“An endlessly impressive and authoritative advocate”
David’s practice is built on his knowledge of European Union, human rights, public and constitutional law, developed with the help of skills learned working in Washington DC and Brussels, and teaching at King’s College London. He has appeared frequently in Strasbourg (European Court of Human Rights) and Luxembourg (EU courts), as well as in the full range of English courts and tribunals.
David’s practice is built on his knowledge of European Union, human rights, public and constitutional law, developed with the help of skills learned working in Washington DC and Brussels, and teaching at King’s College London. He has appeared frequently in Strasbourg (European Court of Human Rights) and Luxembourg (EU courts), as well as in the full range of English courts and tribunals.
As the UK’s Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation (2011-2017), David developed a reputation as a national and international authority on national security law and practice. His reports on counter-terrorism, counter-extremism and surveillance law have been widely cited in Parliament and in the highest British and European courts; two became blueprints for the Investigatory Powers Act 2016. He has also served as a Council of Europe human rights monitor and a Recorder of the Crown Court, and continues to sit as a Judge of the Courts of Appeal of Jersey and Guernsey.
Long recognised in the professional directories, David has also been named by The Times as one of the UK’s 100 most influential lawyers, and by the Evening Standard as one of London’s 1000 most influential people. In 2015 he was shortlisted for “Internet Hero of the Year” by the Internet Services Providers Association, and named “Legal Personality of the Year” by the judges of the Halsbury Legal Awards. In the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2018 he was appointed a Knight of the British Empire for services to national security and civil liberties.
In July 2018 David was introduced to the House of Lords as a cross-bench peer, where he is active in a number of fields and serves on the EU Justice and Security Committee. He continues to practise from chambers in his fields of expertise: recent high-profile cases have included Canary Wharf (BP4) T1 Ltd & Ors v European Medicines Agency [2019] EWHC 335 (Ch), Ministry of Defence and Support for Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran v International Military Services Limited [2020] EWCA Civ 145 and Heathrow Airport Ltd. v Plan B and Friends of the Earth (Supreme Court, pending).
David Anderson has been consistently star-rated for more than a decade by Chambers & Partners as the outstanding QC in the field of EU Law. Some 150 appearances in the Court of Justice of the EU place him among the most respected and experienced of all practitioners in that forum. His ECJ practice extends into areas as diverse as agriculture (BSE), aviation (Open Skies), citizenship (Morgan), competition (Coats), consumer protection (easyCar), crime (Ship Source Pollution), conflict of Laws (Apostolides), free movement (Sunday Trading), immigration (Yiadom), intellectual property (Levi v Tesco), liability for judicial decisions (Köbler), pensions (Robins), pharmaceuticals (Generics), sport (UEFA), state aid (Gibraltar), taxation (Cadbury Schweppes) and telecommunications (Roaming).
He appeared in the leading cases on the relationship between EU and Human Rights (Opinion 2/94, Matthews, Spain v UK) and successfully represented the applicant, accused of funding terrorism, in the leading case on the relationship between EU and Public International Law (Kadi).
David has long experience of EU law in United Kingdom courts as various as the Patents Court and the Court of Criminal Appeal. He has argued successfully for a number of “firsts” including the suspension of an Act of Parliament (Factortame), the judicial review of the intention to implement a directive (Imperial Tobacco) and the suspension of the operation of a directive in the UK (ABNA). Many of his cases involve references to the Court of Justice of the EU, on which David wrote the leading practitioners’ text.
In 2019 David successfully defended Canary Wharf Group in the High Court against the EMA, its tenant, which had argued that its lease would be frustrated by Brexit ([2019] EWHC 335 (Ch)).Other recent and current cases include C-219/15 Elisabeth Schmitt v TÜV Rheinland LGA Products GmbH ECLI:EU:C:2017:128 (defective breast implants), C-359/18P European Medicines Agency v Shire Pharmaceuticals Ireland Ltd. ECLI:EU:C:2019:639 (orphan drugs), Ministry of Defence and Support for Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran v International Military Services Limited [2020] EWCA Civ 145 (sanctions) and C-145/19P Mubarak v Council (sanctions, pending).
David has written and lectured extensively on EU law and has a long-standing association with the Centre of European Law at King’s College London, where he is a Visiting Professor.
David’s public law practice initially grew out of EU Law: for 12 years he represented the Spanish Fishermen in their successful attempt to suspend an Act of Parliament and then claim damages (Factortame). He continues to be instructed in judicial review cases with a EU-related or international element, both in the UK and outside.
His public law practice extends to purely domestic cases, often with a commercial element. Recent examples are his successful defence of Betfair in R v Levy Board ex p William Hill and judicial reviews and appeals involving a ruling of the ASA and in the aviation, pharmaceutical and telecommunications sectors. In October 2020 he represented Heathrow Airport Limited in its Supreme Court appeal on the third runway case.
David has appeared before the European Court of Human Rights some 30 times: his leading cases there include Stubbings (discrimination), Hatton (night flights), McGonnell (separation of powers), Z (access to court), Al-Adsani (state immunity), Building Societies (retrospective legislation), Demopoulos (property) and Bancoult (exile). He has appeared in cases against a variety of contracting States including the Czech Republic, Finland and Turkey, and represented the successful respondent state in 16812/17 Rustavi 2 Broadcasting Company Ltd, and others v Georgia (2019). David appears regularly before the Committee of Ministers for the Government of Cyprus.
