Charles Flint QC

Charles Flint QC is a leading specialist on the regulation of financial services under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. He has advised and acted for institutions, and the regulators, in regulatory proceedings, judicial review and Companies Act investigations and has been involved in many of the major regulatory cases which have arisen in the last 15 years. He has been retained by investment banks, fund managers, hedge funds, stockbrokers, insurers, retail banks and building societies in connection with regulatory investigations and proceedings relating to insider dealing and market abuse, Chinese walls, endowment and derivative based product misselling, and split capital investment trusts.  He also advises and acts for the regulatory bodies, FSA, FOS and FSCS. He advises on all aspects of financial services and markets regulation, including insurance mediation and MIFID. He has also advised and acted for overseas regulators, including the Dubai FSA.

He acted for Legal and General in the first major challenge in the Financial Services & Markets Tribunal to the powers of the FSA, the case which resulted in the complete overhaul of the FSA enforcement system. He acted for Philippe Jabre in the first market abuse case brought against a hedge fund.

He is a member of the Lawyers Consultative Group established by the Financial Service Authority to advise on legal issues arising out of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. He was an invited speaker on the future of financial regulation at the City Debate 2002 organised by the Futures and Options Association. He is a contributor to "A Practitioner's Guide to FSA Investigations and Enforcement" (City & Financial Publishing). He is on the board of the Financial Services Lawyers Association.

He has also advised and acted in the two main cases in which the Pensions Regulator has exercised its powers under the moral hazard provisions of the Pensions Act 2004 to require associated companies to support pension schemes in deficit.

He is currently involved in the Lehmans litigation, acting for hedge funds claiming assets from the administrators of Lehman Brothers International (Europe).

Reported Cases:

• Amro & Creon v FSA (investigatory powers) [2010] CA
• Re Lehmans (MIFID & client money) [2009] ChD 
• FSA v Winterflood (market abuse) [2009] FSMT
• FSA v Vukelic (financial reinsurance) [2009] FSMT
• FSA v Information Commissioner (FOI Act) [2009] IT
• Heather Moor & Edgecomb v FOS (Ombudsman powers) [2008] CA
• FSA v Philippe Jabre (market abuse) [2006] FSMT
• FSA v Legal & General (enforcement) [2005] FSMT

In recent years his practice has concentrated on substantial commercial and corporate litigation. Between 1988 and 1994 he acted as counsel for the Arab Monetary Fund in a major fraud action in the Chancery Division, and on appeals to the Court of Appeal and House of Lords. In 1999 he was retained as leading counsel advising the Singapore Stock Exchange in its dispute with the Malaysian Central Depository over the freezing of the $4 billion CLOB portfolio. In 2000 he acted for the defendant in the proceedings brought by the State of Brunei against HRH Prince Jefri Bolkiah claiming the return of assets of $15 billion.

He has considerable experience of acting for Government Departments. In 1991 he was appointed a Junior Counsel to the Crown (Common Law). He acts for Government Departments, particularly the Ministry of Defence, in contractual and public procurement disputes.

He has appeared in the courts of Antigua, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Brunei and the West Indies Court of Appeal, and in the Privy Council.

Aviation Law:

Charles has acted and advised in a number of aviation related matters from judicial reviews concerning slot allocations at Heathrow to flight crew licensing, aircraft ownership and leasing disputes, and Warsaw convention claims. He has also advised on the air traffic control charging regime. He holds a private pilot's licence.

Reported Cases:

• Bloomsbury v Sea Fish Authority [2010] CA (EU law: customs duties)
• HMRC v Total Network [2008] HL (conspiracy, tax)
• Compagnie Noga v Abacha [2003] (CA)(fraud, contract)
• Laminates v Invensys [2003] (Commercial Court)(share sale warranty)
• Carlton & Granada v Football League [2002] (Commercial Court)(guarantees)
• Express Newspapers v Telegraph Group [2002) (CA) (shareholders agreement)
• Drake v Agnews [2002] (fine art / sale of goods)
• R v Dept of Health ex p. Source Informatics [2000]  (confidence / Data Protection)
• Blue Circle v Ministry of Defence [1999]  (Environmental law)
• Clarion v National Provident [1999] (Principles, implied term)
• Larussa-Chigi v CS First Boston [1998] (investment advice)
• Den Norske Bank v Antonatos [1998]  (Commercial fraud / privilege)
• British Steel v Customs & Excise [1997]  (Restitution, duty)
• Gamerco S.A. v I.C.M./Fair Warning (Agency) Ltd. [1995]  (Contract)
• Bolton v Law Society [Court of Appeal][1994]
• Arab Monetary Fund v Hashim [1991]  (public international law)
• Arab Monetary Fund v Hashim (Nos. 1-7) (Commercial fraud)

His practice in public law is principally in the commercial and regulatory field including judicial review in tax and advertising standards cases. He has advised economic regulators in a number of areas.

