proceedings arising from sanctions designations.
He has acted as lead counsel in a number of significant sanctions matters, including proceedings relating to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Syria, Lebanon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Uganda. He regularly advises clients on the intersection of sanctions with asset recovery, anti-money laundering obligations, and mutual legal assistance requests, and has experience of proceedings before the UK Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI), U.S. Department of Treasury, the EU sanctions framework, and domestic courts seeking judicial review of designations.
International Crime
Mr Cadman is among the most experienced international criminal law practitioners at the English Bar. He has led investigations and proceedings in a substantial number of conflict and post-conflict jurisdictions, appearing before the International Criminal Court, the Kosovo Specialist Chambers, and a range of national and regional courts and tribunals. He is listed on the List of Defence Counsel of both the International Criminal Court and the Kosovo Specialist Chambers.
His practice encompasses the full range of international criminal law work, including the investigation and prosecution of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide; extradition and mutual legal assistance; transitional justice and institutional reform; and the documentation of human rights abuses for use in legal proceedings. He has acted for sovereign governments, international organisations, non-governmental bodies, and individual defendants, and has led or contributed to landmark ICC Article 15 communications and amicus filings in cases concerning Myanmar/Bangladesh, Syria, and Venezuela.
Selected matters include:
• Lead Counsel for the defence in Kosovo Specialist Prosecutor v. Haxhi Shala — trial of a senior member of the Kosovo Liberation Army for administration of justice offences.
• Lead Counsel for the defence in Kosovo Specialist Prosecutor v. Nasim Haradinaj — trial of the Vice President of the KLA War Veterans Association.
• Lead Counsel for several suspects under investigation at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers for international crimes during the 1998–1999 armed conflict.
• Special Adviser to the Chief Prosecutor and Attorney General of Bangladesh in proceedings against the former Prime Minister for crimes against humanity before the International Crimes Tribunal.
• Adviser to the Government of the Netherlands in Netherlands and Canada v. Syria before the International Court of Justice for breaches of the UN Convention against Torture.
• Filed the first Article 15 Communication with the ICC Prosecutor on the forced deportation of civilians from Syria into Jordan, drawing on the legal precedent established in the Rohingya case.
• Filed an amicus brief in the ICC determination of jurisdiction on the forced deportation of 500,000 ethnic Rohingya from Myanmar into Bangladesh, successfully arguing deportation as an element of genocide and/or crimes against humanity.
• Instructed by the Government of Rwanda to advise on the role of French officials in the 1994 genocide and to strengthen Rwanda’s domestic capacity to investigate and prosecute genocide and crimes against humanity.
• Led the ‘Caesar’ investigation (2015–2017) into evidence documenting the mass starvation, torture, and execution of thousands of civilian detainees in Syria.
• Led an international investigation into war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the Libyan National Army in Benghazi, 2014–2017.
• Instructed by Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami from 2010-2016 to represent the political leadership prosecuted before the Bangladesh War Crimes Tribunal.
• Instructed by a U.S. law firm to seek recognition and enforcement of a US$750 million judgment for genocide arising from the Bosnian conflict.
Extradition and Mutual Legal Assistance
Mr Cadman is instructed by the Crown Prosecution Service, Special Crimes Division as a Senior Crown Prosecutor in extradition and mutual legal assistance proceedings. He has acted on behalf of requesting states including Albania, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Croatia, India, Kosovo, Serbia, the United States of America, and numerous EU member states.
He has also acted for defendants in high-profile extradition matters, including successfully defending the Rwandan Head of National Intelligence against an extradition request brought by the Government of Spain on charges of genocide and terrorism, resulting in dismissal by the City of Westminster Magistrates’ Court in August 2014.
Public International Law & Human Rights
Mr Cadman has a well-established practice in public international law and human rights, acting before international courts and human rights bodies including the European Court of Human Rights, the International Court of Justice, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and the United Nations Human Rights Council. He has advised governments and international organisations on legislative and constitutional reform, and has represented victims of political repression, enforced disappearance, and state-sanctioned violence across a broad range of jurisdictions.
He has been engaged in transitional justice programmes in Syria, Colombia, The Gambia, and South Sudan, and has led or contributed to high-profile investigations into corruption in the banking and energy sectors in Lebanon, and into international crimes in Bangladesh, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Egypt, Pakistan, Syria, and Yemen.
Called: 2001 (Middle Temple)
Admitted to the List of Counsel at the International Criminal Court
Admitted to the List of Counsel (Defence/Victims) at the Kosovo Special Chambers
Admitted to the ADGM Courts and Tribunals
Admitted to the DIFC Courts
Qualified to Accept Public Access Instructions
Licenced to Conduct Litigation
Previous Appointments
• Senior Legal Adviser, EU Police Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina — advising on organised crime, war crimes, counter-terrorism, financial crime, and asset seizure legislation (2008–2010).
• Head of the Prosecution Support Section; Head of the Legal Section for War Crimes; and Senior Legal Counsel to the Chief Prosecutor, Special Department for War Crimes, Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina (2004–2008).
• First Head of the Criminal Defence Office, War Crimes Chamber of Bosnia and Herzegovina (2003–2004).
• Member of the prosecution team in the ICTY Rule 11bis referral proceedings, including Prosecutor v. Radovan Stankovic, Prosecutor v. Zeljko Mejakic et al., Prosecutor v. Milan Lukic & Sredoje Lukic, and related cases (2004–2006).
• Legal Adviser, Office of the High Representative to Bosnia and Herzegovina — advising on legislative and constitutional reform, criminal code drafting, and civil and criminal asset forfeiture (2002–2003).
• Senior International Lawyer, Human Rights Chamber for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo (2002–2004).
English, French, Croatian, Serbian
• Bar of England and Wales
• The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple
• Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb)
• Criminal Bar Association of England and Wales
• Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales
• London Common Law and Commercial Bar Association
• International Bar Association War Crimes Committee
• Extradition Lawyers’ Association of England and Wales
• Human Rights Lawyers Association of England and Wales
• Administrative Bar Law Association of England and Wales
• List of Defence Counsel — International Criminal Court
• List of Defence Counsel — Kosovo Specialist Chambers
• Courts of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC)
• Courts of the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM)
• London School of Economics Certificate in Law, War and Human Rights (2009–2010)
• University of Northampton LL.M International Criminal and Security Law, Distinction (2007–2009)
• International Bar Association & College of Law Professional Diploma in Human Rights & Criminal Procedure; Professional Diploma in Commercial Law (2006–2008)
• BPP Law School Bar Vocational Course — Bar of England and Wales (2000–2001)
• University of Northampton LL.B (Honours) (1997–2000)