Paul Roystan Beckett

Biography

I have a passion for international human rights, justice and equality in all its forms.

I have over thirty-five years’ experience as a lawyer, both within the international private banking and fiduciary services industries and in private practice. First trained at leading “magic circle” City of London Solicitors Simmons & Simmons, I qualified as an English Solicitor in 1981 and as an Isle of Man Advocate in 1990. I am also a non-practising Solicitor in Ireland and in Northern Ireland.

I am an experienced diplomat, having been on the staff of the European Patent Office in Munich in this capacity, where I worked in English, German and French; languages which I still use professionally. I was the Honorary Representative of the Isle of Man Government in Switzerland during my time as a Senior Vice President of Deutsche Bank in Geneva.

In my capacity as Chairman of the Financial Services Tribunal, Collective Investment Schemes Tribunal and Data Protection Tribunal over many years I was called upon to exercise quasi-judicial authority. I am a member of the Solicitor Judges Division, Law Society of England and Wales and of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.

I am a Fellow of the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (founded in 1754).

I have been widely published.

Education

B.A. (Jurisprudence) (First) Oxford 1978
M.A. Oxford 1982
M.St. (International Human Rights Law) Oxford 2015

Areas of Research / Professional Expertise

My field of research is the interaction between tax havens and international human rights, from a structuring rather than from a purely fiscal perspective (which means focusing on the often chimeric companies, trusts, foundations and other tailored structures which the tax havens have on offer).

Books