Serle Court is emerging as a leading chambers in European Union law, with Conor Quigley KC, Michael Edenborough KC, Professor Jonathan Harris QC (Hon.) and Suzanne Rab having extensive experience in all the major commercial areas of EU law. Members of chambers are also experienced in advising on European law issues, including the European Convention on Human Rights, as they arise in all areas of public and private law.
Conor Quigley KC has appeared in proceedings before the European Courts, the House of Lords, Supreme Court, Court of Appeal and High Court, as well as the European Commission and the Office of Fair Trading, covering matters ranging across agricultural levies, airline emissions trading, Brussels Regulation, commercial agency, competition law, consumer protection, diamond distribution systems, employment law, European arrest warrant, excise duties, gas infrastructure regulation, motor insurance liability, public procurement, State aid, taxation and VAT. Conor is also a Research Fellow at the University of Oxford’s Institute for European and Comparative Law and is the author of the highly acclaimed European State Aid Law and Policy (3rd edition, 2014, Hart Publishing and Bloomsbury Professional).
Michael Edenborough KC specialises in intellectual property law. He appears often before the EU Court of Justice and General Court on appeals from OHIM and references from the UK courts, and in the EPO (before the Opposition Division, and the Legal and Technical Boards of Appeal). He also deals with matters that involve the interplay between IPRs and competition issues.
Professor Jonathan Harris KC (Hon.) is a pre-eminent expert in all aspects of Private International Law, and an editor of the foremost practitioner work, Dicey, Morris and Collins, The Conflict of Laws. His work covers all the EU aspects of private international law, in particular, the Brussels and Rome regulatory regimes.
Professor Suzanne Rab has two decades of experience advising on EU law, in particular regulatory and competition law, including in proceedings before the UK competition and regulatory authorities and the European Commission. Her work includes cartel regulation, commercial practices, IP exploitation, merger control, public procurement and State aid, advising governments, regulators and businesses across the regulated sectors including in the communications, energy, financial services, healthcare/ pharmaceuticals, TMT, transportation and water sectors. Suzanne represents a number of public and private bodies on the implications of the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union, where she advises on the interplay between EU, domestic and international trade laws. She has also contributed to the drafting of domestic legislation under the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018.
Mead Johnson Nutrition (Asia Pacific) and Others v Commission:
Judgment of the General Court in Case T-508/19 Mead Johnson Nutrition (Asia Pacific) and Others v Commission: partial annulment the Commission decision finding non-taxation of royalty income in Gibraltar constituted unlawful State Aid.
On 6th April 2022, the EU General Court handed down a decision in relation to non-taxation of royalty income in Gibraltar (the Gibraltar Corporate Income Tax Regime) in Case T-508/19, partially annulling Commission Decision 2019/700 of 19 December 2019 on the grounds of procedural deficiencies of the Commission.
Conor Quigley QC acted for the successful applicants, instructed by PwC. Conor is one of the UK’s leading expert barristers in State Aid law. The 4th edition of European State Aid Law and Policy will be published in Summer 2022.
To read the judgment, please click here.
easyGroup v Beauty Perfectionists & ors [2022] Bus LR 146, [2022] FSR 8:
Stephanie Wickenden acted for the successful Claimant on the Defendant’s application to strike out the claim so far as it sought pan-EU27 relief, arguing that the UK court had no jurisdiction to grant EU-wide remedies after 1 January 2021. While permission to appeal was granted by the Chancellor, Sir Julian Flaux, the Defendants eventually abandoned its appeal before it was heard and paid the Claimant’s costs.
Secretary of State for Health v Servier Laboratories Ltd [2020] 3 WLR 1207:
David Drake appeared for the successful respondents in the Supreme Court hearing Secretary of State for Health v Servier Laboratories Ltd [2020] 3 WLR 1207, where it was held that the EU law principle of absolute res judicata arising from decisions of the European Courts annulling acts of EU institutions could not be applied in a legal context detached from the annulling judgment.
Please click here to view the judgment.
Secretary of State for Health & Ors v Servier Laboratories Ltd:
Michael Edenborough KC and David Drake are two of the four counsel acting for the SoS in this claim to recovery the monopolistic profits made by Servier based upon its invalid patent for perindopril (an ACE inhibitor used to combat high blood pressure). Part of the claim involves an allegation that SErvier improperly obtained a European Patent by deceiving the EPO as to the allegedly novelty of the invention. There is satellite litigation before the CJEU on the competition aspects and various issues concerning the disclosure being purported prevented by the French criminal code.
SerleShare:
'Judgment in Secretary of State for Health v Servier Laboratories Ltd [2020] UKSC 44' article by David Drake
The Times:
'Flybe deal has rivals up in arms' comments by Conor Quigley QC
Legal Week:
'The Commercial Impact of the New Asian Trade Bloc on Global Supply Chains While the new partnership' article by Professor Suzanne Rab
Welcome to SerleShare
SerleShare is an up-to-date digital marketing initiative that came to life in July 2020 when our Business Development and... Read More
Building Bridges in European and Human Rights Law
On Thursday 11 April, the Honourable Society of Lincolns Inn will be holding the launch and presentation of “Building Bridges... Read More
Welcome to SerleShare
SerleShare is an up-to-date digital marketing initiative that came to life in July 2020 when our Business Development and... Read More
Building Bridges in European and Human Rights Law
On Thursday 11 April, the Honourable Society of Lincolns Inn will be holding the launch and presentation of “Building Bridges... Read More