John M. B. Balouziyeh

Mr. Balouziyeh has advised a wide range of clients, including the Public International Law and Policy Group, the United Nations, the International Development Law Organization, the World Bank and the International Law Institute, on matters of public international law.

Mr. Balouziyeh, who currently serves as an International Human Rights and Humanitarian Law Instructor with the American Red Cross, previously worked as a Human Rights Officer at the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), reporting to the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). He also acted as an International Humanitarian and Criminal Law Consultant at the United Nations Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Da'esh/ISIL (UNITAD). Mr. Balouziyeh began his legal career as a law clerk for the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in San José, Costa Rica.

He has counseled over two hundred refugees and asylum seekers, approximately 70 percent of whom have been granted asylum. He worked as a project lawyer at a legal clinic for asylum seekers on the Greek island of Lesvos and has built partnerships with the Norwegian Refugee Council to advise Syrian refugees on the laws of Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and Iraq. His work, which is the subject of his book, Hope and a Future: The Story of Syrian Refugees (Time Books, 2017), has won multiple awards and recognition, including by Legal Week, Chambers and the Association of Corporate Counsel-Middle East.

Mr. Balouziyeh has acted on some of the largest investments in the Middle East, having represented governments or foreign investors in joint ventures and public-private partnerships, some valued at over USD 30 billion, and in foreign military sales, direct commercial sales and government contracts valued at over USD 1 billion. Clients have described him as a “capable and experienced corporate, government contracts and regulatory specialist” (Legal 500, 2023) who “understands the practical implications of his advice and tailors it accordingly” (Chambers 2021). He has represented multinational corporations in both acquisitions in and divestments from Saudi Arabia, Oman, Egypt and the United Emirates, with clients praising him as “one of the smartest attorneys in the [Middle East] region” (Legal 500, 2023).

Having published widely in academic and trade journals in the field of business and human rights, Mr. Balouziyeh has drafted human rights policies, modern slavery statements and environmental protection charters for clients across a variety of industries, including the defense, financial services and energy sectors. He has carried out corporate human rights due diligence to help companies effectively manage the potential adverse human rights impacts of their business operations. Additionally, Mr. Balouziyeh has advised corporations on human rights reporting frameworks, risks relating to global supply chains and on strategies to mitigate such risks.

Mr. Balouziyeh has represented foreign investors before arbitral tribunals in the Middle East and in Europe. In advising clients on disputes, he “is pragmatic and understands the needs and risk appetite of multinational compan[ies]” (Legal 500, 2023). Having previously served as an attorney for the U.S. Department of State, Mr. Balouziyeh has represented the United States in international arbitrations involving U.S. corporations and sovereign governments of Latin American states under the North American Free Trade Agreement and the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement.

Mr. Balouziyeh has served as an officer in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps of the US Army Reserve (JAG) for more than seven years, holding a number of billets, including International Law Officer, Prosecutor and Defense Counsel. His previous assignments include the Guantánamo Bay war crimes tribunals, the Pentagon and the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He was competitively selected to represent “unprivileged enemy belligerents” in the 9/11 case, one of the most complex and high-profile criminal cases in U.S. history, tried before the first American war crimes tribunals in over fifty years. Mr. Balouziyeh, who holds a top-secret security clearance, is the recipient of multiple commendation medals by the Department of the Army and the U.S. Department of Defense.

Mr. Balouziyeh is a prolific author who has published over 15 books and 40 articles on international law. His books include Principles of International Law (Vandeplas Publishing), A Legal Guide to Doing Business in Saudi Arabia (Thomson Reuters, Westlaw Gulf), Fundamentos de Derecho español privado (Thomson Reuters Aranzadi), The Government Procurement Review (The Law Reviews, contributor), Les Enfants des Rues au Sénégal (Éditions Biliki, editor), International Agency and Distribution Agreements (LexisNexis, contributor), and Las sociedades mercantiles estadounidenses (Editorial Marcial Pons).