He has appeared at public inquiries, and represented the Ministry of Defence witnesses at Lord Justice Scott's Inquiry into Exports of Defence Equipment to Iraq (1995).

Reported cases: 

• British Waterways Board v Severn Trent Water [2001] 3 WLR 613 (Environmental law)
• Matra v Home Office [1999] 1 WLR 1646 (Public Procurement / EC Law)
• Eves v Hambros Bank (Jersey) Ltd. [1996] 1 WLR 251  (natural justice)
• R v Radio Authority [1995] 1 WLR 334 (judicial review - broadcasting)
• R v Inland Revenue ex p. Matrix Securities [1994] 1 WLR 334 (judicial review - tax)
• R v Advertising Standards Authority, ex p. Vernons [1992] 1 WLR 1289 (Judicial review – Interim relief – Injunction)
• R v IRC ex p. Camacq [1990] 1 AER 173 (judicial review - sovereign immunity)
• R v IRC ex p. M.F.K. [1990] 1 WLR 1545 (judicial review - tax)
• R v Secretary for Transport, ex p. Pegasus [1988] 1 WLR 990 (judicial review - Chicago Convention)

Public Inquiries:

• Inquiry into Exports of Defence Equipment to Iraq (Sir Richard Scott) (1993-1995)
• Government Inquiry (Turks & Caicos Islands) (1986)
• Tribunal of Inquiry into the Crown Agents (1978 - 1980)

In the field of sports law he has advised and acted both for players and sports organisations, including Rugby Unions, Grand Prix teams, the International Tennis Federation, the British Athletics Federation and the Football League. He has appeared before a variety of sporting tribunals including the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the FIA and many national disciplinary bodies. He now acts mainly as an arbitrator in sports disputes.

He was chairman of the disciplinary panel appointed by UK Athletics in the case of Dwain Chambers in February 2004, and in the case of Christine Ohuruogu in September 2006. He has acted as chairman of tribunals appointed by the International Tennis Federation. He is Vice-President of the National Anti-Doping Panel.

He is a co-author of "The Regulation of Drug Use in Sport" in "Sport: Law and Practice" (Butterworths - 2008). He appeared in the BBC Radio 4 series "Unreliable Evidence" speaking on sports law. He was a member of the Ethics Advisory Group established as part of the London 2012 bid. He is Chairman of the Sports Broadcast Monitoring Committee established by CCPR to monitor compliance with the code relating to broadcasting rights granted by the major sports. He is a member of the Anti-Doping Review established by the British Olympic Association in preparation for the Olympic Games 2012.

Reported Cases: 

• Modahl v British Athletic Federation [2001] 1 WLR 1192 (sports law)
• Wilander v Tobin [1997] 2 Lloyds 293 (Sports Law / anti-doping)

Charles  leads the mediation group at Blackstone Chambers.  He has been a keen exponent of mediation for many years, having been a registered and accredited mediator with CEDR since 1999.  He brings to this field his knowledge of the commercial and financial markets and has acted as a mediator in a number of major financial services and banking disputes. He has also mediated in shareholder claims, professional negligence, employment and sports cases to reflect other areas of interest in his professional portfolio. He has acted as an early neutral evaluator appointed by the Commercial Court.

Before he took silk, Charles was on the Attorney General’s A panel and acted for a number of government departments. This experience was useful in giving him an in depth knowledge of the working of Government agencies and his career as in silk has also included him advising and acting in a number of successful mediations of claims by and against Government departments. 

Charles ran a highly successful mediation workshop at the Blackstone Chambers Sports Law Conference in November 2008.

Other Professional Activities

Member: COMBAR, ALBA, Bar European Group

2002   Speaker at the City Debate 2002 on the future of financial regulation

1998   Observer for the Bar Human Rights Committee at the trial of Anwar Ibrahim in Malaysia

1992-1995   Committee member - London Common Law and Commercial Bar Association

1991   Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators