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			{{Short description\|British lawyer}}
	{{For2\|the British former Conservative MP and journalist\|]\|the Australian rugby league player and coach\|]}}
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			{{use dmy dates\|date=September 2024}}
			{{Use British English\|date=September 2024}}
			{{about\|\|the British former Conservative MP and journalist\|Matthew Parris\|the Australian rugby league player and coach\|Matt Parish\|the British Olympic rower\|Matthew Parish (rower)}}
			{{Infobox person
			\| name = Matthew Parish
			\| image = Matthew Parish, lawyer.jpg
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			\| birth_place = ], ], England
			\| education =
			\| alma_mater =
			\| occupation = Lawyer, academic, author, international relations expert
			\| years_active =
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			\| website =
			}}
			{{lead too short\|date=January 2025}}
			'''Matthew Parish''' is a British international lawyer and scholar of international relations. He is based in England and Eastern Europe.

			== Early life==
	'''Matthew Parish''' is a lawyer and scholar of ], ] and ], and a former UN peacekeeper. He is known for his writings about the politics of the western Balkans and his critiques of the international community's role in securing peace in the region, as well as his commentaries on the United Nations, Eastern Europe and the Middle East.
			Parish was born in ], in West Yorkshire.<ref name=bio> {{Webarchive\|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171210031004/http://www.matthewparish.com/biographie.html \|date=2017-12-10 }}, MattewParish.com</ref> He is a graduate of Cambridge University.<ref name="farge" />

			== Career and publications ==
	He has written and spoken on civil wars, post-conflict development, and international security policy issues across the globe. He has published over 250 articles, and his writings have been the subject of widespread commentary in the national and international press. He is also a well-known lawyer within Switzerland, his adoptive country, and the law firm he founded, the Gentium Law Group, has been named by Global Arbitration Review<ref>{{cite web\|url=http://globalarbitrationreview.com/gar100/ \|title=GAR Arbitration Surveys \|website=Globalarbitrationreview.com \|date= \|accessdate=2017-02-23}}</ref> in consecutive years as one of the top one hundred law firms worldwide in its field.
			Parish worked in the legal department of the ], part of the ] (OHR) in Bosnia and Herzegovina.<ref name=Morrison>{{cite news\|url=https://balkaninsight.com/2010/06/15/matthew-parish-a-free-city-in-the-balkans-reconstructing-a-divided-society-in-bosnia/\|title=Matthew Parish, A Free City in the Balkans: Reconstructing a Divided Society in Bosnia\|first=Kenneth\|last=Morrison\|work=Balkan Insight\|date=15 June 2010\|accessdate=4 November 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news\|url=https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2014/may/14/brcko-bosnia-europe-only-free-city\|first=Peter\|last=Geoghegan\|title=Welcome to Brčko, Europe's only free city and a law unto itself\|work=The Guardian\|date=14 May 2014\|accessdate=4 November 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news\|url=https://etto.ba/clanak/parish-dijeli-dezinformacije-nije-ta%C4%8Dno-da-%C4%87e-zamijeniti-schmidt\|title=Iz OHR za etto.ba: Tvrdnje Parisha o smjeni visokog predstavnika nisu tačne\|work=Etto\|first=Mirna\|last=Sadiković\|accessdate=4 November 2023}}</ref> His first book, on reconstruction in post-war Brčko, ''A Free City in the Balkans'' (2009),<ref>Matthew Parish, "A Free City in the Balkans: Reconstructing a Divided Society in Bosnia" (London: I.B.Tauris 2009)</ref> drew on his experience working for the OHR.<ref name=Morrison/> The book has been criticized for being too sceptical of the international community's statebuilding efforts in the country.<ref>{{cite journal\|first=Jelena\|last=Subotic\|title=A free city in the Balkans: reconstructing a divided society in Bosnia, by Matthew Parish, New York, I.B. Tauris, 2009, xvii + 256 pp. + maps, illustrations (hardback), ISBN 978-1848850026\|journal=Nationalities Papers\|volume=38\|issue=3\|pages=440–442\|year=2010\|doi=10.1017/S0090599200039787\|s2cid=186664720 }}</ref>

			Parish's second book, ''Mirages of International Justice'', was published in 2011. The book describes international law as "for the most part quite useless". According to a sceptical review by Christian Axboe Nielsen, the book "concludes by wishing that both international law and international organizations would disappear from the face of the earth". Nielsen compares the book unfavourably to ''A Free City in the Balkans'', describing the latter as making "provocative and, by comparison, cogent arguments".<ref>{{cite journal\|last=Nielsen\|first=Christian Axboe\|title=Mirages of international justice: the elusive pursuit of a transnational legal order, by Matthew Parish, Cheltenham, UK and Northampton, MA, Edward Elgar, 2011, 268 pp., £75 (Hardback), ISBN 978-1-84980-408-0\|journal=Southeast European and Black Sea Studies\|volume=13\|issue=1\|year=2013\|pages=110–112\|doi=10.1080/14683857.2013.773185\|s2cid=153751608 }}</ref>
	Matthew Parish was a key supporter of and Chief International Political Advisor to ] in his failed campaign to be ].

			Parish left Akin Gump's Geneva office for Holman Fenwick Willan's (HFW) Geneva office in 2011.<ref>{{Cite web\|url=https://iclg.com/cdr/litigation/holman-fenwick-willan-expands-arbitration-practice-in-geneva\|title=CDR – Commercial Dispute Resolution\|first=Adam\|last=Muckle\|website=Arbitration, Litigation, Dispute Resolution \| CDR Magazine}}</ref> In December 2014 he and a colleague at HFW set up their own practice, Gentium Law Group.<ref>https://www.shab.ch/shabforms/servlet/Search?EID=7&DOCID=1897317 {{Bare URL PDF\|date=March 2022}}</ref><ref>https://globalarbitrationreview.com/editorial/1035366/gentium-law-group{{Dead link\|date=October 2021 \|bot=InternetArchiveBot \|fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Gentium was one of the first boutique arbitration law firms that involved teams of senior arbitration lawyers splitting away from large established law firms and forming their own smaller practices under new brands. The group was nominated as a Global Arbitration Review Top 100 Law Firm worldwide in 2016 and 2017.<ref>{{Cite web\|url=https://globalarbitrationreview.com/survey/gar-100/2016/organization-profile/gentium-law-group\|title=Global Arbitration Review – GAR 100 – 9th Edition\|website=globalarbitrationreview.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web\|title=GAR Arbitration Surveys\|url=http://globalarbitrationreview.com/gar100/\|access-date=2017-02-23\|website=Globalarbitrationreview.com}}</ref> In November 2018 Parish ceased to manage the company having handed control to a new partner.<ref>https://www.shab.ch/shabforms/servlet/Search?EID=7&DOCID=HR02-1004491200 {{Bare URL PDF\|date=March 2022}}</ref>
	== Controversy and criminal charges ==

