The Brexit transition period has now ended, and the UK has begun its new relationship with the EU pursuant to the Withdrawal Agreement, the Trade and Cooperation Agreement and the various associated agreements and declarations. This represents a seismic change to both international and domestic laws. Barristers at Monckton Chambers have been at the forefront of advising on and litigating matters connected with Brexit since the referendum in 2016. Recognised as pre-eminent specialists in EU law, public and administrative law, commercial law and public international law, members of Monckton Chambers are well placed to advise and represent clients in relation to all areas connected with the UK’s new relationship with Europe – EU Relations Law.

To that end, Barristers of Monckton Chambers have founded a new EU Relations Law blog – available at www.eurelationslaw.com – exploring all aspects of the UK’s new arrangements with the EU and their domestic implementation. A selection of blog posts and links to our relevant primary resources and videos from our recent seminar series in collaboration with the University of Cambridge can be found below in our Brexit and EU Relations Law Toolkit, to help you navigate the significant and legal changes applicable from January 2021:

Topic / Link	Description	Author
General resources
International Agreements	One-stop-shop for links to: the Withdrawal Agreements; the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement; Joint Committee Decisions; Unilateral Declarations; and interpretation documents/explainers	Monckton Chambers
Domestic Implementing Legislation	One-stop-shop for links to: domestic implementation legislation; key statutory instruments; and explanatory notes	Monckton Chambers
Cases relevant to EURL	One-stop-shop for links to cases concerning the UK’s withdrawal from the EU and its new, ongoing relationship	Monckton Chambers
What is EU Relations Law? (Video, explainer and blog)	Introduction to the new legal ecosystem of EU Relations Law Introduction of the implementation of EU Relations Law into UK law	Jack Williams George Peretz Q.C. Professor Alison Young Professor Kenneth Armstrong Alfred Artley
Retention Retained EU Law
Guide to Retained EU Law	A guide to Retained EU Law with diagrams	Jack Williams
Directives as retained EU law	Discussion of how and to what extent Directives are retained EU law	Jack Williams
Francovich damages after transition	Analysis of the ability to bring Francovich damages after 1 January 2021	Jack Williams
Challenging the validity of retained EU law	Analysis of the ability to challenge retained EU law on grounds of invalidity	Jack Williams
	Withdrawal Withdrawal Agreement/NI Protocol/relevant separation agreement law
Guide to Relevant Separation Agreement Law	A guide to Relevant Separation Agreement Law with diagrams	Jack Williams
The Northern Ireland Protocol (here and here)	Evaluation of the Ireland / Northern Ireland Protocol provisions	Brendan McGurk
Amendments to the Withdrawal Agreement: Decision 1 of the Joint Committee	Brief summary of the Joint Committee’s first decision making a number of technical corrections to the Withdrawal Agreement	Jack Williams
Citizen rights in the Withdrawal Agreement	Discussion of the rights granted to EU citizens in the UK-EU Withdrawal Agreement	Will Perry
Enforcing citizen rights in the Withdrawal Agreement	Analysis of how to enforce citizen rights in the UK after the transition period	Will Perry
Preliminary references after the transition period	Overview of the CJEU’s jurisdiction in relation to preliminary references after 1 January 2021	Alexandra Littlewood
Jurisdiction and service out after 1 January 2021: (mostly) back to the usual common law rules	Summary of the rules in relation to jurisdiction and service out after 31 December 2020 (incl. re consumer/employment contracts)	Kristina Lukacova
Joint Committee Statement on Ireland/NI Protocol – state aid	Discussion of the unilateral declarations made in the Joint Committee on the provisions of the Ireland / Northern Ireland protocol	George Peretz Q.C.
Social security provisions in the Withdrawal Agreement	Discussion of the social security provisions in the Withdrawal Agreement	Professor Tamara Hervey
Interpretation, Enforcement and Dispute resolution (Video and blog)	Introduction to the enforcement and dispute resolution procedures under the Withdrawal Agreement Introduction to WTO law dispute settlement procedures Interpreting and departing from retained EU case law Introduction to domestic enforcement and dispute resolution topics	Christopher Vajda Q.C. Professor Takis Tridimas Dr Lorand Bartels Dr Emily Hancox Jack Williams Will Perry
New relationship Trade and Cooperation Agreement
The EU (Future Relationship) Act 2020 and Implementation of the TCA into domestic law	A guide to the domestic implementation of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement with diagrams	Jack Williams
The TCA: New Law, Not EU Law	An exploration of the nature of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, which is governed primarily by international law, rather than EU law.	Philip Moser Q.C.
Subsidy Control in the TCA	Discussion of the subsidy control provisions in the TCA and comparison with EU State aid law	George Peretz Q.C.
The UK’s new subsidy control regime – uncertainties	Exploration of the newly-published UK Government Guidance and the effect of section 29 of the EU (Future Relationship) Act 2020 as it applies to subsidy control.	George Peretz Q.C.
Public Procurement in the TCA	Discussion of the procurement provisions in the TCA	Michael Bowsher Q.C.
Level playing field negotiations (Video & blog)	Introduction to regulatory and level playing field obligations Introduction to state aid and subsidy control issues Introduction to procurement issues Summary of the CMA’s role post the transition period	Ian Forrester Anneli Howard George Peretz Q.C. Michael Bowsher Q.C. Dr Oke Odudu Harry Gillow
Arbitration Tribunal procedures, decisions & rulings under the TCA	A detailed assessment of the Arbitration Tribunal procedures in the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement.	Michael-James Clifton
UK trade relations (Video & blog)	Overview of the ratification and implementation procedures for the Trade and Cooperation Agreement Introduction to issues regarding the implementation of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement in domestic law Summary of Parliamentary scrutiny of trade agreements Introduction to trade between Ireland and Northern Ireland	Philip Moser Q.C. Professor Catherine Barnard Gerry Facenna Q.C. Alexander Horne Brendan McGurk Alfred Artley
Internal affairs Internal Market Act 2020
Intro to the UK Internal market (Video and blog)	The rationales behind the Internal Market Act Introduction to the market access commitments The impact of the Act on devolved powers in Scotland The impact of the Act on Northern Ireland	Valentina Sloane Q.C. Professor Jo Hunt Alan Bates Professor Kenneth Armstrong Professor Stephen Weatherill Will Perry
Goods in the Internal Market Act	Discussion of the Act’s provisions on goods and their similarity/differences with EU internal market rules	Dr Jan Zglinski
Exception Clauses regarding Goods in the Internal Market Act	Analysis of the exceptional clauses to the rules on free movement of goods	Peter Oliver

