News & Events
News & Events
Josh Hitchens has been instructed in a claim by the first ever mono-British citizen to be made subject to an asset freeze under the UK Sanctions regime. The claim brought under s.38 Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018 (“SAMLA”) alleges that the decision to sanction the Claimant, a British video journalist operating from the Donbas region was: (a) Unlawful on the ground of illegality as neither SAMLA nor the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 authorise designation in response to lawful political speech by a UK national;(b) That in the alternative, that Regulation 6(3)(a) of the Russia Regulations is Ultra Vires and stands to be quashed; and(c) That the designation decision was a breach of Article 10 and Article 1…
News 21 Jun, 2023
Justina Stewart, Lucian Ilie and Anson Cheung, with Hanif Virji of Vivadum, consider potential investment treaty claims in an article in May’s edition of Butterworths’ Journal of International Banking & Financial Law. Given the huge losses suffered by Additional Tier 1 bondholders, it is unsurprising that lawyers are exploring various potential avenues for investors to obtain redress. Justina, Lucian and Anson have co-written an article with Hanif Virji from Vivadum, looking at potential investment treaty claims. Key Points On 19 March, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) announced the approval of the takeover of Credit Suisse (CS) by UBS and the complete write-down of all CS’s Additional Tier 1 bonds (AT1s) in the sum of CHF16bn. The financial markets,…
News 22 May, 2023
Read Helen Pugh’s latest article in Butterworths Journal of International Banking and Financial Law on Crypto fraud and the bona fide purchaser for value defence. Helen Pugh was recently published in the January 2023 edition of JBIFL where she considered the fundamental issue of the application of the bona fide purchaser for value defences to crypto transactions tainted by fraud. The key issue for 2023/24 The courts of England and Wales have repeatedly recognised that at least some digital assets can be a type of property for the purposes of granting a claimant proprietary and freezing injunctions and for the purpose of the jurisdictional gateways. As these early claims proceed through the courts, the focus needs to turn to a defendant’s…
External Publications 13 Feb, 2023
Justina Stewart and Joshua Cainer identify seven key themes to take away from the Law Commission’s recently published ‘Digital Assets: Consultation Paper’. The Law Commission’s ‘Digital Assets: Consultation Paper’ is a masterful discussion of many key issues relating to digital assets. It comprises over 500 pages of legal analysis along with 47 questions for which the Law Commission has opened a period of consultation ending on 4 November 2022. It is also ideally timed – whilst the Law Commission’s proposals are only provisional (pending consultation), interest in, and disputes concerning, digital assets show no signs of abating. As practitioners continue to see an ever-increasing fallout from the so-called “crypto winter”, alongside gathering momentum on crypto-related fraud, margin call and mis-selling claims, much of…
Legal Blogs 28 Sep, 2022
Read Helen Pugh’s article on knowing receipt and a recent related High Court decision in Butterworths Journal of International Banking and Financial Law. Helen Pugh was recently published in the May edition of Butterworths Journal of International Banking and Financial Law where she analysed a recent High Court decision in a knowing receipt claim against a Saudi Arabian bank; Byers and Ors v Samba Financial Group [2021] EWHC 230 (Ch). It considered the vexed issue of whether a beneficiary must have a continuing equitable interest enduring upon receipt of the property by the recipient to establish a knowing receipt claim. In a detailed and well-reasoned judgment Mr Justice Fancourt answered that question in the affirmative. Knowing receipt Knowing receipt is…
Legal Blogs 24 May, 2021
Justina Stewart and Chloë Bell, together with Hanif Virji of Vivadum, have written a feature article in the Journal of International Banking & Financial Law. The article considers the key international developments relating to LIBOR transition. The authors conclude that parties should exercise significant caution before signing up to the ISDA 2020 IBOR Fallbacks Protocol. You can read the article here. About the author Justina Stewart is a commercial chancery barrister. She is ranked as a leading junior in banking and finance, commercial dispute litigation and insolvency, and is appointed to the Attorney General’s Panel of Junior Counsel to the Crown. Chloë Bell is a commercial and public law barrister. She was formerly a judicial assistant to Lord Mance at…