			=== Legal issues ===
	Parish was arrested on 29 May 2018 by order of the Geneva public prosecutor's office. He is being investigated for defamation, attempted extortion, attempted coercion, contempt of official orders and breach of professional secrecy.<ref>https://globalarbitrationreview.com/article/1170310/english-lawyer-arrested-in-geneva-after-blackmail-complaint</ref><ref>{{Cite news\|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-06-06/telling-tales-about-russian-clients-lands-swiss-lawyer-in-jail\|title=Telling Tale About Russian Client Lands Swiss Lawyer in Jail\|last=Miller\|first=Hugo\|date=2018-06-06\|work=Bloomberg.com\|access-date=2018-06-08\|last2=Hoffman\|first2=Andy\|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news\|url=https://www.letemps.ch/suisse/un-avocat-anglais-arrete-geneve-chantage\|title=Un avocat anglais arrêté à Genève pour chantage\|last=Besson\|first=Sylvain\|date=31 May 2018\|work=Le Temps\|access-date=2018-06-08\|language=fr}}</ref>
			In 2018, Parish was found guilty of criminal defamation in Switzerland for making reports to Western intelligence services accusing his former clients, Murat Seitnepesov and Konstantin Ryndin, of money laundering, fraud and financing terrorism.<ref>{{Cite news\|last1=Miller\|first1=Hugo\|last2=Hoffman\|first2=Andy\|date=June 5, 2018\|title=Telling Tale About Russian Client Lands Swiss Lawyer in Jail\|publisher=]\|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-06-06/telling-tales-about-russian-clients-lands-swiss-lawyer-in-jail \|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612151714/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-06-06/telling-tales-about-russian-clients-lands-swiss-lawyer-in-jail \|archivedate=12 June 2018}}</ref> Sentenced to two months,<ref>{{cite news\|url=https://www.occrp.org/en/daily/8167-swiss-lawyer-imprisoned-after-making-fraud-accusations\|title=Swiss Lawyer Imprisoned After Making Fraud Accusations\|first=Lydia\|last=Osborne\|publisher=Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project\|date=6 June 2018\|accessdate=11 February 2022 \|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20180615033243/https://www.occrp.org/en/daily/8167-swiss-lawyer-imprisoned-after-making-fraud-accusations \|archivedate=15 June 2018}}</ref> Parish reports in a self-published book that he spent 23 days in prison.<ref>{{cite book\|title=Spy's Diary: Essays from a Maximum Security Swiss Prison\|first=Matthew\|last=Parish\|year=2018\|publisher=Matthew Parish\|url=https://d085b3be-2bc3-46ba-b3cf-cf0b6e23d977.usrfiles.com/ugd/d085b3_f6de780ea8774377bca725e756ec6125.pdf \|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20220211045118/https://d085b3be-2bc3-46ba-b3cf-cf0b6e23d977.usrfiles.com/ugd/d085b3_f6de780ea8774377bca725e756ec6125.pdf \|archivedate=11 February 2022}}</ref>
	He was arrested in Geneva by order of the Geneva prosecutor Stephane Grodecki and detained for two months.<ref>https://www.letemps.ch/suisse/un-avocat-anglais-arrete-geneve-chantage</ref> He is accused of extortion, libel and breaking attorney-client privilege, according to a criminal complaint filed against him by two Russian oil traders. The two men, Murat Seitnepesov and Konstantin Ryndin, said in the May 8 complaint that Parish went public with false allegations to blackmail them into paying a grossly inflated legal bill. To back up the extortion allegation, Seitnepesov and Ryndin cite an email from Parish in which he writes that upon payment, “I will withdraw all my various complaints to different authorities, and I will use my reasonable endeavours to ensure that those complaints are not thereafter pursued.”<ref>https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-06-06/telling-tales-about-russian-clients-lands-swiss-lawyer-in-jail</ref><ref>https://www.rt.com/business/428907-swiss-lawyer-prison-russian-iran/</ref><ref>https://globalarbitrationreview.com/article/1170310/english-lawyer-arrested-in-geneva-after-blackmail-complaint</ref>

			Parish was further charged in 2019.<ref>{{Cite web\|url=https://globalarbitrationreview.com/british-lawyer-faces-new-charges-in-geneva\|title=British lawyer faces new charges in Geneva\|website=globalarbitrationreview.com \|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20201027042309/https://globalarbitrationreview.com/british-lawyer-faces-new-charges-in-geneva \|archivedate=27 October 2020 }}{{subscription required}}</ref> He was subsequently fined, given a one-year suspended prison sentence and instructed by the court to see a psychiatrist. Reuters reported that a spokesman for the Geneva prosecutor's office said: "Mr. Parish is found guilty of defamation, calumny, a coercion attempt and of failing to conform with an authority’s decision." Parish indicated his intention to appeal the conviction.<ref name="farge">{{cite news\|last=Farge\|first=Emma\|date=29 February 2020\|title=Swiss court convicts British lawyer of defaming oil trader to MI5\|work=Reuters\|url=https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-switzerland-court-trader/swiss-court-convicts-british-lawyer-of-defaming-oil-trader-to-mi5-idUKKBN20N0WZ\|access-date=27 May 2020 \|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200229232545/https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-switzerland-court-trader/swiss-court-convicts-british-lawyer-of-defaming-oil-trader-to-mi5-idUKKBN20N0WZ \|archivedate=29 February 2020}}</ref>
	Swiss newspaper Le Temps reported in September 2016 that Parish and two unnamed lawyers in Geneva are being investigated on suspicion of forgery, along with Parish’s client Sheikh Ahmed Al-Sabah – a former oil minister and nephew of the Emir of Kuwait who sits on the International Olympic Committee and the executive council of football’s governing body, FIFA. The lawyers are accused of participating in a sham arbitration that purported to establish the authenticity of faked videos circulated by the sheikh that supposedly implicated two prominent Kuwaitis in corruption, money laundering and a plot to overthrow the 87-year old Emir. The sham award was allegedly submitted to the English courts for enforcement.<ref>http://gentiumlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/23-9-16_Kuwaiti_sheikh_videos_lead_to_Geneva_law_firm_raids.pdf</ref><ref>https://www.letemps.ch/suisse/geneve-trois-avocats-un-cheikh-inculpes-faux-arbitrage</ref>

