Competition Law
Brick Court Chambers is widely regarded as one of the pre-eminent chambers working in this highly specialised area of law. Chambers has been involved in almost all of the cases before the Competition Appeals Tribunal and, more significantly, in a very high proportion of the High Court private-law actions commenced in response to the policy direction of resolving competition cases before national courts.
Members of Chambers also give advice at the very highest level in relation to mergers and takeovers and are engaged for entities during the course of Competition Commission inquiries, OFT inquiries and European Commision investigations. Practitioners attach great importance to the further internationalisation of Competition Law. We have advised and appeared in Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong and many other jurisdictions around the world, and have given expert evidence in courts and tribunals in a wide variety of jurisdictions. Cartel activity is sometimes global. Members of Brick Court Chambers are adept at joining teams of lawyers from many jurisdictions to assist and present cases.
Our Competition Law barristers' experience is found in four distinct fora. The first is Competition Law practised at the European level, ie, predominantly before the European Commission and European Courts of Justice. The second category is domestic litigation conducted before the High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court. The third category is Competition Law cases before the Competition Commission, OFT and Competition Appeals Tribunal. Finally we have a number of practioners who have argued and appeared as experts in arbitrations, both domestic and international, including Bilateral Investment Treaty arbitrations ("BIT").
Recent cases of note have included:
- United States of America v Norris (House of Lords)
- Courage v Crehan (House of Lords)
- GE and Honeywell v Commission (CFI)
- Microsoft v Commission (ECJ)
