Alex has developed a broad practice, extending across all of Chambers’ core practice areas, including shipping, commercial law, international arbitration and public international law. He is often instructed in complex, multi-jurisdictional litigation and he has experience advising on strategic applications made before the Commercial Court and arbitral tribunals. He enjoys working as sole counsel or as part of a team.
Recent examples of Alex’s work include:
- Acting for All Risks and War Risks reinsurers in the Russian Aircraft Litigation (listed as one of the Lawyer’s Top 20 cases for 2024);
- Acting for the successful claimant/applicant in the Renaissance v Chlodwig litigation, where the Commercial Court granted an anti-suit and anti-anti-suit injunction restraining foreign proceedings, commenced under Article 248 of the Russian Commercial Procedural Code, in which the respondents had made claims worth USD 130 million.
He is regularly instructed in a range of shipping cases and recently undertook a secondment at a City solicitors’ firm, specialising in contentious shipping work, where he advised on claims arising under time charterparties, voyage charterparties and bills of lading.
Alex has a particular interest in private international law and routinely advises on jurisdiction and applicable law. To complement his international practice, Alex is also qualified as an advocate in Cyprus.
Before joining Chambers, Alex completed a Blue Book traineeship at the Contract Law Unit of the DG for Justice and Consumers (European Commission), where he contributed to the development of policies to remove private law obstacles for the use of smart contracts. He has also interned at the DG for Human Rights (Council of Europe).
Alex studied Law at the University of Cambridge and has obtained an LLM specialising in Competition, Innovation and Trade law from LSE. He completed his two-year military service in the Cypriot National Guard as a cadet officer and was promoted to second lieutenant by the end of his service.
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Arbitration
Recent cases include:
- Acting for the charterers in respect of various claims brought against owners, including off-hire, failure to maintain Class and Rightship approval, failure to ensure that the vessel had the required certificates and breach of the employment clause (led by Richard Greenberg).
- Instructed by the owners in a high-value claim concerning the supply of off-specification bunkers to a vessel and the time charterers’ express and implied obligations to indemnify owners for the resulting loss (led by Duncan Matthews KC).
- Instructed in a high-value claim concerning the sale of five vessels and the alleged breach of a ship management agreement (led by Tim Young KC).
- Drafted pleadings (as a pupil) for several LMAA arbitrations.
Alex has experience making strategic interim applications and advising on various procedural matters arising in arbitration, including:
- Anti-suit injunctions to enforce London arbitration agreements.
- Obtaining security for costs against a counterclaimant special purpose vehicle.
- Section 41 of the Arbitration Act 1996.
Banking and financial services
- Drafted an expert report (to be used in foreign proceedings) on the English law principles governing security taken in relation to the performance of a loan agreement.
Civil fraud
- Renaissance Securities (Cyprus) Limited v Chlodwig Enterprises Limited [2023] EWHC 2816 (Comm): Instructed by the claimant/applicant in the Commercial Court, which granted an anti-suit injunction to enforce a London arbitration agreement, by restraining the respondents from continuing foreign proceedings. The foreign proceedings had been commenced in purported reliance on new Russian procedural provisions (Art.248 of the Commercial Procedural Code) enacted to assist Russian litigants to circumvent international sanctions (in a counsel team led by Paul Lowenstein KC) (see also [2023] EWHC 3160 (Comm)).
Commercial litigation
- Russian Aircraft Litigation: Instructed by the defendant All and War Risks Reinsurers in over 90 claims worth over USD 12 billion in total (in a counsel team with David Bailey KC, Charles Kimmins KC, Susannah Jones, Michal Hain and Eliza Bond). The claimant lessors make claims under reinsurance contracts that they say give them direct causes of action against the reinsurers.
- Renaissance Securities (Cyprus) Limited v Chlodwig Enterprises Limited [2023] EWHC 2816 (Comm): Instructed by the claimant/applicant in the Commercial Court, which granted an anti-suit injunction to enforce a London arbitration agreement, by restraining the respondents from continuing foreign proceedings. The foreign proceedings had been commenced in purported reliance on new Russian procedural provisions (Art.248 of the Commercial Procedural Code) enacted to assist Russian litigants to circumvent international sanctions (in a counsel team led by Paul Lowenstein KC).
- Renaissance Securities (Cyprus) Limited v Chlodwig Enterprises Limited [2023] EWHC 3160 (Comm): Concerned the requirements for naming individuals in a penal notice and whether it was appropriate to include a Babanaft proviso in an order for an anti-suit injunction (led by Andrew Dinsmore).
- Deutsche Bank (London Branch) v Central Bank of Venezuela [2022] EWHC 2040 (Comm): Assisted (as a pupil) in the preparation of the pre-trial review and opening submissions. The case considered the recognition of judgments issued by the Venezuelan court, which purported to quash the executive acts of the individual recognised by the UK government as President of Venezuela.
