Martin Chamberlain’s EU/Competition Law CV

Qualifications & Awards

BA (Philosophy, Politics & Economics, Oxford, First Class), Diploma in Law (City University, Distinction), BCL (Oxford, First Class), Bar Vocational Course (Inns of Court School of Law, Outstanding)

Eldon Scholar (Oxford University), Queen Mother's Fund Scholar (Middle Temple)

Practice Profile

Martin Chamberlain is recognised by the main directories as a top-ranked junior in Administrative & Public Law. He is also recommended as a leading junior for Human Rights/Civil Liberties. He acts and advises in commercial and regulatory judicial review claims and appeals in financial services, environmental law, aviation, healthcare, pensions, pharmaceuticals, telecoms & transport and in human rights challenges for commercial clients and for professional and public interest bodies and individuals. He appears regularly for governmental and other public bodies in a wide range of public law & human rights matters including in the fields of education, local government and equality & discrimination. Martin is currently instructed in a number of matters before the European Court of Human Rights and has experience of EU law, both in the English courts and in the European courts. He also undertakes commercial and employment work.

Martin is a member of the Attorney General's A Panel of Junior Counsel to the Crown and the Treasury Solicitor's Freedom of Information Panel. He is a member of the Equality and Human Rights Commission's Preferred Counsel Panel.

Important EU/Competition cases

  • Case C-366/10 Air Transport Association of America. Instructed by Freshfields for the ATA challenging the extension of the EU carbon trading scheme to aviation. Case currently before the Grand Chamber of the Court of Justice of the EU in Luxembourg.
  • Acted for the GSM Association in the domestic stages of the challenge to the Roaming Regulation.
  • Case C-145/04 Spain v UK [2006] ECR I-7917 (ECJ, Grand Chamber). Junior to the Attorney General resisting Spain's complaint that the UK has no right to extend the franchise in European Parliament elections to non-nationals.
  • Case C-192/05 Tas-Hagen [2006] ECR I-451 (ECJ). Acted for the UK Government in a case concerning the scope of the citizenship provisions in Article 18 EC.
  • R (Theophilus) v Education Secretary, [2002] 3 All ER 851. Acted for the Education Secretary in challenge re power of local authorities to make grants to students, compatibility of student grant rules with Article 49 EC.
  • Case C-172/2001P International Power plc v NALOO [2003] ECR I-11421 (ECJ). Junior to David Anderson QC for International Power in an appeal from the CFI in relation to the application of the European Coal and Steel Treaty rules to a price discrimination complaint.

Lecturing, pro bono etc.

  • Regular lecturer on public law, human rights, EU law and national security proceedings.
  • Gave oral evidence to the Constitutional Affairs Committee of the House of Commons and the Joint Committee on Human Rights on control order and deportation proceedings.
  • Reviewer for the Bar Pro Bono Unit.
  • Panel member for Aid for International Development (A4ID).