Arendt Chambers

Founder and Principal

I am a Canadian lawyer based in Vancouver, and a member of the Bar of British Columbia and the International Bar Association. I hold an M.Sc. in International Human Rights Law (Distinction) from the University of Oxford and a Juris Doctor from the University of British Columbia.

​

My legal career has spanned private practice, judiciaries, and leading human rights organisations. I have successfully defended clients charged with summary and indictable offences before courts in British Columbia, contributed to the prosecution and defence of accused persons at the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals in The Hague, and advocated for clients before Security Council missions and United Nations treaty- and Charter-based mechanisms. I am among a small number of lawyers practicing at the intersection of international criminal law and disability rights, including "mental disorder" defences and the prosecution of atrocities against persons with disabilities before international tribunals.

My peer-reviewed scholarship on international criminal law and human rights has appeared journals produced by Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press, including the Journal of International Criminal Justice, Human Rights Quarterly, the International Review of the Red Cross, and the Leiden Journal of International Human Rights. My commentary on these areas of law has appeared in Opinio Juris, EJIL: Talk!, Just Security, and Völkerrechtsblog, and I have presented research at conferences hosted by the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, the University of Essex, and McGill University. I produce The Rapport, a biweekly newsletter that briefs practitioners on the work of United Nations Special Rapporteurs.

My work is grounded in a steadfast commitment to justice and the belief that the inherent dignity of every human being deserves protection. It is important to me that my clients know they can expect not only tireless legal advocacy, but also warmth, compassion, respect, and unwavering support throughout their pursuit of accountability and justice.