The Members and Staff at Monckton Chambers would like to congratulate Sir Christopher Vajda KC who has been knighted in the King’s New Year Honours List 2026 for his services to International Law.

Sir Christopher Vajda was called to the Bar of England and Wales in 1979, appointed a KC in 1997 and practised at Monckton Chambers until 2012, when he became the judge of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland at the Court of Justice of the European Union from 2012 until the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union in 2020. Sir Christopher returned to Chambers in 2020 as a full member.

The citation from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office states:

‘Christopher Vajda is recognised for his distinguished career as a barrister, arbitrator, legal academic and international judge.  Before 2012, he appeared in around 100 cases before the Court of Justice of the European Union, with more than half representing the UK Government.  Appointed as the UK Judge at the Court in 2012, he gave exceptional service, and thereby enhancing the standing of the UK.  Following the referendum, he ensured that there was no drop in either the quantity or quality of his judicial output, including leading and delivering judgments on some of the most difficult and sensitive cases to come before the Court during his time.  Subsequently, he returned to the UK as a highly sought-after barrister and arbitrator and has continued to contribute to the legal profession through teaching, mentoring, and sponsoring young lawyers across the UK and Europe.’

He is a member of the UK Sports Resolutions panel, the panel of arbitrators at the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) and of the panel of persons suitable for appointment as Chairpersons for Arbitrations to which the EU is a party. He is also a visiting professor at King’s College, London, the College of Europe in Bruges, Luxembourg University and the Károli Gáspár University in Budapest where he has been awarded an honorary doctorate.

Heads of Chambers Philip Moser KC and Tim Ward KC said: “We congratulate Sir Christopher Vajda on the award of his knighthood.   It is a well-deserved accolade in light of his extraordinary contribution to the law, both as a Judge of the Court of Justice of the European Union and beyond.”

To view the full New Year Honours List, please click here.

Wednesday 24^th December – 9am to 1pm

Thursday 25^th December – CLOSED (Public holiday)

Friday 26^th December – CLOSED (Public holiday)

 

Monday 29^th December – 9am to 6pm

Tuesday 30^th December – 9am to 6pm

Wednesday 31^st December – 9am to 1pm

Thursday 1^st January – CLOSED (Public holiday)

Friday 2^nd January – 9am to 6pm

Monckton Chambers is pleased to announce that our joint Head of Chambers Philip Moser KC has been re-elected as a Judge of the International Court of Appeal of the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA).

The election took place today at the Annual General Assembly of the FIA in Tashkent, Uzbekistan and is for a further four-year term from 1 January 2026.

The FIA is the governing body for world motor sport. The International Court of Appeal is the final appeal tribunal for international motor sport. It resolves disputes brought before it by or from any of National Sporting Authorities worldwide, or by the President of the FIA. It can also settle non-sporting disputes brought by national motoring organizations affiliated to the FIA.

The annual Lexology Index Awards took place in London on the evening of 26 November 2025.

Drawing upon Lexology’s leading research and after an in-depth assessment of their findings, we are delighted to announce that Monckton Chambers was awarded Chambers of the Year for Public Procurement.

To read more about the awards please click here. Congratulations to all winners!

Monckton Chambers is delighted to announce that Meredith Pickford KC was named ‘Competition Silk of the Year’ at the Chambers UK Bar Awards 2025, his second time of receiving this award.

The awards recognise those who are at the top of the profession, identified by extensive objective research.

Congratulations to all our colleagues across the Bar who were shortlisted for awards and won in their categories.

William Buck and Alfred Artley have been recognised in the Legal 500’s Caribbean Guide, under the ‘English Bar Offshore’ category.

William and Alfred feature in the Commercial Disputes table, William as a Leading Junior and Alfred as a Rising Star. Their recognition in this table emphasizes their expertise in Offshore Commercial work, particularly in the Isle of Man, Channel Islands and Gibraltar. Their profiles can be viewed here.

Members of Monckton Chambers has extensive experience in all areas of commercial litigation, insolvency and international arbitration and are frequently instructed on a range of offshore-related matters. The commercial team is well placed to provide advice and representation, and builds upon Chambers’ outstanding expertise in the EU, competition, and sports fields, as well as offering specialist commercial practitioners.

Steven Gee KC has been appointed to the Panel of Arbitrators of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) with immediate effect.

SIAC is an internationally recognised global arbitral institution providing neutral, competitive and efficient case management services to parties from all over the world.

Established in 1991 as an independent, not-for-profit organisation, SIAC is amongst the world’s top international arbitration institutions, having served users from more than 100 jurisdictions, maintaining a strong record of providing neutral arbitration services to the global business community. SIAC arbitration awards have been enforced in many jurisdictions including Australia, China, Hong Kong SAR, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Thailand, UK, USA and Vietnam, amongst other New York Convention signatories. Read more here.

Chambers UK Bar have launched their 2026 guide, and Monckton Chambers is delighted to be ranked as a set in 12 practice areas, with 64 individual barristers recognised for a total of 165 rankings across 30 practice areas. We are pleased to see 17 new entries including a new set ranking for CDR and a further 30 improved barrister rankings. Congratulations to all members listed.

Monckton has once again been recognised as a Band 1 set for six areas:

• Competition Law 
• European Law 
• Telecoms regulation
• Public procurement 
• Indirect Tax
• Group Litigation

The Set has also been ranked in a further six areas:

• Administrative and public law
• CDR
• Civil Liberties
• Community Care
• Data protection
• Sport

Individual members were also recognised as “Leading Individuals” in an additional 19 practice areas:

• Animal Law
• Aviation
• Consumer Law
• Education
• Employment
• Energy & Natural Resources: Regulatory
• Environment
• Fraud: Civil
• Immigration
• Insurance
• International Arbitration: Arbitrators
• International Arbitration: General Commercial & Insurance
• International Human Rights Law
• Life Sciences Regulatory
• Local Government
• Property Damage
• Shipping and Commodities
• Social Housing

You can view the full list of Monckton Chambers’ rankings here.