Anthony Jones

Anthony has a thriving practice across a broad range of commercial litigation, with specialisms in financial disputes (including offshore work), shareholder petitions, and various forms of injunctive relief. He often deals with claims with an offshore investment aspect, including claims by and against liquidators of failed offshore banks and funds in Antigua (Stanford International Bank), St Vincent and the Grenadines (Re Horizon Bank), and the Isle of Man (JP SPC v Turnstone and Peacock), as well as banking disputes in the Dubai International Financial Centre Courts, where Anthony is admitted as an Advocate.

Current and recent cases include:

• Auty v Duru and Saide Tekstil (Companies Court, 2021-22) – acting (with Hugh Jory QC) for the majority shareholders in defence to an unfair prejudice petition with a pleaded value of £12m (settled in February 2022)
• Re GO DPO EU and ors [2021] EWHC 1765 (Ch) – acting unled for the successful minority shareholders in the liability trial of an unfair prejudice petition, with the quantum stage set for determination in 2022
• Martin v Hochanda Ltd [2022] EWHC 1988 (Ch) – acting unled for the minority shareholder in a preliminary issue trial of an unfair prejudice claim, with the substantive proceedings listed for trial in 2023
• Kells and ors v Friends Provident International Ltd (Isle of Man High Court, 2021-22) – acting (with Graham Chapman QC) on behalf of thousands of investors bringing misrepresentation claims against two Isle of Man insurance groups in respect of investment wrapper bonds. The claimants defeated a strike out in January 2022, and trial is expected in late 2022
• Danspin A/S v Lawton Yarns Limited (QBD, 2021) – acted unled for the Danish purchaser of a textiles manufacture in a £1m+ claim against vendors for breaches of the sale and purchase agreement (settled in January 2022)
• PDVSA Servicios SA v Clyde & Co and PetroSaudi Oil Services (Venezuela) Ltd [2020] EWHC 2819 (Ch) – acting (with Graham Chapman QC) in injunctive relief proceedings to prevent payment of a $300m arbitral award out of escrow pending annulment proceedings in France
• Perkier Foods Ltd v Halo Foods Ltd [2019] EWHC 292 (QB) and [2019] EWHC 3462 (QB) – acted (with Dan Saoul QC) in successful injunctive relief and committal proceedings arising out of breach of manufacture and supply agreements
• Jack v Riches [2019] EWHC 1744 (QB) – acted (with Neil Hext QC) in freezing injunction proceedings regarding alleged dissipation of assets of a commercial fisheries enterprise
• Re Edwardian Group Ltd [2018] EWHC 1715 (Ch); [2019] 1 BCLC 171 – acted (with Justin Fenwick QC) in a successful seven-week £150 million unfair prejudice petition regarding one of the largest hotel groups in the UK
• Re Horizon Bank(Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, 2018) – acted (with Justin Fenwick QC) defending proceedings brought against the liquidator of an offshore bank in St Vincent and the Grenadines
• McGill v Sports and Entertainment Media Group (QBD, 2017) – acted (with Rick Liddell QC) for the successful claimant in a million pound claim relating to football agents’ commission payments on a Premier League transfer
• JP SPC v Turnstone and Peacock(Isle of Man Court of Appeal, 2017) – acted (with Jamie Smith QC) at first instance and appeal proceedings in a substantial claim in the Isle of Man in relation to the collapse of a series of investment funds in the Cayman Islands

Anthony regularly advises on and acts in cases before arbitral tribunals, with a particular focus on investment treaty arbitration. He has recently acted for investors in claims against different Central Asian States, raising complex jurisdictional issues regarding recourse to domestic remedies and the definition of investments, and the full range of substantive issues, including expropriation, fair and equitable treatment, and exercise of State police powers. In addition, Anthony has general experience in international commercial arbitration, as well as the enforcement and related proceedings to which they give rise.

Anthony writes and speaks regularly on international arbitration, and is a co-author of The ICSID Convention, Rules and Regulations: A Practical Commentary (2019).