News 9 Feb, 2021
With suspension of insolvency enforcement due to end shortly, lenders face the prospect of borrowers entering the new, free-standing moratorium. Andrew Spink QC, Justina Stewart and Saaman Pourghadiri consider the impact of the new moratorium from a lender’s perspective. How vulnerable are lenders upon entry into the moratorium? Which categories of charge holders are more vulnerable? How might lenders protect their positions, and what opportunities might a moratorium present to lenders? In this in-depth article, Andrew, Justina and Saaman consider: Protections for lenders arising from: the requirement of companies to meet lenders’ capital and interest payments during the moratorium; the disapplication of “ipso facto” provisions to most financial services contracts; and the ability of lenders, in practice, to stymy the…
Legal Blogs 9 Sep, 2020
John McKendrick QC, Justina Stewart and Chloë Bell write in the latest edition of the Journal of International Banking & Financial Law on potential public law implications of the UK Government’s plans for synthetic LIBOR to address tough legacy contracts. Plans announced in June 2020 to give the FCA enhanced powers to tackle “tough legacy” LIBOR contracts using “synthetic LIBOR” are intended to apply to a “narrow pool” of contracts. It is still unclear how such contracts will be defined, whether the pool will in fact be narrow and how precisely the legislation and enhanced FCA powers will operate in relation to such contracts. The reality, however, appears to be the imposition of synthetic LIBOR on parties to “tough legacy”…
News 1 Sep, 2020
Outer Temple Chambers is delighted to announce that Anthony Lo Surdo SC has joined chambers as a Professional Associate, based in Sydney, Australia. Anthony joins our global team of legal experts and will enhance our existing presence in the Southern Hemisphere with his experience and impressive existing practice. He is qualified to practice across all states and territories of Australia as well as internationally. Anthony is a Senior Counsel practising primarily from 12 Wentworth Selborne Chambers in Sydney, Australia. He also practises from Lonsdale Chambers in Melbourne. He qualified as a barrister in 1996, following 9 years’ practice as a solicitor in leading Australian law firms and was appointed an SC, equivalent to QC, in 2011. He was also Head…
News 14 Aug, 2020
Justina Stewart successfully secured summary judgment in the sum of over $ 17 million and an award of indemnity costs. The hard-fought application involved a plethora of interesting issues – including regarding the Hague Convention on Service and whether the High Court’s jurisdiction was supplanted in the context of a suite of documents containing different dispute resolution clauses. In Punjab National Bank (International) Ltd v MBL Highway Development Company Ltd, Justina Stewart, instructed by Milan Kapadia of Royds Withy King, acted for the claimant in proceedings against the subsidiary of an Indian entity which delivers and operates large-scale infrastructure projects. The Bank provided financing for an Indian highway / toll road project, in the context of a complex collection of…
News 24 Jun, 2020
Justina Stewart was delighted to speak today to over 170 attendees on the consequences of LIBOR transition for the Middle Eastern banking market. The talk focused on the significant challenges to both Middle Eastern banks and regulators brought about by LIBOR transition, and some of the steps that can be taken to mitigate associated risks. Many thanks to Al Tamimi & Company, and particularly Justina’s co-speakers, Mark Brown and Matthew Heaton, for hosting such an interesting talk. Justina Stewart is ranked as a Leading Junior in Banking & Finance and Insolvency, and is appointed to the Attorney General’s Panel of Junior Counsel to the Crown. A former economist and investment banker, she is described in directories as “incredibly impressive and a…
Webinars & Recordings 18 Jun, 2020
Outer Temple Chambers’ Justina Stewart and Signature’s Johnny Shearman’s article on pressure on market participants to address litigation risk bedevilling LIBOR transition has been published in the FT’s Global Risk Regulator. Covid-19 has caused a dramatically increased need for credit, as well as significant uncertainty about the value of a huge range of assets. LIBOR is the world’s most widely used interest rate benchmark. Market behaviour, in light of Covid-19, has only served to confirm the lack of LIBOR’s representativeness. Therefore, the FCA and the Bank of England have not changed their core message – firms cannot rely on LIBOR being published after the end of 2021. However, as matters stand, it remains for the market to effect the transition.…
Covid-19 8 Jun, 2020