EU and competition law
- Case C-742/22 SA Ntinos Ramon v European Commission: Instructed in an application before the CJEU for the waiver of the immunity of the European Commission, in order to enforce a third party debt order issued by the Cypriot District Court (before transferring to the Bar).
Jurisdiction, conflicts and enforcement
- Renaissance Securities (Cyprus) Limited v Chlodwig Enterprises Limited [2023] EWHC 2816 (Comm): Instructed by the claimant/applicant in the Commercial Court, which granted an anti-suit injunction to enforce a London arbitration agreement, by restraining the respondents from continuing foreign proceedings. The foreign proceedings had been commenced in purported reliance on new Russian procedural provisions (Art.248 of the Commercial Procedural Code) enacted to assist Russian litigants to circumvent international sanctions (in a counsel team led by Paul Lowenstein KC) (see also [2023] EWHC 3160 (Comm)).
- Advising on jurisdiction and applicable law in respect of both principal and contribution claims (CPR Pt.20) arising in the context of a multi-party medical negligence case.
- Advising a claimant on how to address issues of foreign applicable law where these were first raised in the defence.
- Deutsche Bank (London Branch) v Central Bank of Venezuela [2022] EWHC 2040 (Comm): Assisted (as a pupil) in the preparation of the pre-trial review and opening submissions. The case considered the recognition of judgments issued by the Venezuelan court, which purported to quash the executive acts of the individual recognised by the UK government as President of Venezuela.
- Alex is qualified as an advocate in Cyprus, having passed the Cyprus Bar exams with distinction. He has previously been instructed to advise on issues of Cypriot law.
Public international law
- Ioannides v Cyprus (ECtHR, App No.32879/18): Drafted submissions for the applicant. The judgment is expected to address the question of whether the Republic of Cyprus retains jurisdiction under Article 1 ECHR over the UN-administered buffer zone.
- Panagi and Shiartou v Turkey (ECtHR, App No.6178/18): Assisted as junior counsel for the applicants, who claim that their Article 6, 8, 13 and Article 1 Protocol No.1 rights have been violated due to the ineffectiveness of proceedings brought before the Immovable Property Commission in the “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus” (before transferring to the Bar).
- Prepared advice (as a pupil) on the merits of a claim under Article 1 Protocol No.1 ECHR arising out of the war in Ukraine. The advice also considered issues related to extraterritorial jurisdiction under Article 1 ECHR.
- Case C-742/22 SA Ntinos Ramon v European Commission: Instructed in an application before the CJEU for the waiver of the immunity of the European Commission, in order to enforce a third party debt order issued by the Cypriot District Court (before transferring to the Bar). The third party debt order had been issued to enforce a judgment debt arising out of a final judgment of the ECtHR.
(Re)insurance
- Russian Aircraft Litigation: Instructed by the defendant All and War Risks Reinsurers in over 90 claims worth over USD 12 billion in total (in a counsel team with David Bailey KC, Charles Kimmins KC, Susannah Jones, Michal Hain and Eliza Bond). The claimant lessors make claims under reinsurance contracts that they say give them direct causes of action against the reinsurers.
- Advising on a business interruption insurance claim arising out of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Shipping and commodities
Alex is regularly instructed in a range of shipping disputes. Recent examples include:
- Acting for the charterers in respect of various claims brought against owners, including off-hire, failure to maintain Class and Rightship approval, failure to ensure that the vessel had the required certificates and breach of the employment clause (led by Richard Greenberg).
- Instructed in a high-value claim concerning the sale of five vessels and the alleged breach of a ship management agreement (led by Tim Young KC).
- Instructed by the owners in a high-value claim concerning the supply of off-specification bunkers to a vessel and the time charterers’ express and implied obligations to indemnify owners for the resulting loss (led by Duncan Matthews KC).
- Drafted defence and counterclaim submissions concerning the deduction of bunkers on redelivery from last sufficient hire payments in circumstances where the duration of the underlying charterparty had been extended.
- Drafted closing submissions (as a pupil) for an LMAA arbitration concerning a demurrage claim and the shipowners’ fault exception.
- Prepared advice (as a pupil) on whether delivery was properly effected pursuant to a ship sale and purchase agreement.
- Prepared advice (as a pupil) on the frustration of a sale of goods contract following the outbreak of war in Ukraine.
In April 2024, Alex spent five weeks on secondment at a City solicitors’ firm, specialising in contentious shipping work, where he advised on claims arising under time charterparties, voyage charterparties and bills of lading.
Sports
- Drafted advice (as a pupil) on an athlete’s claim against a sports governing body based on an implied contract.