 

For assistance with any of your urgent or ongoing Brexit-related and EU Relations Law queries and needs, please get in touch with our clerking team. Our Barristers are also available for media enquiries and legal training. If you wish to receive our Barristers’ EU Relations Law blog posts directly to your inbox, then you can subscribe here.

The Lord Chancellor has appointed Sir Christopher Bellamy QC to chair an independent review of the Criminal Legal Aid system.

Launching in January 2021, the far-reaching review will look at the criminal legal aid market in its entirety, and will seek to ensure that it:

·       continues to provide high-quality legal advice and representation

·       is provided through a diverse set of practitioners

·       is appropriately funded

·       is responsive to defendant needs both now and, in the future,

·       contributes to the efficiency and effectiveness of the Criminal Justice System

·       is transparent

·       is resilient

·       is delivered in a way that provides value for money to the taxpayer.

Sir Christopher Bellamy is an arbitrator and mediator at Monckton Chambers and one of the UK’s foremost experts in competition law.

Read full Ministry of Justice press release here.

The Lawyer has selected Paul Harris QC, who led for the claimants in Walter Hugh Merricks CBE v Mastercard Inc in £14bn Mastercard consumer claim which is now set to proceed after an historic Supreme Court ruling (see website news 11 December), as its “Barrister of the Week”.

The Lawyer heralds 2020 as “the most successful 12 months” of the Monckton Silk’s career, because Paul Harris “not only triumphed for his beloved football team but also for 46.2 million adults.” The football team is Manchester City which Harris represented back in June, in the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), taking on UEFA in a bid to appeal a two-year ban from the Champions League. CAS overturned the previous decision and reduced Manchester City’s fine from £30m to £10m.

Harris admits of the Mastercard case that “To be the guy that sets the field in that core area of practice, that is really satisfying,” with the dam now bursting on the logjam of CPO applications. The Lawyer confirms that he is currently also involved in three other collective proceedings-type cases and he has already since been asked to do another.

“Barrister of the Week” is selected by The Lawyer’s Litigation Tracker team. Subscribers can access the full article here.

Monckton Chambers is delighted to announce that Anneli Howard will take silk in 2021.

Anneli Howard is recognised by the legal directories in six different disciplines: Competition, EU law, Consumer law, Public Administrative law, Aviation and Telecommunications. In 2018 Anneli won The Legal 500 award for EU/Competition Junior of the Year and was one of the Lawyer’s “Hot 100” in 2016. As a Junior she was a member of the AG A panel for Public Administrative law and WTO/International Trade.

The members and staff of Chambers warmly congratulate Anneli on her appointment to Queen’s Counsel.

The new status for all 116 new QCs will be effective from March 2021.

The full list of QC appointments, announced on the17 December, can be viewed on the QCA website.

Anneli’s appointment was mentioned in Global Competition Review.

At the last meeting of the Bar Council this year, held virtually on 14th December 2020, Philip Moser QC of Monckton Chambers was elected as Co-Chair of the Bar Council EU Law Committee and Anneli Howard of Monckton Chambers was elected as Vice-Chair, both from 1st January 2021.

The EU Law Committee monitors and addresses legal issues emanating from the European Union including policy and legislative proposals from the EU institutions, and its remit will now include the Withdrawal Agreement, future UK-EU relations law and the (still awaited) outcome of the trade deal negotiations, in what promises to be an eventful and busy year for the profession, its regulator and its clients.

Monckton barrister Alan Bates has been appointed by the Lord Chancellor as a member of the independent expert review of the Human Rights Act (HRA).

The Review, which was announced today by the Lord Chancellor, will be chaired by former Lord Justice of Appeal Sir Peter Gross. Its task will be to review how the HRA is being interpreted and applied in the courts, and to make recommendations as to whether any legislative or other changes are needed. Its terms of reference do not call into question the United Kingdom’s continuing to be a party to the European Convention on Human Rights.

Alan brings to the Review his specialist knowledge of EU law. He has represented the United Kingdom – and also the European Commission – in cases in the EU Courts. Prior to coming to the Bar, he worked on an audit by the Law Commission of the compatibility of the English law of bail with the HRA.

Commenting on his appointment, Alan stated: “The UK’s future relationship with the EU interacts in multiple ways with the mechanisms for the protection of individuals’ ECHR rights. I am looking forward to working with Sir Peter Gross and the other members of the Review, which will be independent of Government and will approach all questions with open minds.”

The other members of the review are former Law Society President Simon Davis, Professor Maria Cahill, Lisa Giovannetti QC, Sir Stephen Laws QC, Professor Tom Mullen, and Baroness Nuala O’Loan.

For further information, see the Ministry of Justice press release here.

At last night’s virtual awards ceremony, Monckton Chambers and its members won three awards. Mark Brealey QC won Silk of the Year for Competition and Monckton Chambers was also awarded Competition Set of the Year. In addition, for the first time in the history of the awards, Monckton Chambers also picked up the Set of the Year award for Tax.

Although not winners on the night, we were also delighted that Alan Bates was in the shortlist for Competition Junior of the Year and Andrew Macnab for Tax Junior of the Year.

The awards are based on research for the 2021 edition of Chambers UK Bar reflect a set’s pre-eminence in key practice areas. They also reflect notable achievements over the past 12 months including outstanding work, impressive strategic growth and excellence in client service.
For further details, see Chambers and Partners website.

George Peretz QC and Imogen Proud have become members of the 22-strong committee of ALBA (the Administrative Law Bar Association). ALBA is the professional association for barristers in England and Wales practising in public law. Monckton’s Khatija Hafesji is an existing member of the committee.

ALBA is a specialist association of the Bar Council with which it works closely, and with the Bar’s regional Circuits, to promote access to justice and the concerns of public law practitioners.

The association is an accredited provider of Continuing Education with the BSB, offering events to meet many barristers’ and solicitors’ CPD requirements. Recent events have included a lecture from Lord Sales on the subject of proportionality and a discussion with Joshua Rosenberg of his new book ‘Enemies of the People’. As part of ALBA’s remit, it responds to consultations by the Ministry of Justice and other organisations about matters affecting public law practice and procedure. In October 2020, it responded to the Independent Review of Administrative Law.

It is with great sadness that the members of Monckton Chambers share the news of Tarlochan Lall’s sudden passing this weekend.

Our thoughts are with Tarl’s wife Kim and all their family.

At its Annual General Meeting on 22 October, the British Insurance Law Association announced that Brendan McGurk’s “Data Profiling and Insurance Law” has been awarded BILA’s prestigious annual book prize for the best work on the law of insurance in 2019-2020. The book, which explores the impact of big data and predictive analytics on the provision and substantive law of insurance, was published by Hart in March 2019, has received a five star review in the Insurance Law Journal and has sold extremely well in the UK and the USA. Hart are offering a discount on the book to mark the award, which is available here and here. The announcement on BILA’s website is here.