Matthew Happold

Call Date: 1995

Matthew joined chambers in 2020 as a full tenant after several years as a door tenant. He has expertise in public and private international law, arbitration, EU law, public law and human rights.

As well as taking instructions to act before the English courts, Matthew has acted as counsel in cases before the European Court of Human Rights and the Court of Justice of the European Union (the General Court and the Court of Justice).

In 2018, Matthew was appointed a Recorder on the North Eastern Circuit and is authorised to sit on civil and criminal cases.

Matthew is Professor of Public International Law at the University of Luxembourg. He has published widely on international and dispute resolution, and regularly provides training to lawyers and government officials.

Since 2014, Matthew has been a member of the Luxembourg Commission Consultative des droits de l’homme, Luxembourg’s national human rights institution.

Expertise

EU Law

Notable EU Law cases

Acting as counsel before the Court of Justice of the European Union in three challenges to EU restrictive measures (Cases

Advising on requests for access to documents and information from the European Commission, including assisting in two successful confirmatory applications for access to documents.

Private/Public International Law

Notable Private/Public International Law cases

Advising on the assignment and enforcement of an ICSID arbitral award (involving issues of Luxembourg, EU and public international law).

Advising on the State immunity aspects of enforcing a foreign judgment against a State sponsor of terrorism in the English courts.

Public law and Human rights

Notable Public law and Human rights cases

Advising on the provisions of the Sanctions and Money Laundering Act 2018 seeking to impose public registers of beneficial ownership on the British Overseas Territories.

Acting as counsel or assisting in several applications to the European Court of Human Rights (from Cyprus, Russia and Turkey).

Direct Access

Matthew is able to accept instructions directly from members of the public, companies and other entities through the public access scheme (also known as direct access). He has acted, advised and drafted pleadings and documents for a number of individuals and small and medium sized businesses on a direct access basis. He is happy to accept instructions on a direct basis in appropriate cases. If you wish to instruct Matthew on a direct basis, please speak to the clerks.

For more information on public access, please see the Bar Council website.

Publications

Sanctions in the spotlight – New Law Journal – April 2022
Mads Andenas, Matthew Happold, Luca Pantaleo and Christina Contartese (eds), The European Union as an Actor in International Economic Law, TMC Asser Press. The Hague, forthcoming 2020.
Matthew Happold and Paul Eden (eds), Economic Sanctions in International Law, Hart Publishing: Oxford, 2016.
Rusen Ergec and Matthew Happold, Protection européenne et internationale des droits de l’homme, Larcier: Brussels, 3rd ed. 2014.
Matthew Happold and Thomas Roe QC, The Settlement of Investment Disputes under the Energy Charter Treaty, Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, 2011 (2nd edition under contract).
Matthew Happold, ‘Investor-State Dispute Settlement using the ECOWAS Court of Justice: An Analysis and Some Proposals’ [2019] 34 ICSID Review-Foreign Investment Law Journal 496.
Johannes Fahner and Matthew Happold, ‘The Human Rights Defence in Investment Treaty Arbitration: Exploring the limits of Systemic Integration’ (2019) 68 International and Comparative Law Quarterly 741.
‘Immunity from Execution of Military and Cultural Property’, in Tom Ruys and Nicolas Angelet (eds), Cambridge Handbook of Immunities and International Law, Cambridge University Press. Cambridge, 2019.
Matthew Happold and Relja Radović, ‘The ECOWAS Court of Justice as an Investment Tribunal’ (2018) 19 Journal of World Investment and Trade 95.

Memberships

British Institute of International and Comparative Law Investment Treaty Forum
Chartered Institute of Arbitrators
CEPANI (Belgian Centre for Arbitration and Mediation)
Luxembourg Arbitration Association
Bar Human Rights Committee

Qualifications

MA, Magdalen College, Oxford
LLM, London School of Economics
PhD, University of Nottingham
Diploma, Hague Academy of International Law

Languages

French

For Help or Advice…

Please contact us either by telephone: +44 (0)20 7415 7800 or email: clerks@3harecourt.com

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Matthew Happold

Expertise

Notable EU Law cases

Notable Private/Public International Law cases

Notable Public law and Human rights cases

Related news & articles

Sanctions: a “peaceful, silent, deadly remedy”

The Impact of Sanctions on International Arbitration – 04/07/2023

Prof Matthew Happold to deliver Arbitration and Criminal Law lecture at the LSAS

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