Christina L. Beharry

Christina L. Beharry

Partner

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Christina L. Beharry

Partner

[email protected]

Washington, D.C. 202.295.4153

Practice Areas

Education

Columbia Law School (LL.M., 2003)
- Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar
University of Cambridge (LL.M., 2001)
London School of Economics (LL.B., 2000)

Admissions

District of Columbia
New York
Law Society of Ontario
England and Wales (non-practicing)

Christina Beharry represents clients in high-stakes international disputes and public international law matters. Her practice encompasses state-to-state disputes and international investment and commercial arbitration, involving complex damages and valuation issues.

Christina has litigated international arbitration claims totaling more than US$18 billion and has represented clients before leading international tribunals and arbitral institutions, including the International Court of Justice, the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes, the Permanent Court of Arbitration, the International Chamber of Commerce, and ad hoc tribunals under the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules. Her work spans disputes across Asia, Africa, Europe, North America, and Latin America involving industries such as mining, oil and gas, renewable energy, aerospace, financial services, real estate, hospitality, agriculture, forestry, health care, telecommunications, and tobacco.

Christina is widely recognized by clients and peers for her strategic leadership, effective advocacy, and as a go-to counsel for multimillion dollar investor-state claims. She has worked extensively with financial and valuation experts on damages issues involving business valuation, environmental damage, and adverse human health impacts. She is a frequent speaker and published author on international arbitration, including on compensation. She has also advised UNCITRAL on the development of international guidance concerning the assessment of damages and compensation in investor-state disputes.

Christina’s extensive experience in international dispute settlement, combined with her deep expertise in damages and valuation, enables her to guide clients through every stage of complex cross-border disputes. She also advises clients on a broad range on public international law matters involving reparations, economic sanctions, maritime delimitations, treaty interpretation, human rights, and international environmental law.

Before entering private practice, Christina served as counsel in the Trade Law Bureau of the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (now Global Affairs Canada), where she represented the Government of Canada in investor-state disputes under NAFTA Chapter 11 and participated in the negotiation of bilateral investment treaties. She also advised government departments on compliance with Canada’s international obligations under NAFTA, GATS, and other international trade agreements.

Representative Experience

State-to-State Arbitration

Representing Guyana before the International Court of Justice in a case concerning the international boundary between Guyana and Venezuela as determined by the arbitral award of October 3, 1899.
Represented Qatar in proceedings before the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) arising from aviation measures adopted by Egypt, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.*
Represented Qatar in arbitration proceedings before the Permanent Court of Arbitration initiated against Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates under the Constitution of the Universal Postal Union.*
Represented Djibouti in an inter-State proceeding before the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights involving Eritrea’s detention of Djiboutian prisoners of war.*
Represented Ecuador in an arbitration before the Permanent Court of Arbitration under the State-to-State dispute resolution provisions of the Ecuador-U.S. Bilateral Investment Treaty.*
Represented Ghana before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in a case concerning the maritime boundary in the Gulf of Guinea.*

International Investment and Commercial Arbitration

Representing Poland in an ICSID Additional Facility arbitration under the Poland-United States bilateral investment treaty relating to measures in the pharmaceutical sector.
Representing Guyana in an ICSID arbitration under a domestic investment law involving a metered parking system project.
Represented the Netherlands in its first ICSID arbitration under the Energy Charter Treaty concerning the phaseout of two coal power plants under the state’s climate change legislation.*
Represented Nicaragua in an ICSID arbitration brought under CAFTA-DR concerning an oil exploration and exploitation concession.*
Represented Mauritius in an ICSID arbitration concerning real estate developments and the designation of the Le Morne area as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.*
Represented Uruguay in an UNCITRAL arbitration concerning an iron ore mining project.*
Represented Uruguay in an ICSID arbitration concerning regulations on cigarette packaging and health warnings.*
Represented El Salvador in an ICSID arbitration concerning alleged rights to a mining exploitation concession and exploration licenses.*
Represented Canada in a NAFTA arbitration initiated by a U.S. pesticide manufacturer following the deregistration of lindane products based on health and environmental concerns.*

International Advisory Matters

Engaged by the UNCITRAL Secretariat for Working Group III to consult on a draft provision and guidelines on the assessment of damages and compensation.*
Advised a Latin American State on the renegotiation of its bilateral investment treaties.*
Advised a European State on the compliance of new legislation with its international investment obligations.*
Led training seminars for government officials on the defense of foreign investment claims.*

*Matters handled prior to joining �鶹ֱ��.