In recent years, Anthony has acted in a number of important cases, including:

• PDVSA Servicios SA v Clyde & Co and PetroSaudi Oil Services (Venezuela) Ltd [2020] EWHC 2819 (Ch) – acting (with Graham Chapman QC) in injunctive relief proceedings to prevent payment of a $300 arbitral award out of escrow pending annulment proceedings in France
• Sece v Turkmenistan (ICSID Case No ARB/18/34) – acting for investor in a £50 million claim under the Turkey-Turkmenistan BIT, likely to have a significant impact on future investment against the State, since previous ICSID tribunals have disagreed over the meaning of key jurisdictional provisions of the relevant BIT
• Investor claim against Central Asian State (2019-20) – acting for the investor in a ground-breaking proposed £30 million claim against a Central Asian State, the first brought under the relevant BIT, raising a series of jurisdictional complexities, including the meaning of ‘investment’ with respect to concession contracts and the application of umbrella clauses by way of most-favoured nation protections
• International shipping arbitration negligence claim (Commercial Court, 2017-18) – acted (with David Halpern QC) on behalf of an international shipping firm in a substantial claim against a leading international law firm with respect to the conduct of parallel international arbitration proceedings (ad hoc proceedings in England and proceedings before the Tokyo Maritime Arbitration Commission)
• Al Jazeera v Egypt (ICSID Case No ARB/16/1) – acting for the human rights organizations intervening in the claim brought by Al Jazeera in relation to the detention of journalists by the Egyptian authorities, considering the emerging question of the extent to which human rights obligations are implied into and influence BIT investor protections
• La Générale des Carrières et des Mines v FG Hemisphere Associates [2013] 1 All ER 409 (PC) – advised on the application of the doctrine of State immunity to proceedings before the Privy Council regarding the execution of a substantial ICC arbitration award sought against the Channel Island assets of a State-owned mining corporation in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Anthony has quickly established a leading reputation as a junior in the field of professional liability He is ranked as a leading junior by both Chambers & Partners (as ‘razor sharp’ and ‘a creative thinker’) and the Legal 500 (‘He cuts through difficult problems with neat legal solutions and works brilliantly as part of a wider team’).  He has been involved in a number of the leading cases in recent years, including the Supreme Court’s recent re-examination of the SAAMCo approach to the scope of duty in BPE Solicitors v Hughes-Holland and the Court of Appeal proceedings in Brown v InnovatorOne. He recently acted in the Court of Appeal and Commercial Court successfully defending a £75 million Russian investment claim named one of The Lawyer’s Top 20 cases (Khanty-Mansyisk Recoveries v Forsters LLP). In addition, Anthony has experience sitting as an Adjudicator under the Professional Negligence Bar Association Rules.

Anthony is a former member of the Executive Committee of the Professional Negligence Bar Association, and is a co-author of the leading practitioner’s text, Jackson & Powell on Professional Liability (8^th ed).

Anthony has broad experience in insurance and reinsurance work, with a focus on coverage disputes and avoidance, acting both for insurers and insureds in England and Wales and offshore (particularly in the Dubai International Financial Centre courts, where Anthony is admitted as an Advocate). He also frequently acts in and advises upon subrogated recovery claims on behalf of insurers in respect of high value losses.

Current and recent cases include:

• Financial Conduct Authority v MS Amlin and others [2021] UKSC 1 and [2020] EWHC 2448 (Comm) – acted (with David Turner QC) for Royal & Sun Alliance in the Supreme Court and Commercial Court in the high-profile litigation regarding business interruption insurance responses to the Covid-19 pandemic
• Five Holding Limited and ors v Orient Insurance PJSC and Qatar Insurance Company (Dubai International Financial Centre Court of First Instance, 2021) – acted unled for the successful insurers in a jurisdictional dispute regarding progress of simultaneous insurance claims in the DIFC Courts and the Dubai local courts
• Finsbury Food Group plc v Various Underwriters (Commercial Court, 2021-22) – acting (with Roger Stewart QC) for the purchasers of a food manufacturing group claiming under a £4m policy of warranty and indemnity insurance in respect of alleged breaches by the vendor, listed for trial in late 2022
• Orient Insurance PJSC v Hazel Middle East FZE (Dubai International Financial Centre Court of First Instance, 2019-21) – acted (with Rick Liddell QC) for insurers in declaratory proceedings declining cover for allegedly fraudulent maritime insurance losses (settled in December 2021)
• A v B (ad hoc arbitration, 2021) – acted unled for the successful insured in a confidential arbitration establishing insurers’ obligation to provide professional indemnity cover despite the insured’s apparent admission of liability
• Trade credit insurance declinature claim (Dubai International Financial Centre Court of First Instance, 2022) – currently acting (with Rick Liddell QC) for insurers in respect of US$9m claim in respect of alleged trade credit losses arising from the failure of a multinational commodities conglomerate, with the trial expected in 2023
• Various Claimants v Giambrone and Law [2019] 4 WLR 7 (QB) – acted in this unusual case which established a solicitors firm’s professional indemnity insurer’s third-party costs liability

Anthony is a leading junior in human rights law, having acted before the European Court of Human Rights and other international human rights tribunals in more than a dozen claims, with a particularly strong record in cases regarding media freedom, the right to property, and questions of jurisdiction under international treaties.