			Parish has also been convicted in Switzerland for his role in a fraudulent arbitration in a dispute between rival members of the Kuwaiti ruling family aimed at falsely authenticating fraudulent videos showing corruption and breach of Iran sanctions.<ref>{{Cite news\|url=https://www.letemps.ch/suisse/geneve-trois-avocats-un-cheikh-inculpes-faux-arbitrage\|title=A Genève, trois avocats et un cheikh sont inculpés pour faux arbitrage\|newspaper=Le Temps\|date=September 16, 2016\|via=letemps.ch \|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20180613134342/https://www.letemps.ch/suisse/geneve-trois-avocats-un-cheikh-inculpes-faux-arbitrage \|archivedate=13 June 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news\|url=https://www.letemps.ch/suisse/un-puissant-membre-cio-renvoye-tribunal-faux-arbitrage\|title=Un puissant membre du CIO renvoyé au tribunal pour faux arbitrage\|last=Besson\|first=Sylvain\|date=16 Nov 2018\|work=Le Temps\|access-date=2018-11-17\|language=fr \|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230831045210/https://www.letemps.ch/suisse/geneve/un-puissant-membre-cio-renvoye-tribunal-faux-arbitrage \|archivedate=31 August 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news\|url=https://www.afp.com/en/news/824/powerful-kuwaiti-ioc-member-be-tried-switzerland-forgery-doc-1ax1v23\|title=Powerful Kuwaiti IOC member to be tried in Switzerland for forgery\|date=17 Nov 2018\|agency=Agence France-Presse\|access-date=2018-11-17\|language=en\|archive-date=2018-11-17\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181117233555/https://www.afp.com/en/news/824/powerful-kuwaiti-ioc-member-be-tried-switzerland-forgery-doc-1ax1v23\|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Convicted">{{Cite web\|title=Lawyers charged in Geneva over fake arbitration\|url=https://globalarbitrationreview.com/lawyers-charged-in-geneva-over-fake-arbitration\|access-date=2021-07-20\|website=globalarbitrationreview.com\|language=en \|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20210720182139/https://globalarbitrationreview.com/lawyers-charged-in-geneva-over-fake-arbitration \|archivedate=20 July 2021 }}{{subscription required}}</ref> AP reported in February 2021 that a court hearing had been held and adjourned until August 2021.<ref>{{Cite web\|title=Trial of Olympic sheikh on forgery charge pushed back\|url=https://apnews.com/article/kuwait-olympic-games-geneva-9c77ef49910db515b5369c4afa7afc09\|access-date=2021-05-08\|website=AP NEWS\|date=20 April 2021 \|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20210508132806/https://apnews.com/article/kuwait-olympic-games-geneva-9c77ef49910db515b5369c4afa7afc09 \|archivedate=8 May 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news\|last=AP\|date=2021-04-13\|title=Forgery trial of Olympic powerbroker now set to open in August\|work=Business Standard India\|url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/sports/forgery-trial-of-olympic-powerbroker-now-set-to-open-in-august-121041300985_1.html\|access-date=2021-05-08 \|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415064640/https://www.business-standard.com/article/sports/forgery-trial-of-olympic-powerbroker-now-set-to-open-in-august-121041300985_1.html \|archivedate=15 April 2021}}</ref> In September 2021, Parish was convicted and sentenced to three years' jail time and was banned from practicing law in Switzerland.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite news \|last=AP \|first=PTI & \|date=2021-09-11 \|title=Olympic power broker Sheikh Ahmad found guilty of forgery \|language=en-IN \|work=The Hindu \|url=https://www.thehindu.com/sport/olympic-power-broker-sheikh-ahmad-found-guilty-of-forgery/article36397605.ece \|access-date=2023-11-02 \|issn=0971-751X}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web\|url=https://up4net.com/uploads4/up4net.com163275145015861.pdf\|title=مركز رفع وتحميل صور وملفات رابط مباشر\|access-date=2022-01-10\|archive-date=2022-01-10\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220110172509/https://up4net.com/uploads4/up4net.com163275145015861.pdf\|url-status=dead}}</ref> As AP reports, "Judge Gonseth said he was an arbitration expert and 'manifestly' involved at all stages of the process".<ref name=":0">{{Cite web\|url=https://apnews.com/article/sports-europe-middle-east-geneva-2020-tokyo-olympics-5599b701407ea05fcd1b2cb76bc394f4\|title = Olympic power broker Sheikh Ahmad found guilty of forgery\|work = ]\|date = 10 September 2021 \|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20210917012729/https://apnews.com/article/sports-europe-middle-east-geneva-2020-tokyo-olympics-5599b701407ea05fcd1b2cb76bc394f4 \|archivedate=17 September 2021}}</ref><ref name="Convicted"/> On 18 December 2023, Parish had an appeal against his conviction dismissed, though an appeal against his sentence was partially allowed, with the custodial element reduced to two years' imprisonment, all of which was suspended.<ref>{{cite court\|litigants=Between Matthew Thomas Parish and Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.\|court=High Court of Justice\|date=6 September 2024\|url=https://www.matrixlaw.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Parish-v-Wikimedia-Judgment.docx}}</ref>
	== Education and background ==
	Parish attended ] before he moved to ] where he is a graduate of ], where he obtained Triple First Class Honors degree, and of the ], where he obtained his doctorate. From 2009 to 2010 he was a Fellow at the ]. He is also a fellow of the ], a fellow of the ] and a senior non-resident fellow of the Center for International Relations and Sustainable Development. Parish is also a senior fellow of the Institute of Comparative Law. He is a member of the Honourable Society of ] and of the Swiss Arbitration Association. He is a visiting professor at the ] and teaches at a variety of universities across Europe. Parish formerly worked as an intern for Advocate General ] at the ] in ]. He is the Chair of the ]'s New York Committee on the Accountability of International Organizations. He is originally from ].

			In September 2024, an order allowing Parish to bring a libel claim against the ] was dismissed by the ] in London. Parish said that the Misplaced Pages article about him was defamatory as it had been published in England and Wales, but ] ruled that the London courts had no jurisdiction in the matter, as the issue related primarily to his career as a lawyer in Switzerland.<ref>{{cite news\|url=https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/high-court-dismisses-swiss-lawyers-libel-claim-over-wikipedia-page/5120826.article\|title=High Court dismisses Swiss lawyer's libel claim over Misplaced Pages page\|work=The Law Society Gazette\|first=Bianca\|last=Castro\|date=12 September 2024\|accessdate=13 September 2024}}</ref> The claim was also dismissed as it had been made more than a year after the date of publication, and because Parish had failed to disclose that he had been living and working outside England for over twenty years.<ref>{{cite web \| url=https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/KB/2024/2301.html \| title=Parish v Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. [2024] EWHC 2301 (KB) }}</ref>
	==Career==
	Parish is an international lawyer, the Managing Partner of Gentium Law Group, an international arbitration practice with offices in
	Ankara, Fribourg, Geneva, Istanbul, London and Moscow. He was formerly Chief Legal Adviser to the International Supervisor of ], a region of northern ] run as a protectorate by the US Government since 1997. He previously worked in the legal department of the ]. He is an English ], a member of the Swiss bar and a New York ], and teaches at the ]. He is also an Honorary Professor at the University of Leicester in comparative civil law and common law systems of litigation.
	Parish was elected as a Young Global Leader of the ] in 2013<ref>{{cite web\|url=http://www3.weforum.org/docs/YGL13/WEF_YGL13_Honourees.pdf \|format=PDF \|title=List of 2013 Young Global Leaders Honourees \|website=3.weforum.org \|accessdate=2017-02-23}}</ref> and has also been named as one of the 300 most influential people in Switzerland by ].<ref>{{cite web\|url=http://www.bilan.ch \|title=Bilan \| La référence suisse de l'économie, finance, immobilier, entreprises \|website=Bilan.ch \|date= \|accessdate=2017-02-23}}</ref>

