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Pierre Janusz

Pierre Janusz

Profile

"An extremely experienced barrister" (Chambers & Partners 2020).

Pierre Janusz’s practice areas cover all aspects of general common law and commercial litigation, with a strong emphasis on real property, landlord and tenant matters and associated professional negligence claims, but he is also recognised as a leading junior in personal injury claims, where he regularly deals with catastrophic injury and high value fatal accident cases as well as clinical negligence matters.

He has substantial experience of handling cases with an international element, with expertise in matters involving jurisdiction and applicable law issues, both generally and in relation to accidents abroad. Following on from his in-depth knowledge of the Brussels Ia Regulation dealing with jurisdiction and enforcement of judgments, the Rome II Regulation dealing with non-contractual liability and the Rome I Regulation dealing with contractual matters, he continues to be the author of the jurisdiction and applicable law chapters in the APIL Guide to Accidents Abroad published by LexisNexis.

He was instructed in the landmark decision of Homawoo v. GMF Assurances (CJEU Case C412/10) in which the CJEU ruled on the temporal scope of the Rome II Regulation and in relation to the pre-Rome II regime he appeared in Maher v. Groupama [2009] EWCA Civ 1191 where the Court of Appeal ruled on the law applicable to the assessment of damages in direct claims against insurers. More recently, he appeared in Marshall and Pickard v. MIB [2015] EWHC 3421 (QB), where the High Court discussed how the Article 4(3) “escape clause” of Rome II affected the common habitual residence exception for choice of law in the context of multi-vehicle road traffic accidents, and also in AMT Futures Ltd v. Marzillier, Dr Meier & Dr Guntner Rechtsanwaltgesellschaft mbH [2017] UKSC 13, where the Supreme Court gave valuable new guidance on identifying the place where damage occurs for the purpose of establishing the special jurisdiction under Article 5(3) of the Brussels I Regulation (now Article 7(2) of the Brussels Ia Regulation).

He has experience of acting as a legal assessor to professional bodies.

Legal Directories

Legal 500 (2020)

  • Instructed by both claimants and defendants in complex travel personal injury cases involving conflicts of law questions. His expertise encompasses various types of incidents, ranging from RTAs to accidents at hotels and workplaces abroad.
  • Strengths: "An extremely experienced barrister."
  • Travel: International Personal Injury 

Chambers and Partners 2019

  • "He's a very thoughtful advocate - extremely experienced and a very safe pair of hands."
  • Travel: International Personal Injury 

Chambers and Partners 2018

  • 'He is extremely able'
  • Travel: International Personal Injury

Chambers and Partners 2017

  • "He is a very intelligent man who thinks deeply about things and is thorough with his work."
  • "Pierre has great attention to detail and is always up for a jurisdictional battle."
  • "He is vastly experienced and a tough negotiator."
  • Travel

Chambers and Partners 2015

  • 'Very clever, he's thinking man's barrister'
  • 'Is on top of Rome II and conflict points'
  • Travel

Legal 500 (2014)

  • 'a startlingly clever, unflappable and charming advocate who impresses solicitors and clients with his encyclopaedic knowledge of private international law.'
  • Personal Injury

Publications and Lectures

Pierre Janusz contributes to Chambers Personal Injury, Travel and Property bulletins. He is also a regular speaker at APIL (Association for Personal Injury Lawyers) on current topics.

Memberships

  • LCLCBA
  • PIBA
  • Pan-European Organisation of Personal Injury Lawyers
  • British German Jurists Association

Qualifications

BA (German and Dutch) Bedford College, University of London; read for the Bar at City University and the Inns of Court School of Law.

Languages

German and Dutch.