News & Events
News & Events
Alex Haines and Victoria Brown have been instructed in two cases currently going through the internal justice system of the Organization of American States in Washington DC. The First International Conference of American States held in Washington DC between October 1889 and April 1890 approved the establishment of the International Union of American Republics that was subsequently reconstituted as the Organization of American States (OAS) in 1948 when the Charter of the OAS was signed in Bogotá, Colombia. The OAS brings together all 35 member states of the Americas and constitutes the main political, juridical, and social governmental forum in the hemisphere. In addition, it has granted permanent observer status to 69 states, as well as to the EU. As with most international organisations, the…
News 1 Jul, 2021
Alex Haines and Sophie O’Sullivan have recently been instructed to act for a senior international civil servant at the African Union Commission (AUC) in relation to a number of ongoing matters, including disciplinary proceedings involving serious allegations of multi-million pound misappropriation of African Union (AU) funds and false accounting. Barristers in Outer Temple Chambers’ International Team are frequently instructed in cases involving international organisations whose disciplinary and regulatory frameworks are often little known about. International Organisations are established by treaty and possess their own international legal personalities. They also enjoy immunity from suit and – through the application of inter alia international human rights law – most have set up internal justice systems that deal with institutional matters. The African Union The AU is a…
News 22 Jun, 2021
Alex Haines and Sophie O’Sullivan have been instructed by a US-based law firm to represent an Eastern European engineering firm in relation to its sanctions designation under UK legislation and regulation. This is one of the first sanctions challenges to operate within the UK’s new and autonomous statutory framework. From 1st January 2021, the UK was no longer required to implement EU sanctions and the new UK sanctions legislation officially came into force under the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018 (SAMLA). SAMLA provides the UK with a domestic statutory framework of powers, which enable it to continue to meet its international obligations under the UN Charter to implement UN sanctions law directly in the UK. Put simply, SAMLA fills…
News 21 Apr, 2021
Alex Haines recently featured in an episode of RPC’s Taxing Matters. Alex discussed the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018 and the impact it will have on the UK sanctions landscape. The Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018 was one of the first of the first Acts passed as a direct result of Brexit. In this RPC Taxing Matters podcast episode, Alex Haines shares his considerable insight on sanctions, how they affect trade and the changes the Act will now bring about. Find out more Taxing Matters is your one stop audio shop for all things tax brought to you by RPC. The podcast explores the sometimes hostile and ever-changing landscape that is the world of tax law and tax…
External Publications 1 Mar, 2021
Members of the OTC International Organisations Team have been instructed in several high profile cases this year, including Sanctions Law disputes and cases before the World Bank Administrative Tribunal, United Nations Appeals Tribunal, United Nations Dispute Tribunal and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Administrative Tribunal. But what exactly is International Organisations Law? How many international governmental organisations (“IOs”) exist today? This seemingly straightforward question has kept academics, researches and practitioners busy mostly because nobody knows for certain. There are, on any view, hundreds of IOs: the Oxford Handbook of IOs puts the figure at more than a thousand while Murdoch University in Australia settles on around 800. Some commentators are of the view that the figure is closer to…
News 18 Dec, 2020
Two members of Outer Temple’s International Organisations Law Team instructed in cases before the World Bank Administrative Tribunal in Washington DC. Alex Haines and Victoria Brown have been instructed in two cases before the World Bank Group’s Administrative Tribunal (WBAT). The WBAT was established by the Board of Governors of the Bank in 1980. It acts as a judicial forum of last resort for the resolution of cases submitted by World Bank Group staff members alleging non-observance of their contracts of employment or terms of appointment. The WBAT’s decisions are final and binding on the Bank. The WBAT is composed of seven judges, all of whom are nationals of difference Bank Member States. The WBAT is governed by its Statute…
