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:

• General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) commitments;
• Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) issues and Technical Barriers to the Trade (TBT) issues;
• Subsidies; and
• Trade remedies (anti-dumping, countervailing duties and safeguards).

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:

• high-quality advocacy;
• assured handling of the procedural and evidentiary issues which arise in ICSID and ad-hoc arbitrations; and
• a strong understanding of public international law standards relating to the treatment of foreign investment.

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.

Contact the Clerks