Alex has developed a broad practice, extending across all of Chambers’ core practice areas, with a particular focus on shipping, general commercial litigation, international arbitration, the conflict of laws and public international law. He enjoys working as sole counsel or as part of a team.
He has experience of interim and procedural applications made before the courts and in arbitration. Recently, he was instructed by the claimant/applicant in the Renaissance v Chlodwig litigation, where the Commercial Court granted an anti-suit and anti-anti-suit injunction to enforce a London arbitration agreement, restraining foreign proceedings which would have enabled the circumvention of the sanctions regime.
Alex regularly acts in a range of shipping disputes and has been instructed in a number of LMAA arbitrations. He has undertaken a secondment at a city firm, specialising in contentious shipping work, where he spent five weeks advising on claims arising under time charterparties, voyage charterparties and bills of lading.
He has experience advising on jurisdiction and applicable law in a variety of different contexts. To complement his international practice, Alex is also qualified as an advocate in Cyprus, passing the Cyprus Bar Exams with distinction, and has advised on questions of Cypriot law.
Before joining Chambers, Alex undertook a Blue Book Traineeship at the Contract Law Unit of the DG for Justice and Consumers (European Commission). He contributed to the unit’s work in developing policies to remove private law obstacles for the use of smart contracts and in monitoring the implementation of the Digital Content Directive and the Sale of Goods Directive by Member States. He has also interned at the DG for Human Rights (Council of Europe) and has worked on cases before the ECtHR prior to transferring to the Bar.
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 the rank of 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 in LMAA arbitration, against the owners, including off-hire, failure to maintain Class and Rightship approval and failure to ensure that the Vessel had the required certificates (led by Richard Greenberg).
- Instructed by the owners in a high-value claim, brought in LMAA arbitration, concerning the supply of bunkers to a vessel and the time charterers’ express and implied obligations to indemnify owners for the resulting damage (led by Duncan Matthews KC).
- Instructed in a high-value claim, brought in LMAA arbitration, concerning the alleged breach of a ship management agreement and the fiduciary duties owed by the vessel managers (led by Tim Young KC).
- Drafted pleadings (as a pupil) for a number of LMAA arbitrations.
Alex has experience advising on interim applications and 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.
EU and competition law
- Case C-742/22 SA Ntinos Ramon v European Commission: Instructed in an application to 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 (prior to 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 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.
- Assisted (as a pupil) in the preparation of the pre-trial review and opening submissions in Deutsche Bank (London Branch) v Central Bank of Venezuela [2022] EWHC 2040 (Comm), concerning the recognition of foreign judgments.
- Alex is qualified as an advocate in Cyprus, passing the Cyprus Bar exams with distinction. He has previously been instructed to advise on issues of Cypriot law.
Public international law
- Assisted as junior counsel in Panagi and Shiartou v Turkey App No. 6178/18(communicated before the ECtHR) concerning procedural delays in the Immovable Property Commission set up by Turkey in the “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus” (prior to 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 considered issues related to jurisdiction pursuant to Article 1 ECHR.
- Case C-742/22 SA Ntinos Ramon v European Commission: Instructed in an application to 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 (prior to 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
- Advising on a business interruption insurance claim arising out of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Shipping and commodities
Alex is regularly instructed on a range of shipping and charterparty disputes. Recent examples include:
- Acting for the charterers in respect of various claims, brought in LMAA arbitration, against the owners, including off-hire, failure to maintain Class and Rightship approval and failure to ensure that the Vessel had the required certificates (led by Richard Greenberg).
- Instructed in a high-value claim concerning the alleged breach of a ship management agreement and the fiduciary duties owed by the vessel managers (led by Tim Young KC).
- Instructed by the owners in a high-value claim concerning the supply of bunkers to a vessel and the time charterers’ express and implied obligations to indemnify owners for the resulting damage (led by Duncan Matthews KC).
- Drafted defence and counterclaim submissions on 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.
Sports
- Prepared advice (as a pupil) regarding a claim by an athlete against a sports governing body based on an implied contract.