News 3 Dec, 2020
Alex Haines authored chapter 20 of Lissack & Horlick on Bribery and Corruption. Alex’s new chapter focuses on the Sanctions Regimes of Multilateral Development Banks. As part of a serialisation of chapters that members of Outer Temple contributed to in this latest edition, the authors have been summarising their chapters every week. Introduction In Summer 2020, it was announced that USD $250 billion would be deployed over the next 18 months in spare lending capacity by Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) following the continued effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The nature of MDB financing makes MDBs vulnerable to a range of corruption risks from an array of different agents. Increased activity from the MDBs’ increasingly sophisticated and well-resourced investigatory offices…
External Publications 25 Nov, 2020
We are delighted to announce that the Third edition of Lissack and Horlick on Bribery and Corruption has been published by LexisNexis Butterworths. The practitioner’s book was edited by Fiona Horlick QC and Richard Lissack QC, and was contributed to by a number of Outer Temple members. In 2010, the UK’s law on bribery changed from a collection of ancient statutes, distorted in some cases by contradictory authority, to a single statute often regarded as one of the most rigorous, and wide-ranging in application, in the world. Since coming into force in 2011, numerous prosecutions were brought on the basis of the Bribery Act as well as five of the eight deferred prosecution agreements reached in the UK to date. It…
External Publications 30 Sep, 2020
The Caribbean Development Bank (“CDB”) has appointed John McKendrick QC to the role of Sanctions Appeals Officer and Alex Haines to the role of Sanctions Officer. The Caribbean Development Bank The CDB is a regional financial institution, established by an Agreement signed on 18th October 1969, in Kingston, Jamaica. The CDB came into existence for the purpose of contributing to the harmonious economic growth and development of member countries in the Caribbean, and promoting economic cooperation and integration among them. It is headquartered in Barbados. It has 19 borrowing members countries and is supported by 9 non-borrowing member countries, including the United Kingdom. The CDB’s Office of Integrity of Integrity, Compliance and Accountability (“ICA”) supports and reinforces institutional integrity within…
News 23 Jul, 2020
On 23rd July, Alex Haines will be moderating a panel of experts at the 2020 Association of Certified Sanctions Specialists Virtual Sanctions Summit. Alex Haines has been invited to chair the panel, who will be discussing US, EU and UK sanctions. Featured speakers at the event will include: Kelvin Ong (Director for United Nations Sanctions in the Security Council Affairs Division in the Department of Political Affairs), Aimee Langley (Head of Compliance at OFSI), Amalie Wedege (Head of Sanctions Framework & Compliance for the Danske Bank Group) and Sheila Jassies (COFCO International’s lead counsel for Europe, the Middle-East and Africa). The 2020 Association of Certified Sanctions Specialists Virtual Sanctions Summit will be taking place virtually on 23rd July 2020. You…
Events 7 Jul, 2020
In March 2020, the European Court of Justice was asked, for the first time, for the proper interpretation of Article 5 of the Blocking Regulation in the case of Bank Melli Iran v Telekom Deutschland GmBH. John McKendrick QC and Alex Haines examine the Bank Melli case and Blocking Regulation below. The Background On 28th November 2018, after US secondary sanctions on Iran came back into force earlier that month, the Hamburg District Court granted an interim injunction in Bank Melli Iran v Telekom Deutschland GmBH 319 O 265/18 on the basis of the EU Blocking Regulation (Council Regulation (EC) No 2271/96). The court ordered Deutsche Telekom, the defendant, to reinstate internet and telephone services to the claimant, Bank Melli Iran, after it had stopped services…
Legal Blogs 3 Jun, 2020
John McKendrick QC, Nicholas Johnson QC and Alex Haines were instructed on behalf of the Respondent in an international commercial dispute worth over £115 million. Between January and April 2020, John McKendrick QC, Nicholas Johnson QC and Alex Haines were instructed on behalf of the Respondent in an international commercial dispute worth over £115 million. The dispute was between two parties in a former Soviet Republic, involving high value commodities. The arbitration took place under LCIA Rules and John and Alex represented the respondent at the hearing, which took place virtually. One witness was cross-examined from his overseas location and the legal representatives and Tribunal all participated remotely. The team successfully reduced the respondent’s liability to less than 50% of what…
News 26 May, 2020