Awards and Recognitions

The Best Lawyers in America^®, International Arbitration – Governmental (2025-2027)
Lexology Index
- Client Choice: Arbitration (2026)
- Arbitration: Highly Recommended Partner (2026); Recommended Partner (2024- 2025); Future Leaders (2019-2023); Most Highly Regarded (2021)
- Mining: Highly Recommended Partner (2026); Recommended Partner (2024- 2025)
The Legal 500 Latin America (2024)

Affiliations

Adjunct Professor, Introduction to International Commercial and Investment Arbitration, University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law
Co-chair, IBA Arbitration Committee’s Task Force on Experts
Fellow, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators
Panel of Arbitrators, AAA-ICDR
Panel of Arbitrators, BVI International Arbitration Centre
Co-chair, International Dispute Resolution Committee, D.C. Bar
Member, Executive Council, American Society of International Law
Member, Executive Committee, Institute for Transnational Arbitration, The Center for American and International Law
Member, ArbitralWomen
Member, Lincoln’s Inn

Community Involvement

Trustee, Governing Board of Beauvoir, The National Cathedral Elementary School
Committee Member, CARO Centre

Presentations

Facilitator, “Advancing Gender Justice in International Law – Challenges, Strategies, and Future Directions,” 70th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women Side Event, Permanent Mission of Canada to the United Nations (March 2026)
Panelist, “Critical Minerals in Crisis: Supply Chains, Sanctions, and Corruption in the Clean Energy Race,” ICC Canada Arbitration Committee Annual Conference (October 2025)
Panelist, “UNCITRAL Secretariat’s Draft Guidelines on the Calculation of Damages and Compensation in ISDS,” 51st Session of Working Group III: Investor-State Dispute Settlement Reform (April 2025)
Co-chair, 22nd ITA-ASIL Conference: “(Re)considering the Enduring Role of Public International Law in Commercial and Investment Disputes Involving State Parties” (April 2025)
Panelist, “Transparency in International Commercial Arbitration,” UWI Faculty of Law / UNCITRAL Latin America and Caribbean Days Seminar (November 2024)
Panelist, “How to Deliver a Compelling Oral Statement at an International Tribunal,” Caribbean ICJ Advocacy Clinic, University of the West Indies (November 2024)
Panelist, “NYIAC Series: Working with a Damages/Quantum Expert Session 8: Post-Valuation Issues in International Arbitration,” New York International Arbitration Center (April 2024)
Presenter, “Compensation Under International Law With a Focus on Options for Enforcement of Payments Awarded by International Human Rights Courts,” 66th Meeting of the Committee of Legal Advisors on Public International Law, Council of Europe (April 2024)
Panelist, “Ensuring the Independence and Impartiality of Experts in Arbitration,” 12th ITA-IEL-ICC Joint Conference on International Energy Arbitration (January 2024)
Panelist, “The Importance of the Arbitration Act From the Perspective of Investment Arbitration,” A New Horizon for Arbitration in Trinidad & Tobago (December 2023)
Panelist, “Investment Arbitration and Insolvency,” International Bar Association Annual Conference (November 2023)
Panelist, “International Law Commission and Compensation in the Law of State Responsibility,” Permanent Missions of Latvia, Mexico, and Romania to the United Nations (October 2023)
Co-moderator, “Dollars and Sense: How Competition and Costs Affect Stakeholder Behavior and Reform Proposals,” Bocconi International Investment Arbitration Law and Policy Conference (April 2023)
Panelist, “Take the Witness: Excellence in Cross-Examination,” ITA Conference on International Arbitration in the Mining Sector (March 2023)
Moderator, “Implications of Economic Sanctions on International Arbitration,” Linklaters 7th CARTAL Conference on International Arbitration (February 2023)
Panelist, “Innovation in Investor-State Arbitration,” Schiefelbein Global Dispute Resolution Conference (January 2023)
Panelist, “The ILC’s Articles on State Responsibility in Investment Treaty Arbitration,” International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes and Young ICSID (December 2022)
Panelist, “International Arbitration: Recoverability of Reflective Loss,” 6th Edition of the Dispute Resolution in M&A Transactions Conference (May 2022)
Panelist, “Assessing Doctrines of Changed Circumstances in Arbitration,” 19th ITA-ASIL Conference (April 2022)
Moderator, “Quantifying Damages,” 33rd Investment Treaty Forum Conference: Valuation of Damages in International Investment Law, British Institute of International and Comparative Law (October 2019)
Panelist, “Sustainable Connectivity: Going Green, Deal Clean and Talk Peace,” 2018 Colloquium on International Law, Asian Academy of International Law (July 2018)
Panelist, “The Function & Purpose of the Arbitration Agreement: Enhancing the Efficiency of the Arbitration Agreement in the Energy Sector,” International Arbitration Energy Conference, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators: Caribbean Branch Conference (April 2018)
Panelist, “Dueling Privilege Rules: Resolving Conflicts of Law Over Privilege in International Arbitration,” Annual Conference of the ABA Section on International Law (April 2018)
Moderator, “Valuing Natural Resources Projects in International Investment Arbitration,” Special Institute on International Mining and Oil & Gas Law, Development and Investment, Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation (April 2017)
Co-chair, Fifth Annual Juris Conference on Damages in International Arbitration (September 2016)
Debater, “The Desirability of a Standing Investment Arbitration Court and/or Appellate Body,” Young Arbitrator Debate Series, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and American Society of International Law (June 2016)
Panelist, “The Business of Arbitration: Best Practices,” Chartered Institute of Arbitrators: Caribbean Branch Centenary Conference (July 2015)
Panelist, “Lawful versus Unlawful Expropriation: is this a Distinction Without a Difference?,” Ninth Annual Juris Conference on Investment Treaty Arbitration (February 2015)
Panelist, “Managing the Global Environment Through Trade: WTO, TPP and TTIP Negotiations, and Bilateral Investment Treaties Versus Regional Trade Agreements,” American University International Law Review’s Annual Symposium (Washington, D.C., February 2014)

