HomeSir Bernard Rix

Expert resume of Sir Bernard Rix

Former Lord Justice of Appeal, Commercial Court and Court of Appeal

Sir Bernard retired in 2013 as a Lord Justice of Appeal with 20 years’ experience in the Commercial Court and the Court of Appeal. Since 2013 he has accepted appointments as an arbitrator,
mediator and expert witness.

He is an International Judge of the Singapore International Commercial Court and a member of the Cayman Islands Court of Appeal. He is a member of the HKIAC panel of arbitrators and MOOGAS panel of international arbitrators and mediators, has been appointed to the Cayman Islands Court of Appeal, and is an ADR Group accredited mediator. He is also Professor of International
Commercial Law at The Centre of Commercial Law Studies at Queen Mary, University of London.
As a barrister, Sir Bernard practised in commercial chambers at 3 Essex Court (now Twenty Essex).

He specialised in international commercial and arbitral disputes (as both barrister and arbitrator)
and also appeared in the courts of Singapore and Hong Kong. He was Chairman of the Commercial Bar Association in 1992–1993.

In 1993 Sir Bernard was appointed to the High Court and sat predominantly in the Commercial Court, of which he was judge in charge from 1998 to 1999. In that period, he was responsible for introducing to the Commercial Court the Woolf Reforms to civil procedure law (the Civil Procedure Rules) and redrafting the Commercial Court’s Guide and Practice Directions.

In 2000 Sir Bernard was appointed to the Court of Appeal, from which he retired in May 2013. As a member of the Court of Appeal, he delivered a wide range of judgments on arbitration, aviation,
Professional memberships British Institute of International and Comparative Law: Trustee British Insurance Law Association: President Centre for Commercial Law Studies, Queen Mary University of London: Chairman, Advisory Council CIArb: Fellow Commercial Bar Association: Former Chairman (1992–93) Harvard Law School Association of the UK: Former President; London Philharmonic Orchestra: Director; University of Oxford, New College: Honorary Fellow; University of London, Queen Mary’s: Honorary Fellow.