Frances Kirkham has been a judge of the Qatar International Court since 2013. Frances Kirkham was a senior circuit judge, the designated Technology & Construction Court (TCC) judge in Birmingham, England. The majority of work undertaken was in the High Court and was responsible for all TCC work that both initiated and transferred to Birmingham. Prior to this, she was partner at three national solicitors' practices in Birmingham. Between 2006 and 2011, she acted as Commissioner at the Judicial Appointments Commission, speaking at several meetings of the Irish, Franco-British Judicial Co-operation Committee. Frances spent a period at the Palais de Justice in Paris, where she observed the work of the French courts, specifically with regards to construction and engineering disputes.
Frances regularly acts as an arbitrator, adjudicator, and mediator, and completed her TCC judicial mediation training in 2010. She has worked as a deputy High Court judge in the Mercantile, Chancery and Administrative Courts, and has also undertaken general Queen’s Bench Division work. Frances has received numerous awards, including the Birmingham Law Society’s Lifetime Achievement Award and the Clare Edwards Memorial Award, recognising her extensive contribution to the practice of construction law. Notably, Frances was founder committee member and first secretary of the United Kingdom Association of Women Judges.