			==Works==
	Parish is reported as having represented a number of governments, including Turkey and Tajikistan. He is believed to be active in representing commodities trading companies and also Gulf monarchies in their litigation interests. He is described in one legal journal as "the quintessential political lawyer", and he is one of the most widely cited lawyers in the international media and academic journals. In Geneva he is known for having taken on a series of high-profile cases relating to UN and public corruption and misconduct, and is an outspoken advocate of UN accountability and reform.

			===Books===
	==Writings on Balkan politics==
			*''A Free City in the Balkans: Reconstructing a Divided Society in Bosnia'' ], London, October 2009. {{ISBN\|978-1848850026}}
	Shortly after leaving Bosnia in 2007, Parish wrote "The Demise of the Dayton Protectorate",<ref>. Wmin.ac.uk. Retrieved on 2012-06-14.</ref> which became front page news in Bosnia and Herzegovina.<ref>. Glassrpske.com. Retrieved on 2012-06-14.</ref><ref> {{webarchive \|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100405170223/http://www.nezavisne.com/dogadjaji/vijesti/26204/Metju-Peris-OHR-treba-hitno-zatvoriti.html \|date=April 5, 2010 }}</ref> The piece predicted that the ] (OHR), the country's post-war governor, would soon collapse. This article subsequently became cited in the state-building literature,<ref>Sylvie Rammell, Status 13:10 (2008),</ref><ref>Arvanitopoulous and Tzifakis, Eur. View 7:15 (2008)</ref><ref>. Nationalinterest.org (2009-01-21). Retrieved on 2012-06-14.</ref> and was said to be a catalyst for disintegration of the country's international governing structure.<ref>Heinrich Böll Foundation, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Controversies of the EU Integration Process (Sarajevo 2008)</ref> ], the Serb-dominated half of the country, relied upon the article to argue for closure of OHR.<ref>. (PDF) . Retrieved on 2012-06-14.</ref><ref>Speech by Milorad Dodik to the RS National Assembly, 13 October 2008</ref>
			*''Mirages of International Justice: The Elusive Pursuit of a Transnational Legal'' ], London, May 2011. {{ISBN\|978-1849804080}}

			*''Ethnic Civil War and the Promise of Law'' ], London, 2016. {{ISBN\|978-0857934192}}
	Parish has written a commentary on the ] of the ] declaring Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence to be lawful.<ref> {{webarchive\|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110910205521/http://old.balkaninsight.com/en/main/comment/29723/ \|date=10 September 2011 }}. Old.balkaninsight.com. Retrieved on 2012-06-14.</ref> He expresses the view that while Kosovo's independence was inevitable, judicial determination of the issue was unsatisfactory as a matter of policy.

	Parish's book on reconstruction in post-war Bosnia, "A Free City in the Balkans",<ref>Matthew Parish, "A Free City in the Balkans: Reconstructing a Divided Society in Bosnia" (London: I.B.Tauris 2009)</ref> has attracted domestic and international attention.<ref>Muharem Bazdulj, Brcko kao Gdanjsk ili Trst, Oslobodjenje, 20 March 2010</ref> The book has been described as "telling the story of the successes wrought by innovative policy and the dangers of premature disengagement" and a "damning critique of the role and the actions of the OHR and the state-building attempts by the international community can make for uncomfortable reading".<ref> {{webarchive\|url=https://archive.is/20120712190748/http://old.balkaninsight.com/en/main/life_and_style/28771/ \|date=12 July 2012 }}. Old.balkaninsight.com. Retrieved on 2012-06-14.</ref> The book has been criticized for being too sceptical of the international community's statebuilding efforts in the country.<ref>Jelena Subotic, Nationalities Papers, 38(3):440 (May 2010)</ref>

	Parish purports to provide a critique of the international community's activities in the Balkans<ref>. Politicsrespun.org. Retrieved on 2012-06-14.</ref> Parish writes occasional columns for the Sarajevo-based newspaper ] and for ].

	Parish spoke to the UN General Assembly in April 2013 in a meeting organized by its then President ].<ref>{{cite web\|url=http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/04/17/neither-justice-nor-reconciliation/ \|title=Neither Justice Nor Reconciliation \|website=Counterpunch.org \|date=2013-04-17 \|accessdate=2017-02-23}}</ref> He chaired a debate about the effectiveness of international criminal justice, and how it might be made more efficient and improved.

	== Constructivism in international relations ==
	Parish's book ''Mirages of International Justice'' <ref>Matthew Parish, "Mirages of International Justice: The Elusive Pursuit of a Transnational Legal Order" (London: Edward Elgar 2011)</ref> advances a ] account of international law. He thinks sovereign states would never agree to create genuinely impartial and independent international courts that would enforce international law against themselves. Thus international courts are deliberately made powerless, and they occupy precarious roles in the balance of power in which they are liable to make decisions in accordance with Great Power interests. International tribunals proliferate not because states want to see international justice done but because they want to associate themselves with the ideals captured in discourse about international law without making any real commitments. The world of ] remains an anarchy, but international courts (and indeed ] in general) are part of an illusion that the world is ordered in accordance with moral principles. Nevertheless, he is a defender of controversial investment treaty arbitration, a system of international law that allows investors to sue states.

	Parish is a scholar of the jurisprudence of both the ] and ] in general.<ref>{{cite web\|url=https://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2013/ga11355.doc.htm \|title=Robust International Criminal Justice System Gives 'Much-Needed Voice to Victims' of Serious Crimes, Secretary-General Tells General Assembly \| Meetings Coverage and Press Releases \|website=Un.org \|date=2013-04-10 \|accessdate=2017-02-23}}</ref><ref name="transconflict1">{{cite web\|url=http://www.transconflict.com/2013/05/international-criminal-law-justice-or-mirage-025/ \|title=International criminal law - justice or mirage? \|website=Transconflict.com \|date=2013-05-02 \|accessdate=2017-02-23}}</ref><ref>{{cite web\|url=https://elgarblog.com/2012/08/10/international-justice-progress-or-mirage-author-article-by-matthew-parish/ \|title=International Justice: Progress or Mirage? – by Matthew Parish \| Edward Elgar Publishing BLOG \|website=Elgarblog.com \|date=2012-08-10 \|accessdate=2017-02-23}}</ref>

	Parish has given evidence to both the European Parliament and the House Committee on Foreign Affairs of the US Congress<ref>, Foreign Affairs, 24 February 2016</ref> on issues relating to international organizations and international law. He is an advocate of free trade and open-market economics, and says that international investment is a consequence of free trade.