Chambers & Partners ranks him as one of only 13 juniors across the bar for International Human Rights Law, calling him ‘knowledgeable and creative,’ and quoting clients saying ‘Anthony is really superb. He is very approachable, very good with clients, and imaginative with the law.’ ‘He is able to get a challenging international law issue and condense it down to provide concise, understandable advice. He is a great team player, he is always collegial, very knowledgeable and humble.’

Legal 500 ranks him as a Leading Junior (Band 2) in Civil Liberties and Human Rights, commenting ‘Anthony is fantastic. He is efficient, responsive, always available, hard working and exceptionally sharp. His written work is exceptional – always striking to the heart of the issue with clarity and ease.’

Alongside his practice, Anthony publishes and lectures widely on human rights. He was recently a Visiting Fellow at the Schell Center for International Human Rights at Yale Law School in 2019-20, and a Research Fellow at the Bonavero Institute for Human Rights at Oxford University in 2018. In 2019, Anthony was appointed a member of the Equality and Human Rights Commission Panel of Counsel.

Recent prominent cases include:

• Hanan v Germany [2021] ECHR 131 (Grand Chamber) – acted before the Grand Chamber in this significant case confirming the extraterritorial application of the European Convention to airstrikes in Afghanistan
• HF and MF v France (Application no. 24384/19) – currently acting unled before the Grand Chamber on this case regarding the obligations of European states to their citizens subject to inhuman and degrading treatment in internment camps in North East Syria
• Big Brother Watch and ors v United Kingdom [2021] ECHR 439 (Grand Chamber) and [2018] ECHR 722 – acted before the First Section and on appeal to the Grand Chamber in the ground-breaking litigation which established that the bulk digital surveillance regime operated by the UK government for 15 years breached the rights to privacy under Article 8 and expression under Article 10 of the European Convention
• Mandli v Hungary [2020] ECHR 337 – acted in the successful challenge brought against Hungary’s law restricting access of journalists to Parliamentary premises
• Amnesty International Togo and ors v Togo (ECOWAS Court, 2020) – acted in the successful challenge to the government Internet shutdown in violation of freedom of expression rights under the African Charter
• R (Campaign Against Arms Trade) v Secretary of State for International Trade [2019] 1 WLR 5765 (CA) and [2017] EWHC 1754 (Admin) – acted at first instance and on appeal in the challenge to the UK arms exports to Saudi Arabia for use in Yemen (one of The Lawyer’s Top 20 Cases)
• Anopa Investments v Cyprus (ECtHR) – acting (with Cherie Blair QC) for the applicant in a multi-million Euro claim against Cyprus regarding alleged violations of the right to property under Article 1 of Protocol 1 and due process rights under Article 6 of the European Convention
• Wikimedia v Turkey (ECtHR) – acting for Wikimedia in the challenge to the Turkish government’s decision to block access to Wikipedia
• Federation of African Journalists v The Gambia (ECOWAS Court, 2016-17) – acted on behalf of the leading African journalism union in the successful challenge to the validity of The Gambia’s law on criminal defamation and so-called ‘false news’
• R (Miranda) v Home Secretary [2016] 1 WLR 1505 (CA) and [2014] 1 WLR 3140 (Div Ct) – acted at first instance and on appeal on behalf of leading journalism NGOs intervening in the successful challenge brought against the use of the Terrorism Act 2000 to detain David Miranda when he was carrying material leaked by Edward Snowden

Anthony has a strong inquests and inquiry practice, and significant experience acting as counsel on behalf of coroners both in inquest hearings and in related judicial review proceedings.

Recent cases include:

• Dove v Her Majesty’s Assistant Coroner for Teesside and Hartlepool [2021] EWHC 2511 (Admin) – acted for the coroner in judicial review proceedings seeking quashing on the grounds of insufficient enquiry
• Medical device inquests (2019-21) – acting for various multinational medical device manufacturers as interested persons in a series of inquests
• Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 1 (2019) – advising and acting on behalf of Grenfell Tower and local residents in the fact-finding stage of this significant public inquiry into the fire at Grenfell Tower
• Re HM Senior Coroner for North West Wales [2018] EWHC 1366 (Admin) – acting unled in proceeding to quash a historic inquest and re-open the investigation in respect of unidentified remains
• Re HM Senior Coroner for North West Wales [2017] EWHC 2557 (Admin) – acting unled in proceedings re-examining historic inquest on the ground of fresh evidence
• Hillsborough Stadium Inquests (2013-16) – acted for the coroner in the new inquests into the 96 deaths resulting from the Hillsborough Stadium disaster in April 1989, the hearing lasting for more than two years

Anthony has a growing practice in public international law, covering advisory and contentious work for individuals, NGOs, and State organs in the UK courts and a range of international tribunals, including ICSID arbitrations, the EU courts, and other regional tribunals. His work covers customary international law, investment treaties, State immunity and responsibility, and the law of international organisations.  Anthony has been instructed on five occasions as sole counsel before the EU General Court in Luxembourg in matters raising the compliance of EU institutions with their public international law obligations in the field of environmental and refugee law.

