Monckton Chambers are delighted to sponsor the Ian Hutton Memorial Moot at Nottingham Law School.

The moot is now in its third year, and will be taking place on Saturday 9^th February 2013.

Ian Hutton had always taken a great interest in the development of young people, and as a student was a keen mooter.  This annual undergraduate mooting competition takes place in his memory.

The moot, which forms an integral part of the third year LLB mooting module, will involve a tricky issue of human rights law around a problem written by Tom Lewis, director of the Nottingham Law School Centre for Conflict, Rights and Justice.

Case C-239/12 P Abdulrahim v Council

The General Court of the European Union has recently adopted a number of orders declaring that there is no need to adjudicate on applications for annulment in terrorist sanctions listing cases on the basis that the names of the applicants have been removed from the lists imposing restrictive measures while their cases were pending   (Orders in Cases SIR; Petroci; Fellah; Gooré; Afriqiyah; Ayadi; Dagher; El Fatmi; Attey; Ezzedine and Ghreiwati). The present appeal from the General Court by Mr Abdulrahim was the first such case to come before the Court of Justice and was heard by the Grand Chamber in December 2012.

In his Opinion delivered today the Advocate General has proposed that the Court should: (1) set aside the order of the General Court and (2) refer this case back to the General Court for it to rule on Mr Abdulrahim’s action for annulment.

The AG agreed with the appellant that he has a continuing interest, notwithstanding the repeal of the contested act, in seeking the retroactive elimination of his inclusion on the list within the legal order of the EU in the context of the asset-freezing measures at issue, “which unquestionably have an adverse effect on the persons concerned not only by restricting the use of their property rights, but also by publicly designating them as being associated with a terrorist organisation.” Thus, “an applicant has a continuing interest, in spite of the repeal of the European Union act at issue, in having the courts of the European Union recognise that he should never have been included on the list at issue or that he should not have been included according to the procedure which was adopted by the European Union institutions.”

The judgment of the Grand Chamber is awaited.

Philip Moser QC of Monckton Chambers acts for the Appellant.

The high profile dispute over the sale of Liverpool FC has settled, averting a 50 day trial.

The claimants, former owners Hicks and Gillett, attempted to delay the start of the trial and vary the security for costs order. They argued that they could not raise the funds to pay for the case should the trial begin in April and that the payment for security for costs should not be expedited, therefore delaying the case until late 2013 or early 2014.

In the judgment Lord Justice Lewison stated: “The parties’ positions fluctuated during the course of the [High Court] hearing, not least because Mr Malek dropped the bombshell that neither he nor his instructing solicitor could conduct the trial in June. But it was never suggested to the judge that the indication that he gave in his draft judgment back in August that he wished to see a trial early in 2013 was wrong in principle.”

A statement released today stated: “The parties have now agreed a settlement (the terms of which are confidential). All claims and allegations made against Messrs Broughton, Purslow and Ayre have been withdrawn by Messrs Hicks and Gillett and all legal proceedings between the parties concluded.”

Paul Harris QC and Owain Draper of Monckton Chambers acted on behalf of the defendants Broughton, Purslow and Ayre.

The decision has been featured in an article in The Lawyer. To read the article in full, please click here.

The second Sir Jeremy Lever Lecture will be held at 17.00 on Friday 1 February 2013. All are welcome to attend.

The lecture will be held at the Gulbenkian Theatre, St Cross Building, University of Oxford.

The Faculty of Law have decided that this lecture, which was first held in 2012 to mark Sir Jeremy Lever QC KCMG’s pioneering contribution to European Law, both at the university and in practice, should be made an annual event. This year’s lecturer with be the Rt Hon the Lord Mance of Frognal, JSC on the topic: ‘The Interface between Domestic and EU Legal Systems’. Former Advocate General Walter van Gerven, Professor at the Catholic University of Leuven will take the chair.

Monckton Chambers is delighted to support the new lecture series.

On 20 December 2012, the Competition Appeal Tribunal (“CAT”) handed down judgment in the case of Tesco v OFT.  Tesco had appealed against a decision of the Office of Fair Trading that Tesco had participated in two separate concerted practices, referred to as the 2002 and 2003 cheese initiatives, which had as their object the restriction of competition in breach of the Chapter I prohibition in the  Competition Act 1998.

