Alex Haines and Chloë Bell in the Court of Justice of the European Union, Luxembourg

Alex Haines, assisted by Chloë Bell has recently been instructed in a case before the EU’s General Court. The case involved the European Investment Bank based in Luxembourg. The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) – the EU’s judiciary – consists of two separate courts: the General Court and the Court of Justice. The CJEU is based in Luxembourg.

For more than a decade, the institutions of the EU benefited from a three-tier judicial system in institutional and employment matters: the EU Civil Service Tribunal (CST) and, thereafter, the General Court and the Court of Justice. The CST, a specialised court within the CJEU and the first of these three tiers, was established in December 2005 and ceased to exist in September 2016 following EU Regulation 2016/1192 on the transfer to the General Court of jurisdiction at first instance in disputes between the European Union and its servants.

First instance jurisdiction was transferred from the CST to the General Court partly in view of the increase in litigation and the length of proceedings. The CST was presided over by the British Judge Sir Paul Mahoney KCMG (also judge at the European Court of Human Rights) between 2005 and 2011 and, thereafter, by Sean Van Raepenbusch.

Unlike most other international administrative tribunals (eg, the UN Dispute Tribunal, UN Appeals Tribunal, World Bank Administrative Tribunal and the International Labour Organisation Administrative Tribunal) whose competences extend only to staff disputes, the jurisdiction of the CJEU primarily concerns non-staff disputes. About 10% of the decisions of CJEU are staff cases.

Alex’s practice areas include: (i) business crime and corruption; (ii) sanctions; (iii) regulatory and disciplinary proceedings; (iv) the institutional law of international organisations including their immunities and international administrative law; and (v) international arbitration. He regularly litigates before international tribunals including in Washington DC, New York City, London and Luxembourg, involving cases with more than 25 international organisations including the UN, the World Bank Group, the International Monetary Fund, the European Investment Bank, the European Development Bank for Reconstruction and the African Development Bank.

Chloë spent two years at the CJEU before coming to the bar and has significant experience of EU law matters. At the CJEU, she was involved in resolving some of the most difficult questions of EU law presented by cases before the court. As a result, Chloë is particularly comfortable with and interested in all matters of EU law and issues relating to Brexit.

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News 14 May, 2019