Anthony Jones

Anthony has a thriving practice across a broad range of commercial litigation, with specialisms in offshore finance, company disputes, and international sale of goods claims.

He is frequently led in the Court of Appeal and Commercial Court, and frequently acts as sole counsel in the QBD and Chancery Division. Anthony often deals with claims arising out of offshore financial disputes: recent work includes substantial claims brought by and against liquidators of failed offshore banks in Antigua (Stanford International Bank) and St Vincent and the Grenadines (Re Horizon Bank), a substantial Isle of Man claim involving alleged fraud by fund managers (JP SPC v Turnstone and Peacock), and advising the investors’ committee acting on behalf of thousands of pension holders claiming against two Isle of Man life insurance groups.

Anthony has a wide experience of company claims, recently acting in the Re Edwardian Group claim and as sole counsel in the Chancery Division in a multi-million pound dispute regarding beneficial ownership of shares following a series of nominee and allegedly fraudulent transfers.

Recent cases include:

• Financial Conduct Authority v MS Amlin and others (2020) – currently acting (with David Turner QC) in the Commercial Court in the high-profile litigation regarding business interruption insurance responses to the Covid-19 pandemic
• Pensions class action in Isle of Man – acting (with Graham Chapman QC) on behalf of thousands of pension holders claiming against two Isle of Man insurance groups
• 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
• Re Edwardian Group Ltd [2018] EWHC 1715 (Ch); [2019] 1 BCLC 171 – acted (with Justin Fenwick QC) in a successful seven-week £140 million unfair prejudice petition regarding one of the largest hotel groups in the UK
• Khanty-Mansiysk Recoveries v Forsters LLP [2018] EWCA Civ 89 and [2016] EWHC (Comm) – acted (with Jamie Smith QC) for the successful defendant to a £75 million claim arising out of investments in Russia (one of The Lawyer’s Top 20 Cases)
• 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
• International sale of goods claim involving Finnish and Chinese parties (QBD, 2017) – acted as sole counsel for defendant Finish and Chinese apparel manufactures in a quarter of a million pound sale of goods dispute. This case required extensive work with contractual and company documents in Chinese (which Anthony speaks and reads)
• Stanford International Bank (Commercial Court, 2015) – acted (with Justin Fenwick QC) on behalf of Antiguan liquidators of the collapsed Stanford International Bank

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:

• Injunctive relief proceedings to prevent release of award pending annulment proceedings in France (High Court, 2020)
• 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 human rights organizations intervening in the claim brought by Al Jazeera in relation to detention of journalists by the Egyptian authorities, considering the emerging question of the extent to which human rights obligations are implied into and influenct 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 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).

For further details, see the links in respect of individual professions.

Anthony is recognised as a Leading Junior in Civil Liberties and Human Rights by the Legal 500 (2020) as being ‘impressive with clients and skilled at finding a compromise when dealing with different perspectives.’ In 2019, he was recognised by the Legal 500 for his ‘unparalleled ability to digest a significant amount of complex information in a short period of time, and develop insightful and compelling arguments,’ maintaining his Leading Junior title. In 2019, Anthony was selected as a member of the Equality and Human Rights Commission Panel of Counsel.

Anthony is frequently instructed in high-profile human rights matters, with a particular focus on media and freedom of expression work. He has acted in more than a dozen claims before the European Court of Human Rights, as well as other international human rights tribunals.

On the domestic front, Anthony’s experience as junior counsel to the Coroner for the Hillsborough Stadium Inquests throughout 2013-16 (the longest and largest inquests in British history) places him among only a handful of specialist junior counsel in the fields of coronial law and procedure. Accordingly, he is regularly instructed on behalf of coroners and interested parties in inquests and related judicial review proceedings.

Alongside his practice, Anthony publishes widely on human rights law and was a Research Visitor at the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights at Oxford in 2018.

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 (one of The Lawyer’s Top 20 Cases)
• Wikimedia v Turkey (European Court of Human Rights, 2019-20) – acting for Wikimedia in the challenge to the Turkish government’s decision to block access to Wikipedia
• Navalnyy v Russia (European Court of Human Rights, 2019-20) – acting in this ground-breaking case brought by the Russian opposition leader regarding the extension of defamation liability to online hyperlinked platforms
• Anopa Investments v Cyprus (European Court of Human Rights, 2018-20) – acting (with Cherie Blair QC) for the applicant company 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
• Mandli v Hungary (European Court of Human Rights, 2019-20) – acted for leading NGOs intervening in the successful challenge to Hungary’s law restricting access of journalists to Parliamentary premises
• 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
• Re HM Senior Coroner for North West Wales [2017] EWHC 2557 (Admin) – acted as sole counsel in a series of proceedings to quash historic inquests and re-open the investigation in respect of unidentified human remains
• 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 to the use of the Terrorism Act 2000 to detain David Miranda when he was carrying material from the Edward Snowden NSA leaks
• Hillsborough Stadium Inquests (2013-16) – acted (with Jonathan Hough QC) 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. Remarkably for a junior of his call, 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 (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
• 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 detention of journalists by the Egyptian authorities, considering the emerging question of the extent to which human rights obligations are implied into and influenct 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 ratification of approval of certain toxic chemicals, allegedly in breach of UN 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

Anthony has a growing practice in professional discipline work, acting both for regulators and professionals. His experience embraces advisory and contentious work relating to solicitors, barristers, accountants, health care professionals, and professional sportspeople across a range of sports.

Recent cases include:

• 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

Anthony has broad experience in insurance and reinsurance work, with a focus on coverage disputes and avoidance, acting both for insurers and insureds. He also frequently acts in and advised upon subrogated recovery claims on behalf of insurers in respect of high value losses.

Recent work includes:

• Financial Conduct Authority v MS Amlin and others (2020) – currently acting for Royal & Sun Alliance in the Commercial Court in the high-profile litigation regarding business interruption insurance responses to the Covid-19 pandemic
• Declaratory declinature proceedings in Dubai (2019-20) – currently acting (with Rick Liddell QC) for insurers in the Dubai International Financial Centre Courts declining cover for alleged maritime insurance losses
• 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