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Curriculum Vitae
Summary
All specialist areas
Commercial Litigation
Competition Law
Public & Administrative Law
Trade Law
Additional Information

David Unterhalter SC

MA (Cantab) LLB (Wits) BCL (Oxon)
Call date: 2009 1990 (South Africa) Silk: 2001

Summary

David Unterhalter SC joined Monckton Chambers in 2009. He is one of South Africa's foremost barristers, with a leading practice in competition law, trade law, public law (particularly as it applies to regulatory agencies) and commercial law. He is widely regarded as the leading competition law barrister in South Africa. In 2009, he transferred his practice to the English Bar.

David has appeared in many landmark cases before South Africa's appellate courts and has built a large practice in trial advocacy before the High Court and specialised tribunals. David regularly acts for major multinational and South African companies in his fields of expertise, among them: BP, Glaxo Wellcome, Vodafone, Unilever, Mittal, Novartis, JTI, Texaco, Anglo American and Sasol. He is also briefed extensively to act for regulators, most especially in judicial review work. In the field of competition law, he is as much at home in cases concerning cartels and abuse of a dominant position, as he is in advising upon mergers.

David is the Chairman of the Appellate Body of the World Trade Organisation. The Appellate Body is the permanent adjudicative branch of the WTO. It determines appeals by member countries of the WTO concerning their rights and obligations in trade disputes. David also serves on the International Court of Arbitration of the ICC.

Recent/ Major Cases:

  • Mittal Steel v Harmony Gold Mining (abuse of a dominant position and excessive pricing)
  • JTI v Batsa (abuse of a dominant position and category management)
  • American Natural Soda Ash Corp. v SA Competition Commission (application of domestic law to an extraterritorial cartel)
  • Telkom/ BCX (contested merger in the telecommunications sector)
  • Goldfields/Harmony (hostile take over in the mining industry)
  • Glaxo Wellcome v National Association of Pharmaceutical Wholesalers (abuse  of dominant position in the distribution of pharmaceuticals)
  • Brenco Inc v Board on Tariffs and Trade (judicial review and anti dumping)
  • Letseng Diamonds v JCI Limited (company law: application rule in Foss v Harbottle)
  • BP/Transnet (review of pipeline tariffs)
  • President of the Republic of South Africa v Masethla (constitutional challenge to classified documents)
  • Eisenberg v Minister of Home Affairs (constitutionality of immigration regulations)
  • Islamic Unity Convention v Minister of Telecommunications (hate speech and the right to freedom of expression)