Brigadier Darren Stewart, OBE

Darren Stewart OBE is a retired Brigadier who served for over 23 years as a legal officer in the British Army.  Darren is an expert in International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and is a former Head of Operational Law for the British Army.  During his military career Darren gained extensive experience in advising deployed military commanders in United Kingdom, NATO and multi-national operations.  He has been the senior legal adviser for Commanders of British Forces operating in the Balkans, Sierra Leone, the Middle East and Afghanistan.  Darren was the Chief Legal Adviser for the International Security Assistance Force for Afghanistan (ISAF) in 2006/7.

Possessing a wealth of experience in the strategic environment, Darren has served at NATO’s Supreme Headquarters Allies Powers Europe (SHAPE) where his duties included responsibility for providing legal advice on Host Nation and Logistic matters across NATO including leading the team which negotiated a Strategic Airlift MOU with the Russian Federation.  Darren has also been the Chief Legal Adviser for British Forces in Northern Ireland where he was heavily involved in legal issues associated with the normalisation process in Northern Ireland, including the development of UK legislation relating to enduring military support to civil authorities.  As the Head of Operational Law for the British Army, Darren designed and delivered a comprehensive interoperability programme between the British Army Legal Services and the US Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps.

Committed to the dissemination of IHL, Darren is a former Director of the Military Department at the International Institute of Humanitarian Law (IIHL), Sanremo, Italy and now sits on the governing Council for the IIHL.  He regularly presents to British Red Cross and ICRC training events.  In 2018 Darren was elected as the Vice President of the International Society for Military Law and the Law of War (ISMLLW).  He is a member of the International Bar Association (IBA) War Crimes Committee Advisory Board.  Darren is the General Editor of the United Kingdom Joint Service Manual of the Law of Armed Conflict. 

Darren’s expertise also includes the conduct of investigations into deaths as part of the judicial role of Coroner which he performs on a part time basis sitting in the Westminster and Surrey Coroner’s Courts. 

Darren was made an OBE in the 2003 Queens Birthday Honours List.