Anthony writes and speaks regularly on public international law and investment treaty arbitration, in recent years addressing the Beijing Arbitration Commission conference and co-authoring The ICSID Convention, Rules and Regulations: A Practical Commentary (2019).

Recent cases include:

• R (Campaign Against Arms Trade) v Secretary of State for International Trade [2019] 1 WLR 5765 (CA) and [2017] EWHC 1754 (Admin) – acted at first instance and on appeal for leading NGOs in the challenge to UK arms exports to Saudi Arabia for use in Yemen, raising issues of State responsibility at international law (one of The Lawyer’s Top 20 Cases)
• Hanan v Germany (European Court of Human Rights, 2019-20) – acting before the Grand Chamber in this significant case on the extraterritorial application of the European Convention to airstrikes in Afghanistan, raising questions of treaty interpretation at international law
• Sece v Turkmenistan (ICSID Case No ARB/18/34) – acting for investor in a £50 million claim under the Turkey-Turkmenistan BIT, likely to have a significant impact on future investment against the State, since previous ICSID tribunals have disagreed over the meaning of key jurisdictional provisions of the relevant BIT
• Investor claim against Central Asian State (2019-20) – acting for the investor in a ground-breaking proposed £30 million claim against a Central Asian State, the first brought under the relevant BIT, raising a series of jurisdictional complexities, including the meaning of ‘investment’ with respect to concession contracts and the application of umbrella clauses by way of most-favoured nation protections
• Al Jazeera v Egypt (ICSID Case No ARB/16/1) – acting human rights organizations intervening in the claim brought by Al Jazeera in relation to the detention of journalists by the Egyptian authorities, considering the emerging question of the extent to which human rights obligations are implied into and influence BIT investor protections
• C-458/19 P ClientEarth v European Commission (CJEU, 2018-20) – acting as sole counsel in the EU General Court and on appeal to the CJEU in a challenge to the European Commission chemical regulation scheme on the grounds of non-compliance of EU law with the UN Aarhus Convention
• C-209/17 P NG v European Commission (CJEU, 2018) – acting as sole counsel in the EU General Court and on appeal to the CJEU for Amnesty International intervening in a challenge to the legality of the EU-Turkey refugee deal
• T-436/17 ClientEarth, European Environmental Bureau and ors v European Commission (EU General Court, 2017-18) – acting as sole counsel in the EU General Court on behalf of a coalition of NGOs in a challenge to the Commission’s approval of certain toxic chemicals, allegedly in breach of international environmental treaties
• Federation of African Journalists v The Gambia (ECOWAS Court, 2016-17) – acted on behalf of the leading African journalism union in the successful challenge to the validity of The Gambia’s laws on criminal defamation and ‘so-called’ false news in breach of international treaties

Anthony has a growing practice in professional discipline work, acting both for regulators and professionals.  His experience embraces advisory and contentious work relating to accountants, solicitors, barristers and health care professionals.  Recent cases include:

• Bar Standards Board v Alun Jones QC and anor (2020) – acted (with Roger Stewart QC) successfully defending substantial disciplinary proceedings brought against a criminal QC and junior arising out of pleadings of fraud
• FRC Executive Counsel v KPMG and ors (2018) – acted (with Ben Hubble QC) defending FRC sanctions proceedings arising from multi-year audits of a Lloyd’s syndicate
• Lewin v Financial Reporting Council [2018] EWHC 446 (Admin) – acted (with Jamie Smith QC) on behalf of interested parties to a judicial review brought against the publication by the FRC of its report on a disciplinary case, and whether the absence of a ‘Maxwellization’ process constituted a breach of Article 8 of the European Convention
• ACCA disciplinary proceedings (2017) – acted as sole counsel on behalf of an accountant facing a range of serious disciplinary charges before the ACCA Disciplinary Committee, obtaining the lowest available sanction
• SRA proceedings concerning inflated billings (Admin Court, 2017) – acted as sole counsel for the SRA in the Admin Court in a matter concerning alleged inflated and invalid solicitors’ billings
• Health and Care Professions Council fitness to practise challenge (2013) – advised and acted on behalf of a psychologist facing serious charges and potential striking off before the Health and Care Professions Council, leading to a negotiated settlement avoiding serious sanctions