Monckton Chambers is in the vanguard of collective proceedings and class action litigation. Its members’ unparalleled experience, across a range of different jurisdictions, makes them the stand-out choice for any party involved in group litigation.
Judicial review with a commercial or regulatory element is at the heart of Monckton’s Administrative and Public law specialism. The rare combination of commercial and public law expertise on offer at Monckton means our members have a leading reputation and act in the most complex and high-profile challenges.
Our members accept instructions to provide advice and representation across the range of regulated sectors. They are regularly instructed in judicial reviews relating to:
Our practitioners work on behalf of both claimants and defendants, acting for companies, regulators and affected third parties to ensure their clients’ rights and interests are protected. A large number of our members are appointed to the Attorney General’s ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’ and ‘PIL’ Panel of Counsel, from which they represent clients including Secretaries of State and central government agencies in challenges to their decisions (click here to see panel members).
Members of this practice group are able to bring to their commercial and regulatory work their expertise in related areas of law including consumer law, competition, data protection, human rights, EU law and EU Relations law, public procurement, tax and duties.
Monckton Chambers is widely recognised as a pre-eminent set in the field of State aid law. We have experience of representing claimants and defendants in proceedings before domestic courts and tribunals in which an allegation of unlawful State aid has been made, as well as of acting for both complainants and respondents in EU State aid investigations, and in challenges to Commission decisions before the Community Courts.
Members are regularly instructed to advise potential aid recipients, their competitors, and government bodies on the lawfulness of proposed financial and other measures raising State aid concerns.
Our members’ expertise in procurement, local government, public and tax law makes them ideally placed to advise on State aid issues arising in the contexts of procurement, taxation and regulation. Other contexts in which our members are frequently instructed on State aid matters include media/broadcasting, regeneration schemes, infrastructure projects, public-private partnerships, rescue and restructuring aid, environmental measures, and financial services.
Members write regularly on State aid law in the European State Aid Law Quarterly and other legal journals, while Monckton practitioners are the authors of chapters on State aid in: Bellamy & Child, European Community Law of Competition; Korah, Competition Law of the European Community (LexisNexis); and Bacon, European Union law of State aid.
Members have also given oral and written evidence to various House of Lords and House of Commons Select Committees on State aid issues.
Please click for information on our wider competition law practice.
Monckton Chambers has unrivalled expertise in the fast track procedure for competition claims before the Competition Appeal Tribunal. Barristers from Monckton Chambers represented both parties in the only fast track claim to have proceeded to trial to date. You can read news items about the case here, and a case note discussing the judgment here.
The fast track is designed to offer a fast and cost-effective way for victims of competition law infringements to bring their claims to court. Specifically the fast track guarantees that:
The Tribunal decides which claims are suitable for fast track. A claim is more likely to be considered suitable if:
A claimant might ask the Tribunal for an order that the anti-competitive behaviour must stop, or for compensation for losses it has suffered as a result of it.
Please call the clerks on 020 7405 7211 for a confidential discussion of your case.
Monckton Chambers is acknowledged as a pre-eminent set in all areas of competition law.
We offer specialists at every level of seniority, to suit every type of competition law case. Our members are recognised leaders in their field, who consistently appear in the leading competition cases in both the European and domestic courts.
Members offer advice and representation in:
See individual barristers’ CVs for details of members’ recent and significant cases.
Uniquely at the bar, Monckton Chambers offers a team of merger control experts, recognised as leaders in their field, with extensive experience in guiding transactions successfully through investigation and appeal.
Our barristers have advised on many of the most complex and difficult merger investigations and appeals in recent years, both at UK and EU level, advising merging parties as well as intervenors and regulators.
We offer advice on all stages of the review process, from initial planning to notification, advocacy before the regulator and, where necessary, an appeal. We can offer strategic input and support to an existing team, or put together a team to offer a full service solution.
Our publications include:
Monckton Chambers is acknowledged as a pre-eminent set in all areas of competition law.
We offer specialists at every level of seniority, to suit every type of competition law case. Our members are recognised leaders in their field, who consistently appear in the leading competition cases in both domestic and European courts.
Members offer advice and representation at all stages of regulatory’ investigations and in subsequent appeals and reviews of decisions, including:
See individual barristers’ CVs for details of members’ recent and significant cases.
Monckton Chambers has considerable expertise in the field of sports law and has particular strength in the fields of overlap between sports law and all aspects of commercial EU law, most notably competition law, freedom of movement and cross-border trading.
This experience sees members making regular appearances in all manner of specialist sports courts and tribunals. We also have unparalleled experience in sports disputes before the European Court of Justice, the General Court, the European Commission, the Competition and Markets Authority, as well as litigating regularly in the High Court and above.
Monckton Chambers serves a broad range of clients within the sports sector from national sports governing bodies, individual participants, clubs, agents and broadcasters.
Our areas of expertise include:
See individual barristers’ CVs for details of members’ recent and significant cases.
Members of Monckton Chambers belong to the British Association of Sport and the Law (BASL), of which one member is currently Deputy Chairman.
Members of Monckton Chambers provide suppliers, contracting authorities and utilities with a full range of services, from non-contentious advice during the tender process to representation in highly complex litigation and, where appropriate, mediation.
Monckton Chambers has 34 practitioners specialising in procurement law, dealing with hundreds of sets of procurement instructions each year. We believe our range of procurement experience and expertise surpasses that of any other chambers.
Specific areas of expertise include:
Members of Monckton Chambers have appeared in procurement matters in the High Court, the Court of Appeal and in the European Court of Justice, as well as the courts of Northern Ireland. Members have also been involved in procurement matters in Scotland, where members experienced in public procurement have also been called to the Scottish Bar, and in procurement cases concerning countries outside the EU.
Professional Organisations
Members of Chambers are actively involved with the Procurement Law Association, the ICC Public Procurement Task Force, and are included in the editorial board of the Public Procurement Law Review. Members contribute articles to journals and speak frequently at conferences, including in the US and Europe. Monckton Chambers is also an active partner with Whitepaper Conferences in the production of their annual procurement conference in London, and associated Brussels conferences.
Public international law
This is a fast growing area of practice within Monckton Chambers.
Members’ practice focus on the issues arising out of Brexit as well as human rights, EU and public law cases. International economic law, consisting of WTO law, sanctions issues, and bilateral investment treaty arbitrations is also a core part of Monckton’s public international law practice. Members of Chambers have also served as members of ICSID tribunals, WTO dispute resolution panels and the WTO’s Appellate Body.
WTO law
Effective WTO advocacy requires, in addition to a comprehensive knowledge of WTO law, an understanding of the multilateral institutional context in which WTO dispute settlement occurs, the ability to devise effective strategies within a system that does not allow for monetary or retrospective remedies, and the capacity to present arguments in a manner which WTO adjudicators (who are drawn from a wide variety of professional backgrounds and legal cultures) will find convincing.
Our members can offer this combination of expertise.
Members of Chambers have acted in numerous WTO disputes for a broad range of government and corporate clients. We often work directly with inter-agency teams created by our government clients as well as with representatives of industry.
We can advise on and act in every type of WTO case, including those involving:
Investment protection treaties
We regularly advise on and act in disputes arising under bilateral investment treaties (BITs) and multilateral investment treaties (such as the Energy Charter Treaty and NAFTA).
We offer a combination of:
We are also able to draw on our expertise in related areas such as EU law, international human rights law and (domestic) public law relating to economic regulation to develop sophisticated arguments and case strategies for our clients.
