News & Events
News & Events
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
Business Crime and Regulation specialist, Alex Haines, gives a webinar to 150 members of the finance and business industries on US sanctions and the EU Blocking Statute. On 19 March 2020, Alex Haines, member of Outer Temple Chambers’ Business Crime and Regulation Team, gave a webinar to a 150 participants from an array of different industry (including HSBC, Allianz, Nasdaq and Michelin) on US sanctions and the EU Blocking Statute. The Blocking Statute The webinar, titled ‘The Blocking Statute: Deciphering its Provisions, How to Handle the US/EU Conflict, and Actions to Date’ , was organised by the Association of Certified Sanctions Specialists (“ACSS”). It covered: The history and aims of the Blocking Statute The four mechanisms of the Blocking Statute Temporal…
News 24 Mar, 2020
On 20 February 2020, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Administrative Tribunal (EBRDAT or Tribunal) delivered four judgments (Cases No. 2019/AT/02+03+04+05 ) in cases involving the right of contractors (as opposed to traditional employed international civil servants) to access the EBRD’s internal justice system. Alex Haines, having been instructed in 2019 and assisted by Chloë Bell in the litigation, appeared on 14 January 2020 on behalf of four contractors before the full Tribunal in London, the first time in its history that all five judges heard an oral hearing together. He argued that all four contractors had been de facto members of EBRD staff, that the EBRD had failed to accord them several of the rights and benefits available to…
News 2 Mar, 2020
OTC International Team successful in three UNAT judgments In early 2019, Alex Haines, assisted by Stephen Butler, was instructed in three cases before the United Nations Appeals Tribunal (UNAT) in New York. The UNAT is the UN’s highest court for institutional matters. All three appeals were allowed in the UNAT’s last session of 2019. The cases involved the reclassification of posts within the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), a UN specialised agency responsible for regulating shipping based in London. In the cases of Sheffer v Secretary-General of the IMO, Judgment No. 2019-UNAT-949 and Dispert & Hoe v Secretary-General of the IMO, Judgment No. 2019-UNAT-958, the UNAT held that there were fundamental problems with the manner in which the IMO had dealt…
News 21 Jan, 2020
Amanda Pinto QC (33 Chancery Lane and Chair of the Bar of England and Wales 2020) and Alex Haines (Outer Temple Chambers) have co-written a chapter on Economic Sanctions in Oxford University Press’ Smith, Owen, and Bodnar on Asset Recovery – Criminal Confiscation and Civil Recovery. The new chapter examines the sources of sanctions law and the implementation of sanctions as well as the practical application of sanctions breaches in the UK. Of particular relevance given the UK’s imminent departure from the EU is the analysis of the recent UK legislation: the Policing and Crime Act 2017 and the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018. The book covers the expanding law and practice of asset recovery in the UK, European,…
News 17 Dec, 2019
In an article published on the Association of Certified Sanctions Specialists (ACSS) website, John McKendrick QC and Alex Haines examine the effect of the UK’s departure from the EU on the domestic sanctions framework. Post Brexit, the UK’s rather sizeable influence over European sanctions policy will naturally diminish. But what of the legal force of EU Council Decisions and Regulations in the UK? How will UN sanctions measures be implemented in the UK? The article also looks at the recent UK legislation designed to fill the legislative lacuna created by Brexit as well as what this means for due process. John McKendrick QC, former Caribbean Attorney General, practises internationally from Outer Temple Chambers. Alex Haines, called to both the English…
External Publications 12 Dec, 2019
Following John McKendrick QC and Alex Haines’ successful sanctions seminar – in conjunction with Central America’s largest law firm Consortium legal – in Managua on 30 August 2019, the Association of Certified Sanctions Specialists (ACSS) has published their article The ‘Nica Act’: The Nexus, Effect, and Long-Arm Reach of US Sanctions Against Nicaragua on its website. The Nicaraguan Human Rights and Anticorruption Act of 2018 (NHRACA) seeks to hold violators of human rights and corrupt actors in Nicaragua accountable. It also instructs the US president to impose individual sanctions on members of the Nicaraguan government deemed responsible for human rights violations against the post-April 2018 protesters, as well as current and former Nicaraguan government officials involved in significant acts of…
News 22 Nov, 2019
Alex Haines has recently been instructed in a case before the African Union (“AU”) Administrative Tribunal which is based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The roles and structure of African International Organisations are often misunderstood. This article clarifies some of these distinctions. 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…
News 18 Nov, 2019
Sanctions: Foreign Policy, Economic Warfare, or Both? By Alex Haines and Oliver Powell The law of sanctions and its cross-jurisdictional nature is complex, not least because its sources are both national and international; the measures it covers are both multilateral and unilateral; and the relevant case law has developed at a different pace and in different directions depending on the legal system at play. If the interaction between the four major actors in sanctions– the United Nations (U.N.), the European Union (E.U.), the United States and the United Kingdom (U.K.) –was not complicated and convoluted enough, three 2018 political developments have made a clear grasp of this area even more difficult, by injecting another level of uncertainty: (i) On 18…
News 11 Sep, 2019
John McKendrick QC and Alex Haines will be in Panama, Nicaragua, Mexico and Colombia between 28th August and 5th September 2019. At the Invitation of Nicaragua’s largest law firm, Consortium Legal, Alex and John will speak at a seminar at the Hotel Crowne Plaza in Managua on 30 August 2019. The seminar will focus on the impact of international sanctions on Nicaragua and Venezuela and will cover (i) how sanctions work (with particular emphasis on US/OFAC sanctions); (ii) the Nicaragua Act 2018; (iii) how to challenge US and EU sanctions; and (iv) how to manage the risk of sanctions in business and private sector implementation. The seminar will take place in Spanish and will be moderated by Rodrigo Taboada, partner…
News 28 Aug, 2019
We are delighted to announce that Alex Haines has been appointed to the Attorney General’s London B Panel of Junior Counsel to the Crown. Alex’s appointment starts on 2 September 2019 and runs for five years. This brings OTC’s Attorney General Panel members to 11 following the appointment of Alex Line earlier this month. The UK Government relies on Panels for advice, guidance and representation. Alex specialises in (i) business crime and corruption including investigations; (ii) sanctions; (iii) regulatory and disciplinary proceedings; (iv) international organisations law; and (v) international arbitration involving international organisations. Alex is a rapporteur for Oxford International Organisations (an OUP publication), a member of the Bar Council International Committee and recently admitted to the New York Bar.
News 30 Jul, 2019
Alex Haines has recently been instructed in five appeals before the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development Administrative Tribunal (EBRDAT). The EBRDAT forms part of the grievance system of the EBRD – a multilateral development bank headquartered in London and established in 1991 to help build a new post-Cold War era in Central and Eastern Europe. The EBRDAT was set up in 2002 and is the final stage of appeal for the resolution of cases submitted by members of staff alleging the non-observance of their contracts of employment or terms of appointment, and concerning dismissals and disciplinary matters. The EBRDAT is composed of five judges, all of whom are nationals of different Member States of the EBRD. The Appeals Procedures of…
News 11 Jun, 2019