Publications

Cross-Examination of Expert Witnesses, in C. Lotfi, A. Zielinska-Eisen, and V. Sandler Obregon (eds), INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION IN PRACTICE, Wolters Kluwer (2025) (with B. McRae)
Book Review of “” by Leyla Bahmany, Journal of World Investment & Trade, Volume 25 (2024)
Damages and Causation in H. Abdulkareem, S. Batifort, and M. Penades (eds), IBA REPORT ON INSOLVENCY AND INVESTMENT ARBITRATION (2024) (with E. Treves)
Book Review of “The Dilemma of Consent to International Arbitration in Investment Agreements without a Forum” by Fernando Tupa, ITA IN REVIEW, Volume 5, Issue 3 (2024)
“Article 38: The Treatment of Interest in International Investment Arbitration,” ICSID Review Special Issue on the ILC Articles on the Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts, Volume 37, Issue 1 (2022) (with J.P. Hugues)
“Herzig v. Turkmenistan: Requests for Security for Costs in ICSID Arbitrations Involving Third-Party Funded Insolvent Claimants,” ICSID Review – Foreign Investment Law Journal, Volume 36, Issue 1 (2021)
Damages and Valuation in International Investment Arbitration, in J. Chaisse, L. Choukroune, and S. Jusoh (eds.) New Handbook of International Investment Law and Policy, Springer (2020)
Question to an Expert: Chapter 1 in K. Nadakavukaren Schefer, International Investment Law: Text, Cases and Materials, Third Edition, Edward Elgar Publishing (2020)
“The Treatment of Environmental Issues in International Investment Arbitration Case Law,” 2018 Colloquium on International Law: Go Green, Deal Clean, Talk Peace, Asian Academy of International Law (2018)
Post-Award Challenges of Damages Assessments in C. Beharry (ed) Contemporary and Emerging Issues on the Law of Damages and Valuation in International Investment Arbitration, Brill Nijhoff (2018)
“International Business and Human Rights Arbitration Proposal Gains Momentum,” Corporate Social Responsibility and the Law, December 2017
“Prejudgment Interest Rates in International Investment Arbitration,” Journal of International Dispute Settlement, Volume 8, No.1 (2017)
Lawful versus Unlawful Expropriation: Heads I Win, Tails You Lose in I. Laird and T. Weiler (eds), INVESTMENT TREATY ARBITRATION AND INTERNATIONAL LAW, Volume 9 (2016)
“Going Green: Managing the Environment through International Investment Arbitration,” American University International Law Review, Volume 30, Issue 3 (2015) (with M. Kuritzky) (2015)
“Canada: Joining ICSID – why now and what does it mean?” Global Arbitration Review, Volume 9, Issue 2, 2014
“Objections to Requests for Documents in International Arbitration: Emerging Practices from NAFTA Chapter 11,” ICSID Review – Foreign Investment Law Journal, Volume 27, Issue 1 (2012)