Alex Haines and Henry Reid instructed in African Union Administrative Tribunal final hearing

Alex Haines and Henry Reid were instructed by the Applicant in a case that came before the African Union (“AU”) Administrative Tribunal for a final hearing on 16^th and 17^th November 2023. The AU Administrative Tribunal, an international administrative tribunal – similar in nature to both the World Bank Administrative Tribunal and United Nations Dispute Tribunal – is based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Judgment is expected early next year.

The African Union

The AU is a continental union and regional organisation – equivalent to the European Union – consisting of the 55 member states that make up the countries of the African continent. In 2001, the AU was created to replace the Organisation of African Unity (“OAU”) and it was officially launched in 2002. The evolution of this institution was the outcome of a consensus by African leaders that there was a need to refocus attention from the fight for decolonisation and ridding the continent of apartheid (i.e., the OAU’s focus) towards increased cooperation and integration of African states to drive Africa’s growth and economic development. The AU represents just over 1 billion people.

The African Union Commission

The secretariat of the AU is the AU Commission which acts as its executive and administrative branch. It is the key organ playing a central role in the day-to-day management of the AU, representing and defending its interests. The AU Commission is separate from the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights, a body based in Gambia that reports to the AU. The AU Commission is based in Addis Ababa.

The African Union Administrative Tribunal

The AU’s Administrative Tribunal – not to be confused with the AU’s Court of Justice and the African Court on Human and People’s Rights – is the AU’s judicial body established to settle disputes between the AU and its employees on employment and institutional matters. It was set up in 1967 (at the time of the OAU) and its judges are nominated by member states and appointed by the Executive Council of the AU for a term of four years.

International Administrative Tribunals generally exist in the realm of the public international law system. Most international organisations have provided for some sort of internal justice mechanism to address institutional disputes resulting in dozens of International Administrative Tribunals including the three most established: the World Bank Administrative Tribunal, the United Nations Dispute & Appeals Tribunal, and the International Labour Organisation Administrative Tribunal. In the EU, the General Court is the equivalent International Administrative Tribunal for disputes arising out of administrative decisions taken by European Union Institutions. On the African continent, the African Development Bank Administrative Tribunal in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, is the most prominent International Administrative Tribunal.

Find out more

Alex is a barrister called to both the English and Irish Bars and a US-qualified attorney admitted to the New York Bar. He is a specialist in international law and sanctions, with rare expertise in the law of international organisations (IOs). A Franco-British dual national fluent in French and Spanish, Alex is ranked in Chambers and Partners for Sanctions and Legal 500 for Business and Regulatory Crime (including global investigations). Alex litigates before international courts and tribunals, mostly in Washington DC, New York City, London and the regional hubs for IOs such as Geneva, Vienna, Jeddah and Addis Ababa. The cases he has been instructed in have involved more than 40 IOs. Between 2020 and 2023, Alex was successful before several International Administrative Tribunals including those of the World Bank (WB), Organization of American States (OAS), Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) and United Nations (UN) (all reported). He was appointed to the Attorney General’s Panel in 2019 and as Sanctions Officer at the Caribbean Development Bank in 2020. In February 2023 he was elected Co-Chair of the New York State Bar Association International Section London Chapter.

Henry is a barrister specialising in commercial, corporate and financial services matters with an emphasis on commercial litigation, contentious and non-contentious financial services, regulatory investigations, fintech, sanctions and banking law. Since moving to the Bar in 2022, Henry has been ranked by Legal 500 as a “Rising Star” in both Banking and Finance and Financial Services Regulation as well as a Leading Junior in the field of Crypto and Blockchain assets. Henry joined Outer Temple having spent five years at Signature Litigation LLP, a specialist law firm handling complex litigation, arbitration and regulatory investigations. At Signature, Henry worked on a number of significant matters, notably on disputes in the Commercial Court concerning civil fraud, banking and finance and professional negligence as well as advising and structuring potential claims on behalf of clients, including on potential group action claims. Prior to Signature, Henry worked in the financial services practices of the US firms Katten Muchin Rosenmann LLP and Arnold & Porter (UK) LLP providing regulatory advice, representing individuals in regulatory and criminal investigations and acting on claims concerning the purported mis-selling of financial products and the manipulation of certain benchmark rates. Henry joined the law from the public affairs industry, where he assisted clients (including overseas governments, investment funds and high net worth individuals) with political and media communications issues.

To find out more about Alex and Henry, contact Sam Carter on +44 (0)203 989 6669 or George Bennett on +44 (0)207 427 0807 for a confidential discussion.

News 11 Dec, 2023