Following a five week trial in the CAT in April/May 2012, the CAT held that the Office of Fair Trading was right to find that on three occasions in 2002 Tesco had engaged in the indirect exchange of future pricing intentions in relation to the supply of cheese in the United Kingdom contrary to the Chapter I prohibition in the  Competition Act 1998 s.2(1). The remainder of the OFT’s findings in relation to alleged concerted practices in 2002 and in 2003 were set aside as against the appellant.

To read the judgment, please click here.

Kassie Smith acted for the Office of Fair Trading.

Heriot Currie QC of Monckton Chambers has been appointed as one of four new members to the panel of chairmen of the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT).

Chairmen of the CAT are expected to oversee “large, high profile and complex cases often raising novel points of law and procedure”.

Appointments to the panel are made by the Lord Chancellor based on the recommendation of the Judicial Appointments Commission and following an open competition. The CAT’s membership comprises a panel of chairmen and a panel of ordinary members.

Heriot practises in both Scotland and England. He commenced practice at the Scottish Bar in 1979, was Standing Junior in Scotland to the Department of Trade and Industry between 1987 and 1992 and was called to the English Bar (Gray’s Inn) in 1991. In 1992 he was appointed Queen’s Counsel in Scotland. In 2005, he also commenced practice at the English Bar when he became a member of Monckton Chambers. His practice has covered a wide range of commercial cases, including, competition law, intellectual property, judicial review, procurement, human rights and EU law, professional negligence, commercial fraud, building and engineering contracts, arbitrations and public inquiries.

To read the Competition Appeal Tribunal’s press release, please click here.

The attempt to delay the start of the High Court trial over the sale of Liverpool Football Club by its former owners has been refused by the Court of Appeal.

The claimants, former owners Hicks and Gillett, attempted to delay the start of the trial and vary the security for costs order. They argued that they could not raise the funds to pay for the case should the trial begin in April and that the payment for security for costs should not be expedited, therefore delaying the case until late 2013 or early 2014.

In the judgment Lord Justice Lewison stated: “The parties’ positions fluctuated during the course of the [High Court] hearing, not least because Mr Malek dropped the bombshell that neither he nor his instructing solicitor could conduct the trial in June. But it was never suggested to the judge that the indication that he gave in his draft judgment back in August that he wished to see a trial early in 2013 was wrong in principle.”

Paul Harris QC and Owain Draper of Monckton Chambers are acting for the defendants Broughton, Purslow and Ayre.

The decision has been featured in an article in The Lawyer. To read the article in full, please click here.

 

Chambers takes great pleasure in welcoming Michael Armitage. Michael joins Chambers after recently accepting an offer of tenancy.

Michael’s pupillage officially ends on 5^th March 2013 but he is already beginning to accept instructions in Chambers core practice areas.

Michael comments:

“I was delighted to accept an offer of tenancy from Monckton Chambers. After an enjoyable and rewarding pupillage in which I gained experience in all of Chambers key specialist areas, I look forward to building my own practice across EU, public and competition law, and to being instructed both as a junior and in my own right.”

Monckton Chambers has been listed for 2 cases in The Lawyer’s Top 20 Cases of 2013. The 2 cases featured are:

• Thomas Hicks; George Gillett & Ors v Martin Broughton & Ors

featuring Paul Harris QC and Owain Draper for the defendants Broughton, Purslow and Ayre.

• IPCom v HTC and IPCom v Nokia

featuring Kassie Smith and Meredith Pickford for the claimant IPCom

and Josh Holmes and Alan Bates for the defendant HTC.

The cases, selected by over 100 leading litigators, barristers and senior clerks represent the most significant cases for 2013 in terms of developing the law.

First bilateral free trade agreement concluded by the EU with an Asean country

Singapore’s trade with the European Union (EU) received a boost yesterday as both sides successfully completed almost three years of negotiations for a free trade agreement, which will grant Singapore and EU companies greater access to each other’s markets.