Much of David’s public law practice is concerned with human rights (ProLife Alliance, Conjoined Twins, Shambo) or Public International Law (Jersey Fishermen's Association, Kibris THY, Eurotunnel). In 2019-20 he monitored USKOK v Ivo Sanader and Szolt Hernadi, the trial in Zagreb of a Hungarian businessman and former Croatian Prime Minister.
David has served on the committee of the Administrative Law Bar Association, has reported for the Council of Europe on the freedom of the media in Russia, Ukraine, Georgia and Turkey and is a regular speaker at public law conferences and events. He is ranked in the top tier of QCs by Chambers & Partners for Public and Administrative law.
Factortame (Spanish Fishing) litigation 1988-2000; Challenges to BSE ban against the European Commission and France (CJEU); ABNA (traceability of foodstuffs, interim relief against directive, High Court and CJEU); challenges to tobacco advertising directive, tobacco products directive and plain packaging 1998-2016.
Major cases include EasyJet v BA (Go); Turk Hava Yollari (flights to Northern Cyprus); Hatton v UK (night noise); Air Transport Association (emissions trading scheme); BA and others (denied boarding regulations); Plan B and Friends of the Earth (Heathrow third runway).
Extensive experience of judicial review over 30 years, equally divided between applicant and central government work and generally with a commercial and/or international slant. Particular expertise in cases concerning advertising, aviation, gambling, pharmaceuticals, telecoms and all aspects of EU regulation.
Instructed in English, Irish and European courts in challenges to marketing authorisations including Scotia Pharmaceuticals, Generics, Novartis and on data confidentiality issues (Abbvie, General Court and CJEU). Acted in IP-related pharmaceutical cases including Novartis (SPCs) and parallel import cases. Represented and advised ABPI in PPRS-related litigation and NICE appeals. Appeared for Roche in litigation concerning pharmacovigilance obligations ([2015] EWCA Civ 1311) and for Shire in a case on the distinction between active substance and medicinal product under the Orphan Drug Regulation in Case C-359/18P (Case C-359/18P; ECLI:EU:C:2019:639).
Various CAT cases for BT and OFCOM concerning number portability, mobile call termination rates, Pay TV.
As Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation, 2011-2017, authored numerous reports on national security law and practice including regular reviews of counter-terrorism legislation and A Question of Trust and Bulk Powers Review (2015-16), blueprints for the Investigatory Powers Act 2016. Called in to advise MI5 on changes to intelligence-handling after the terrorist attacks of 2017, he published Attacks in London and Manchester March-June 2017: independent assessment of MI5 and Police internal reviews (2017) and Implementation Stock-Take (2019). He has assisted with the drafting of terrorism and surveillance laws in Gibraltar, appeared as an expert witness in the Irish High Court on the operational utility of communications data (Graham Dwyer, currently before the CJEU), trained Judicial Commissioners (IPCO) and has advised major CSPs and prosecuting authorities.
References to the European Court (Sweet & Maxwell 1995; 2nd edition with Marie Demetriou, 2002)
A Question of Trust (HMSO 2015)
Attacks in London and Manchester March-June 2017: independent assessment of MI5 and Police internal reviews (2017)
Shades of Independent Review in Counter-terrorism, Constitutionalism and Miscarriages of Justice: Festschrift for Professor Clive Walker (ed. G. Lennon, C. King and G. McCartney, Bloomsbury 2018).
Articles and chapters include:
“Shifting the Grundnorm (and other tales)” in Liber amicorum for Lord Slynn of Hadley, vol 1, Kluwer 2000
Contributions on Article 6 ECHR and effective protection in Les principes communs d’une justice des états de l’Union Européenne (French Cour de Cassation, 2001)
“References for a preliminary ruling” in Civil Appeals, ed. Sir Michael Burton, 2002
“The Law Lords and the European Courts” in Building the UK’s New Supreme Court, ed. A. Le Sueur, OUP 2004
“European Influences” in The Judicial House of Lords, ed. L. Blom Cooper, OUP 2009
Contribution to Competition Litigation: UK Practice and Procedure, OUP 2010
“The EU Charter of Fundamental Rights” in Europe after the Treaty of Lisbon, ed. A. Biondi, OUP 2011
“Shielding the Compass: how to fight terrorism without defeating the law” [2013] 3 EHRLR 233-246
“The Independent Review of Terrorism Law” [2014] Public Law 403-420
“Barzini’s Question: United Europe and the United Kingdom” Academy of European Law 2015/02
A number of more recent articles and lectures are published on David’s personal website, www.daqc.co.uk.
Oxford University, New College (Ancient and Modern History) 1979-82
Cambridge University, Downing College (Law) 1982-84
Covington & Burling, Washington DC (Lawyer from Abroad) 1985-86
European Commission, Brussels (Cabinet of Lord Cockfield) 1987-88
King’s College London, Visiting Lecturer (1988-1999), Visiting Professor (1999 - )
Recorder, South Eastern Circuit (2004 - 2013)
Bencher, Middle Temple (2007 -)
Judge of the Courts of Appeal of Jersey and Guernsey (2014 - )
French