Lawyers

Cyril Chern

Cyril Chern

Work Department

Domestic and International construction litigation, dispute boards, arbitration, and mediation

Career

Dr Chern in addition to being a Barrister is a Chartered Architect, Chartered Arbitrator, Accredited Mediator, and Adjudicator and holds the degrees of BArch in Architecture & Engineering and Juris Doctor (Law). He is a Fellow of both the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and the Dispute Board Federation (DBF) (Geneva, Australia, London, Lisbon). He is secretary of the DBF and is on both the FIDIC President’s List of Adjudicators and is an adjudicator and dispute board trainer for FIDIC, the DBF, the World Bank, and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).

His expertise is in construction matters with complex construction issues in the United Kingdom, Europe, the Middle-East, South America, China, Singapore, and internationally with emphasis on major infrastructure development, dispute prevention, as well as related financing and delay analysis.  In addition, he is an adjudicator and arbitrator of construction and engineering claims, chairs dispute boards, and acts as mediator and/or dispute resolver, specifically on complex construction/engineering projects. These include hydro-electric and nuclear power facilities, airports, facility and processing development, water treatment facilities, rail and roads projects, bridges, and tunnels. Current Dispute Adjudication Boards include the Marmaray Light Rail System for Istanbul, the Muscat Airport in Oman, The Port of Tema and Harbour in Ghana, and the Chernobyl Encasement in Ukraine.

Dr Chern is also the author of numerous leading books relating to adjudication and construction including: Chern on Dispute Boards – now in its 4th Edition (Informa), International Commercial Mediation, The Commercial Mediator’s Handbook, and The Law of Construction Disputes now in its 3rd Edition (Informa). His newest book on Nuclear Infrastructure Development was just published by Informa Law from Routledge.

Languages

English, French, German, Spanish, Russian

Memberships

The Dispute Board Federation, The Civil Mediation Council, TECBAR, RIBA, ACE

Leisure

Sailing

Mentions

London Bar

Construction

Leading junior1
Cyril Chern – 4 New Square ‘Cyril is pre-eminent in cross-examination of witnesses and especially expert witnesses and does so on a multitude of construction specialisms and he does so in a calm and surgically precise manner and is a pleasure to watch. Simply put he is an extremely effective advocate who can read the court well, is liked by the judges and arbitrators he appears before and puts his points across superbly.’                  
London Bar

International arbitration: arbitrators

Leading silk2
Cyril Chern – 4 New Square Chambers ‘He is a true star arbitrator in all aspects of international arbitration and this stems from his years of advocacy in arbitrations and the sheer number of major arbitrations he has been the chair of – especially very high value complicated international arbitrations with diverse parties and countries on massive cross-border matters. His ability to speak multiple languages is always as asset as well as his gravitas and reputation in this field. He knows the law, both civil and common, in this there is none better than him.’
London Bar

International arbitration: counsel

Leading junior1
Cyril Chern –4 New Square ‘Cyril is an absolutely outstanding advocate and is both a commanding presence in trial and his gravitas commands respect especially due to his total encyclopedic knowledge of the law – both UK and civil. He is also a true master of cross-examination and really excels at this. Further he knows arbitration on an international level and all of the nuances it entails and how to get the attention of arbitrators and they listen to him.’