The EU will be eliminating tariffs on all imports from Singapore over a period of five years, but 80 per cent of the tariff lines will already be covered once the EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (EUSFTA), concluded in Singapore yesterday, comes into force.

In particular, the removal of the EU’s tariffs under the EUSFTA will benefit Singapore exporters of electronics, pharmaceuticals, chemicals and processed food products while Singapore will grant immediate duty-free access for all imports from the EU.

Both Singapore and the EU have also committed to make extensive commitments guaranteeing access to each others’ services markets under the EUSFTA, which will be signed only after all domestic processes, including translations and verifications, are completed.

These commitments cover a wide range of sectors of interest to EU and Singapore companies, including environmental services, computer and related services, professional and business services, financial services and maritime transport services.

In addition, the EUSFTA will see the removal of a number of non-tariff measures between the EU and Singapore, improving access for exporters of pharmaceuticals and electronics. The agreement will also widen access to government procurement opportunities in the EU and Singapore.

It is believed that the final stages of the talks involved negotiations in financial services, legal services, intellectual property rights, rules of origin and the investment chapter.

Overall, the EUSFTA is a comprehensive and broad-based agreement covering tariff-free access for goods, improved market access for services (including specific commitments on sectoral markets for financial, professional, legal, telecommunications and postal services), intellectual property protection, competition policy, technical barriers to trade, government procurement and sustainable development.

“There are numerous opportunities and benefits that EU and Singaporean companies can look forward to, once the agreement enters into force,” said Singapore’s Minister for Trade and Industry Lim Hng Kiang.

“Singapore is confident that the EUSFTA will further enhance our bilateral economic relations, and pave the way for a region-to-region trade deal between the EU and Asean,” added Mr Lim.

Singapore also stands to benefit economically as the deal is likely to attract more EU companies to set up presence here as they look to use Singapore as a springboard into the region. At present, about 8,800 EU companies have operations in Singapore, reflecting the importance of Singapore as a strategic gateway to Asia and Asean for businesses from Europe.

“Singapore is a dynamic market for EU companies and is a vital hub for doing business across South-east Asia. This agreement is key to unlocking the gateway to the region, and can be a catalyst for growth for EU exporters,” said EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht.

“After our agreement with South Korea, sealing this deal with Singapore clearly puts the EU on the map in Asia. But we do not intend to stop here – I hope it will open the doors for FTAs with other countries in the Asean region,” highlighted Mr De Gucht.

Last year, the EU was Singapore’s second largest trading partner with an 11 per cent share of Singapore’s total trade, while Singapore was the EU’s 13th largest trading partner as bilateral trade hit $106 billion in 2011, up 7 per cent from 2010 despite the slowdown in the eurozone economies. The EU was Singapore’s largest supplier of goods in 2011 with a share of 12.6 per cent of Singapore’s total imports while it was also the largest export market for Singapore, representing 15.2 per cent of Singapore’s non-oil domestic exports.

Besides the goods and services chapters, negotiations on a standalone investment chapter began in March 2012 as the EU had received authorisation from the European Council to negotiate investment agreements with Canada, India and Singapore only in September 2011. Once concluded, the investment chapter would serve as a catalyst for greater two-way investment flows between Singapore and the EU, a significant development considering the high levels of capital flows between both sides.

The EU ranks first as a source of foreign direct investment (FDI) into Singapore. The EU’s FDI stock rose to $169 billion in 2010, accounting for 27 per cent of all accumulated FDI, while Singapore was also the EU’s fourth-largest investment destination overall by FDI flows. The flow of capital in the reverse direction was also significant as the EU was Singapore’s second-largest investment destination by FDI stock and Singapore was the fifth-largest external investor into the EU by FDI flows.

The conclusion of the EUSFTA negotiations, which commenced in March 2010, marks a milestone in bilateral relations between the EU and Singapore as it is also the first bilateral free trade agreement concluded by the EU with an Asean country.

However, it may be a while yet before the agreement actually comes into effect as it will have to be approved by the European Council and ratified by the European Parliament before entering into force. For example, the EU-South Korea FTA was initialled on Oct 14, 2009 and was provisionally applied on July 1, 2011 after both parliaments approved it, a process which took about two years.