	== Catalonia ==
	Parish has published a series of articles<ref>{{Cite news\|url=http://www.transconflict.com/2017/10/reflection-on-the-catalan-conundrum-910/\|title=Reflection on the Catalan conundrum\|last=\|first=\|date=2017-10-09\|work=\|access-date=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news\|url=http://www.transconflict.com/2017/10/sequestering-catalonia-270/\|title=Sequestering Catalonia\|last=\|first=\|date=2017-10-27\|work=\|access-date=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news\|url=http://www.transconflict.com/2017/10/catalan-independence-290/\|title=Catalan Independence\|last=\|first=\|date=2017-10-29\|work=\|access-date=}}</ref> expressing sympathy for the 2017 Catalan independence movement.

	== Law Firm ==
	Gentium Law Group is an international arbitration law firm headquartered in Fribourg, Switzerland. Gentium Law is the creature of its Managing Partner, Matthew Parish who has been named as one of the three hundred most influential people in Switzerland.<ref>{{Cite web\|url=http://www.legal500.com/firms/17697-gentium-law-group-s-rl/offices/23631-geneva-switzerland/profile\|title=The Legal 500.\|last=\|first=\|date=\|website=\|access-date=}}</ref> Parish has also been named as Dispute Resolution Lawyer of the Year in Switzerland, 2018.

	Gentium Law Group was one of the first in a new breed of "boutique" arbitration law firms that involves teams of senior arbitration lawyers splitting away from large established law firms and forming their own smaller practices under new brands. Although the departure of Holman Fenwick's team was known to be extraordinarily acrimonious, Gentium Law Group seems to have thrived while the Geneva office of the law firm from which it departed fared less well.<ref>{{Cite journal\|last=Harris\|first=Joanne\|date=2015-01-06\|title=Another arbitration boutique is born as HFW Geneva partner quits with team\|url=https://www.thelawyer.com/issues/online-january-2015/another-arbitration-boutique-is-born-as-hfw-geneva-partner-quits-with-team/\|journal=thelawyer\|volume=\|pages=\|via=}}</ref>

	Gentium Law Group is the first known international law firm to establish a presence in Iraqi Kurdistan.

	In 2016, a leading arbitration expert, Tony Cole, joined Gentium Law Group to combine work as an arbitrator with his academic pursuits at the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom.<ref>{{Cite web\|url=http://globalarbitrationreview.com/article/1067683/geneva-boutique-hires-australian-arbitrator\|title=Geneva boutique hires Australian arbitrator\|last=\|first=\|date=\|website=globalarbitrationreview\|access-date=}}</ref>

	Gentium Law Group was the first firm to be nominated as a Global Arbitration Review Top 100 Law Firm worldwide within the first year of its operation.<ref>{{Cite web\|url=http://globalarbitrationreview.com/benchmarking/gar-100-9th-edition/1035366/gentium-law-group\|title=GAR 100 - 9th Edition\|last=\|first=\|date=\|website=\|access-date=}}</ref>

	Gentium Law Group was reported as a principal supporter of the campaign for ], the former Serbian Foreign Minister and one of the youngest candidates to stand as ] of the United Nations, and succeeded in making him second overall in the 2016 race, coming just behind ], the new Secretary General.<ref>{{Cite web\|url=http://globalarbitrationreview.com/article/1067249/gentium-law-founder-supports-un-leadership-bid\|title=Gentium Law founder supports UN leadership bid\|last=\|first=\|date=\|website=\|access-date=}}</ref>

	Since the election of first-placed rival António Guterres, Gentium Law Group has emerged as a key supporter of the 2016 Secretary General-elect.<ref>{{Cite web\|url=http://gentiumlaw.com/unsg/\|title=UNSG news - Gentium Law Group\|last=\|first=\|date=\|website=\|access-date=}}</ref>

	==Published works and other media==

	;Books
	*''A Free City in the Balkans: Reconstructing a Divided Society in Bosnia'' I.B.Tauris, London (October 2009)<ref>{{Cite book\|title = A Free City in the Balkans: Reconstructing a Divided Society in Bosnia (International Library of War Studies)\|last = Parish\|first = Matthew\|publisher = I B Tauris & Co Ltd\|year = 2009\|isbn = 978-1848850026\|location = \|pages = }}</ref> Discusses the work of a public international law arbitration tribunal: the Arbitral Tribunal for the Dispute over the Inter-Entity Boundary in the Brčko Area, of which the author was one of the principal officers.
	*''Mirages of International Justice: The Elusive Pursuit of a Transnational Legal'' Order Edward Elgar, London (May 2011)<ref>{{Cite book\|title = Mirages of International Justice: The Elusive Pursuit of a Transnational Legal Order\|last = Parish\|first = Matthew\|publisher = Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd\|year = 2011\|isbn = 978-1849804080\|location = \|pages = }}</ref> Compares structural failures in different international courts and tribunals. Applies the insights of realism and constructivism in international relations theory to international law. Compares the ECHR, investment tribunals, the ICJ, international criminal courts, the WTO and the EU courts.
	*''Ethnic Civil War and the Promise of Law'' Edward Elgar, London ''(forthcoming late 2013)''<ref>{{Cite book\|title = Ethnic Civil War and the Promise of Law\|last = Parish\|first = Matthew\|publisher = Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd\|year = 2016\|isbn = 978-0857934192\|location = \|pages = }}</ref> Analyses the different state-building strategies used by the international community in ethnic civil wars. One of the first comparative studies in the field, contrasting state-building projects in the Balkans, the Middle East, Latin America and East Asia. This book presents a sceptical hypothesis, concerned that the short electoral cycles to which intervening governments work hinders the long-term commitment necessary to achieve sustainable results.

	;Legal and academic papers and journal articles
	*'''Film Finance: The Hidden Wager''' (2002) 118 L.Q.R.187 Considers whether there is an insurable interest in film finance insurance policies. Published in the ''Law Quarterly Review'', England's foremost academic legal journal.
	*'''State aid and third parties: a logical paradox''' (2002) 27 E.L.Rev. 628 Addresses the nature of remedies in EC competition law cases in which government financial assistance to private sector companies has been held to be unlawful. Published in the ''European Law Review'', the premier English language journal on EC law.
	*'''On the Private Investor Principle''' (2003) 28 E.L.Rev. 70<ref>{{cite web\|url=http://europarl.europa.eu/hearings/20030611/econ/lowell.pdf \|format=PDF \|title=SERVICES OF GENERAL INTEREST : THE CURRENT LEGAL FRAMEWORK AND PROPOSALS FOR REVISION : Brief notes for the hearing on 11 June 2003 before the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs at the European Parliament, Brussels \|author=Matthew Parish1 \|website=Europarl.europa.eu \|accessdate=2017-02-23}}</ref> Critique of a central principle of EC competition law as conceptually incoherent. At the request of Philippe Herzog MEP.
	*'''Why are developing world private finance contracts so difficult to get right?''' ''Oil, Gas and Energy Law Intelligence'', Vol. 5(2) April 2007<ref>{{cite web\|url=http://www.ogel.org/about-author-a-z-profile.asp?key=1270 \|title=Dr. Matthew Parish - Contributing Authors - About - OGEL Journal (Oil, Gas & Energy Law Intelligence) - Global Energy Law & Regulation Portal \|website=Ogel.org \|date= \|accessdate=2017-02-23}}</ref> Discusses microeconomic obstacles to successful execution of project finance contracts for the private operation of infrastructure services in the developing world, and the high incidence of arbitration and renegotiation associated with them. Examines information and cooperation problems, and analyses failures to plan adequately for dispute resolution scenarios.
	*'''On Necessity J. World Inv't & Trade''' 11(2): 1 (2010) Critique of the public international law "emergency defences" in the context of the global economic crisis, as elucidated through ICJ and investment tribunal case law, and the ILC draft articles on state responsibility.
	*'''The Proper Law of an Arbitration Agreement''' ''Arbitration, the Journal of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators'' 76(4): 661 (2010) Argues that conventional doctrines of ''dépeçage'' in the law of international arbitration are confused. The "proper law of an arbitration agreement" by which an arbitration clause's validity is judged should generally follow the ''lex fori'', irrespective of the ''lex causae''; but capacity to arbitrate should be assessed by the ''lex domicilii'', even for public entities.
	*'''Awarding Moral Damages to Respondent States in Investment Arbitration''' ''Berkeley Journal of International Law'' 29(1): 101 (2010)<ref>{{dead link\|date=February 2017}}</ref> Investigates the incidence of moral damages claims in investment treaty arbitration. Surveys cases where claimants have been awarded moral damages, and considers the criteria and quantum. Also suggests respondent states may be entitled to bring counterclaims for moral damages where claimants proceed vexatiously in bringing investment treaty claims.
	*'''Investment Treaty Law and International Law''' Am.Rev.Int'l.Arb. 23(1):137 (2012) Considers the occasions on which arbitration tribunal established under investment treaties have had cause to consider the content of other areas of law, and examines the different methods they have used for resolving areas of overlap and conflict. Considers in particular the relationship between investment treaty law and human rights law, EU law and international arbitration law. '''Winner''', International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution, '''Best''' '''Short Article of 2012''' Also published in ''Investment Treaty Arbitration and International Law'' (T. Weiler, ed., Juris 2014)
	*'''An Introduction to the Energy Charter Treaty''' Am.Rev.Int'l.Arb. 20: 191 (2010) Provides an overview of the jurisdictional requirements for US investors to acquire Energy Charter Treaty protections when investing in the energy sector in Eastern Europe and the CIS.
	*'''The public international law of bank bail-outs''' ''Transnational Dispute Management'', Vol. 7(1) April 2010 Discusses the principles of international investment law applicable to the bank bail-outs that occurred globally in 2008/2009, and asks whether claims may be raised before investment tribunals by investors aggrieved by the terms of national bail-out programmes.
	*'''International Officials''' ''Austrian Rev.Int'l.Eur.L''. Vol. 13: 79 (2008)<ref>{{cite web\|author= \|ssrn=1651519 \|title=International Officials by Matthew Parish :: SSRN \|website=Papers.ssrn.com \|date= \|accessdate=2017-02-23}}</ref> Discusses the powers in public international law of officials charged with UN-mandated and other international territorial administrations in post-conflict societies. Argues that those powers should be strictly delimited and subject to international legal review by an impartial international judicial body.
	*'''An Essay on the Accountability of International Organizations''' ''Int'l.Org.L.Rev.'' 7(2): 277 (2010)<ref>{{cite web\|author= \|ssrn=1651784 \|title=An Essay on the Accountability of International Organizations by Matthew Parish \|publisher=SSRN \|date= \|accessdate=2017-02-23}}</ref><ref> {{dead link\|date=February 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web\|url=http://opiniojuris.org/2010/09/16/legal-accountability-of-international-organizations-and-their-agents/ \|title=Blog Archive Legal Accountability of International Organizations and Their Agents \|publisher=Opinio Juris \|date=2010-09-16 \|accessdate=2017-02-23}}</ref> Argues for improved legal accountability of international organizations, abandonment of traditional doctrines of functional immunity from domestic suit, and application of human rights treaties to the acts of IOs. First presented as part of a conference panel on accountability of international organisations, of which the author was the Chair. International Law Association Conference: ''Challenges to Transnational Governance'', Fordham Law School, NYC, 22–23 October 2009.
	*'''The Economic Logic of Formality in Property Law''' European Law & Economics Association (ELEA) 2009 Annual Conference (September 2009)<ref> {{dead link\|date=February 2017}}</ref> Discusses the economic rationale of the common law rule that passage of title to personalty is a question of parties' intention. Compares this principle unfavourably with a Roman-Germanic doctrine of ''traditio''.
	*'''The Demise of the Dayton Protectorate''' ''Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding'', December 2007<ref>{{cite web\|url=http://www.wmin.ac.uk/sshl/pdf/JISB%20BOS%203%20-%20Parish.pdf \|title=University of Westminster, London \|website=Wmin.ac.uk \|date=2016-12-16 \|accessdate=2017-02-23}}</ref> Discusses the rise and fall of the international legal regime in post-war Bosnia, under which a UN official called the "High Representative" ran Bosnia as an internationally administered governorate for over ten years.
	*'''Republika Srpska: After Independence'''<ref>{{cite web\|last=Parish \|first=Matthew \|url=http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/republika-srpska-after-independence \|title=Republika Srpska: After Independence \|publisher=Balkan Insight \|date=2013-05-03 \|accessdate=2017-02-23}}</ref><ref></ref><ref></ref><ref>{{cite web\|url=http://www.zurnal.info/home/index.php?view=article&catid=17%3Aposta-sa-okupirane-strane&id=2657%3Amatthew-parish-republika-srpska-nakon-osamostaljenja&tmpl=component&print=1&layout=default&page=&option=com_content&Itemid=35 \|title=Žurnal - Jedina slobodna teritorija \|website=Zurnal.info \|date= \|accessdate=2017-02-23}}</ref> Argues that the fracture of post-war Bosnia into two or more mini-states is inevitable. The international community's best course is not to make futile attempts to resist it, but rather delay the process. When the inevitable finally happens, the international community should accept the country's partition and ameliorate the worst consequences.
	*'''Paradigms of State-Building: Comparing Bosnia and Kosovo''' ''Journal of Eurasian Law'' 3(3) (2010)<ref>{{cite web\|author=\|ssrn=1680226 \|title=Paradigms of State-Building: Comparing Bosnia and Kosovo by Matthew Parish :: SSRN \|website=Papers.ssrn.com \|date= \|accessdate=2017-02-23}}</ref> Critiques the legal structure of international territorial administration in post-war Bosnia and Kosovo. Draws parallels between the legal structure of the state-building missions in each territory, yet observes that the challenges facing intervention missions in each territory were profoundly different, and seeks to draw lessons from the errors made by the international community in each jurisdiction.
	*'''Arbitration in the Western Balkans: The Emerging Commercial Landscape''' ''Pravni Život'' (Serbian academic legal journal), December 2010<ref>{{cite web\|author= \|ssrn=1685217 \|title=Arbitration in the Western Balkans: The Emerging Commercial Landscape by Matthew Parish :: SSRN \|website=Papers.ssrn.com \|date= \|accessdate=2017-02-23}}</ref> Also presented at the conference of the Kopaonik School of Natural Law, 14 December 2010
	*'''The political logic of Balkanisation''' ''Proceedings of the Geneva Security Forum'' (2011) Considers the success and failures of secessionist movements around the world, the international law governing state secession, and the political conditions which make secession possible, in the context of state-building missions that seek to hold countries together in the aftermath of civil war.
	*'''International courts and the European Legal Order''' ''European Journal of International Law'', Vol. 23(1) (2012)<ref>{{cite web\|author= \|ssrn=1919679 \|title=International Courts and the European Legal Order by Matthew Parish :: SSRN \|doi=10.2139/ssrn.1919679 \|website=Papers.ssrn.com \|date= \|accessdate=2017-02-23}}</ref> Considers the possibility for conflict between different areas of international law, in particular between EU law and other areas of international law, and reviews the opinion of the European Court of Justice declaring the European Community and Patents Court to be inconsistent with EU law.
	*'''International sanctions and how to evade them''' ''Oil Gas & Energy Law'' 10th Edition Special Issue, March 2012<ref>{{cite web\|url=http://www.ogel.org/journal-browse-issues-toc.asp?key=48 \|title=OGEL 3 (2012) - Browse Issues - Journal - OGEL Journal (Oil, Gas & Energy Law Intelligence) - Global Energy Law & Regulation Portal \|website=Ogel.org \|date= \|accessdate=2017-02-23}}</ref> Analyzes the legal effects of differing regimes of international sanctions, and the ease of evading those sanctions. Includes travel bans, banking bans and export embargoes, principally considered in the context of the 2012 Iran crisis.
	*'''Wrongful acts of international organizations: no remedy means no responsibility''' International Law Association Committee Report, 18 December 2012<ref>{{cite web\|url=http://ila-americanbranch.org/reports/2012-12-18_ABILA_Parish_Rios.pdf \|format=PDF \|title=Wrongful acts of International Organizations : No effective remedy means no responsibility \|author1=Matthew Parish \|author2=Greta L. Ríos \|website=Ila-americanbranch.org \|accessdate=2017-02-23}}</ref> Considers the obligations under international law of international organizations, and the paucity of remedies available to those adversely affected by their decisions. The article also serves as an introduction to the committee's work.
	*'''Deregulating legal fees''' ''Legal Studies'', September 2012 (forthcoming) Argues that regulators' schemes for controlling freedom of contract between lawyers and their clients for their fee structures are self-defeating. In particular the prohibition on contingency fees has no sound policy ground save restricting access to justice. Fee regulation is another sort of barrier to entry regulation and promotes cartel practices amongst legal professionals.
	*'''Judicial Politics and the Balkan Wars''' ''Foreign Legal Life'', Volume 2(2013) A critical assessment of the decision of the Appellate Chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia to overturn the first instance decision convicting the Croatian General Ante Gotovina of war crimes in the course of Operation Storm, expelling Serbs from Krajina, in August 1995.
	*'''International law and Great Power Politics''' In David Feldman, ed., ''Law in Politics, Politics in Law'' (Oxford: Hart), 2013<ref>{{cite web\|url=http://www.hartpub.co.uk/BookDetails.aspx?ISBN=9781849464734 \|title=Law in Politics, Politics in Law(Hart Studies in Constitutional Law): David Feldman: Hart Publishing \|doi=10.5040/9781472561633 \|website=Hartpub.co.uk \|date= \|accessdate=2017-02-23}}</ref> Considers the relationship between the way international law is developed and adjudicated by international courts, and the relative political strength of the sovereign litigants that international law concerns. Advances the author's pessimistic constructivism theory of international law.
	*'''International Law and International Organizations: the Legacy of the Twentieth Century''' Право Журнал высшей школы экономики (2014), Vol. 2: 124 Explores the rise of international organisations in the political history of the twentieth century, the consequent growth of international law, and the effects of this growth upon international relations, from a constructivist perspective.

	== References ==		== References ==
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Latest revision as of 15:31, 10 January 2025

British lawyer

For the British former Conservative MP and journalist, see Matthew Parris. For the Australian rugby league player and coach, see Matt Parish. For the British Olympic rower, see Matthew Parish (rower).

Matthew Parish

Born	Headingley, Leeds, England
Occupation(s)	Lawyer, academic, author, international relations expert
Website	matthewparish.com (archived on 4 November 2023)

This article's lead section may be too short to adequately summarize the key points. Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of all important aspects of the article. (January 2025)

Matthew Parish is a British international lawyer and scholar of international relations. He is based in England and Eastern Europe.

Early life

Parish was born in Leeds, in West Yorkshire. He is a graduate of Cambridge University.

Career and publications

Parish worked in the legal department of the International Supervisor for Brčko, part of the Office of the High Representative (OHR) in Bosnia and Herzegovina. His first book, on reconstruction in post-war Brčko, A Free City in the Balkans (2009), drew on his experience working for the OHR. The book has been criticized for being too sceptical of the international community's statebuilding efforts in the country.

Parish's second book, Mirages of International Justice, was published in 2011. The book describes international law as "for the most part quite useless". According to a sceptical review by Christian Axboe Nielsen, the book "concludes by wishing that both international law and international organizations would disappear from the face of the earth". Nielsen compares the book unfavourably to A Free City in the Balkans, describing the latter as making "provocative and, by comparison, cogent arguments".

Parish left Akin Gump's Geneva office for Holman Fenwick Willan's (HFW) Geneva office in 2011. In December 2014 he and a colleague at HFW set up their own practice, Gentium Law Group. Gentium was one of the first boutique arbitration law firms that involved teams of senior arbitration lawyers splitting away from large established law firms and forming their own smaller practices under new brands. The group was nominated as a Global Arbitration Review Top 100 Law Firm worldwide in 2016 and 2017. In November 2018 Parish ceased to manage the company having handed control to a new partner.

Legal issues

In 2018, Parish was found guilty of criminal defamation in Switzerland for making reports to Western intelligence services accusing his former clients, Murat Seitnepesov and Konstantin Ryndin, of money laundering, fraud and financing terrorism. Sentenced to two months, Parish reports in a self-published book that he spent 23 days in prison.

Parish was further charged in 2019. He was subsequently fined, given a one-year suspended prison sentence and instructed by the court to see a psychiatrist. Reuters reported that a spokesman for the Geneva prosecutor's office said: "Mr. Parish is found guilty of defamation, calumny, a coercion attempt and of failing to conform with an authority’s decision." Parish indicated his intention to appeal the conviction.

Parish has also been convicted in Switzerland for his role in a fraudulent arbitration in a dispute between rival members of the Kuwaiti ruling family aimed at falsely authenticating fraudulent videos showing corruption and breach of Iran sanctions. AP reported in February 2021 that a court hearing had been held and adjourned until August 2021. In September 2021, Parish was convicted and sentenced to three years' jail time and was banned from practicing law in Switzerland. As AP reports, "Judge Gonseth said he was an arbitration expert and 'manifestly' involved at all stages of the process". On 18 December 2023, Parish had an appeal against his conviction dismissed, though an appeal against his sentence was partially allowed, with the custodial element reduced to two years' imprisonment, all of which was suspended.

In September 2024, an order allowing Parish to bring a libel claim against the Wikimedia Foundation was dismissed by the High Court in London. Parish said that the Misplaced Pages article about him was defamatory as it had been published in England and Wales, but Mrs Justice Steyn ruled that the London courts had no jurisdiction in the matter, as the issue related primarily to his career as a lawyer in Switzerland. The claim was also dismissed as it had been made more than a year after the date of publication, and because Parish had failed to disclose that he had been living and working outside England for over twenty years.

Works

Books

A Free City in the Balkans: Reconstructing a Divided Society in Bosnia I.B. Tauris, London, October 2009. ISBN 978-1848850026
Mirages of International Justice: The Elusive Pursuit of a Transnational Legal Edward Elgar, London, May 2011. ISBN 978-1849804080
Ethnic Civil War and the Promise of Law Edward Elgar, London, 2016. ISBN 978-0857934192

References

Biography Archived 2017-12-10 at the Wayback Machine, MattewParish.com
^ Farge, Emma (29 February 2020). "Swiss court convicts British lawyer of defaming oil trader to MI5". Reuters. Archived from the original on 29 February 2020. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
^ Morrison, Kenneth (15 June 2010). "Matthew Parish, A Free City in the Balkans: Reconstructing a Divided Society in Bosnia". Balkan Insight. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
Geoghegan, Peter (14 May 2014). "Welcome to Brčko, Europe's only free city and a law unto itself". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
Sadiković, Mirna. "Iz OHR za etto.ba: Tvrdnje Parisha o smjeni visokog predstavnika nisu tačne". Etto. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
Matthew Parish, "A Free City in the Balkans: Reconstructing a Divided Society in Bosnia" (London: I.B.Tauris 2009)
Subotic, Jelena (2010). "A free city in the Balkans: reconstructing a divided society in Bosnia, by Matthew Parish, New York, I.B. Tauris, 2009, xvii + 256 pp. + maps, illustrations (hardback), ISBN 978-1848850026". Nationalities Papers. 38 (3): 440–442. doi:10.1017/S0090599200039787. S2CID 186664720.
Nielsen, Christian Axboe (2013). "Mirages of international justice: the elusive pursuit of a transnational legal order, by Matthew Parish, Cheltenham, UK and Northampton, MA, Edward Elgar, 2011, 268 pp., £75 (Hardback), ISBN 978-1-84980-408-0". Southeast European and Black Sea Studies. 13 (1): 110–112. doi:10.1080/14683857.2013.773185. S2CID 153751608.
Muckle, Adam. "CDR – Commercial Dispute Resolution". Arbitration, Litigation, Dispute Resolution | CDR Magazine.
https://www.shab.ch/shabforms/servlet/Search?EID=7&DOCID=1897317
https://globalarbitrationreview.com/editorial/1035366/gentium-law-group
"Global Arbitration Review – GAR 100 – 9th Edition". globalarbitrationreview.com.
"GAR Arbitration Surveys". Globalarbitrationreview.com. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
https://www.shab.ch/shabforms/servlet/Search?EID=7&DOCID=HR02-1004491200
Miller, Hugo; Hoffman, Andy (5 June 2018). "Telling Tale About Russian Client Lands Swiss Lawyer in Jail". Bloomberg L.P. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018.
Osborne, Lydia (6 June 2018). "Swiss Lawyer Imprisoned After Making Fraud Accusations". Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project. Archived from the original on 15 June 2018. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
Parish, Matthew (2018). Spy's Diary: Essays from a Maximum Security Swiss Prison (PDF). Matthew Parish. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 February 2022.
"British lawyer faces new charges in Geneva". globalarbitrationreview.com. Archived from the original on 27 October 2020.(subscription required)
"A Genève, trois avocats et un cheikh sont inculpés pour faux arbitrage". Le Temps. 16 September 2016. Archived from the original on 13 June 2018 – via letemps.ch.
Besson, Sylvain (16 November 2018). "Un puissant membre du CIO renvoyé au tribunal pour faux arbitrage". Le Temps (in French). Archived from the original on 31 August 2023. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
"Powerful Kuwaiti IOC member to be tried in Switzerland for forgery". Agence France-Presse. 17 November 2018. Archived from the original on 17 November 2018. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
^ "Lawyers charged in Geneva over fake arbitration". globalarbitrationreview.com. Archived from the original on 20 July 2021. Retrieved 20 July 2021.(subscription required)
"Trial of Olympic sheikh on forgery charge pushed back". AP NEWS. 20 April 2021. Archived from the original on 8 May 2021. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
AP (13 April 2021). "Forgery trial of Olympic powerbroker now set to open in August". Business Standard India. Archived from the original on 15 April 2021. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
^ "Olympic power broker Sheikh Ahmad found guilty of forgery". Associated Press. 10 September 2021. Archived from the original on 17 September 2021.
AP, PTI & (11 September 2021). "Olympic power broker Sheikh Ahmad found guilty of forgery". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
"مركز رفع وتحميل صور وملفات رابط مباشر" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 January 2022. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
Between Matthew Thomas Parish and Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. (High Court of Justice 6 September 2024), Text.
Castro, Bianca (12 September 2024). "High Court dismisses Swiss lawyer's libel claim over Misplaced Pages page". The Law Society Gazette. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
"Parish v Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. [2024] EWHC 2301 (KB)".

External links

Categories: