Monckton Chambers has announced the death of leading British jurist and barrister Sir Jeremy Lever KCMG KC, who was 93.
David Edwards, a former judge of the Court of Justice of the European Union, described Lever, who died yesterday (25 August), as “the father of competition law in Britain”.
Lever practised at Monckton Chambers for more than 65 years and was recognised for his significant contributions to European and competition law, both as a practitioner and academic. This was acknowledged by the award of a knighthood of the Order of St Michael and St George, typically conferred upon senior diplomats.
His chambers described him as “one of the earliest and most consistent advocates of an economically sound approach to competition law”.
Tenant George Peretz KC said: “Sir Jeremy was an inspiration – for the quality of his mind, his shrewdness as a tactician, his rigour on ethical conduct and his endless kindness as a person.
“I had the immense privilege of working with him on a number of occasions and learnt so much from him. I will miss him greatly.”
His senior clerk, David Hockney, added: “He was a true titan of the EU and competition law Bar.”
Lever’s career in practice was both notable and innovative. Called to the Bar in 1957, he was first a tenant and then head of what is now Monckton Chambers, which he led to becoming a leading set at the London Bar, specialising in EEC and later EU and competition law.
He became an England and Wales silk in 1973 and was appointed a Northern Ireland Queen’s Counsel in 1988. Lever practised alongside leading figures including Lord Bellamy, the former justice minister and European Court judge; Sir Peter Roth, former president of the Competition Appeal Tribunal; and Christopher Vajda KC, former CJEU judge and arbitrator.
His tenure as head of chambers led to the recruitment of many leading practitioners at the set, which is held in high regard by leading US and UK law firms in London.
In the European Courts, he acted in several significant competition law and state aid cases from the 1970s to the 2000s, including IBM, AM&S Europe, Ford, Tiercé Ladbroke, Cimenteries CBR, British Energy and Scott SA.
In England and Wales, his appearances spanned decades: from the Restrictive Practices Court in the 1960s, to ex parte Datafin in the Court of Appeal in 1986, and finally to the House of Lords in 2006 in Crehan v Inntrepreneur Pub Co. In that case, he appeared against Brick Court’s David Vaughan CBE KC, helping to establish landmark principles in contract and EU law.
His career is also notable for his contribution to academia. He established and taught one of the first courses in competition law in the UK at Oxford University, with which he maintained a close association throughout his career.
He studied at University College as an undergraduate and postgraduate, then briefly at Nuffield College before joining All Souls, where he worked until 2017, when he became an honorary fellow.
At All Souls – whose alumni include Lord Pannick KC – he served as a fellow and senior dean for more than 65 years, a record unlikely to be matched by any modern lawyer.
In his honour, the Oxford college flew its flag at half-mast on learning of his passing. For the past 12 years the college has held an annual lecture in his honour in association with Monckton Chambers and the Faculty of Law.
He held several public appointments alongside his work at Oxford and in London, Brussels and Strasbourg, acting as chairman of the appeals panel of the Performing Rights Society from 1997 to 2002, and chairing an Oftel Advisory Body on Fair Trading in Telecommunications from 1996 to 2000.
Lever, in his own words, was interested in “developing and reforming the institutions and operations of the European Union, focusing on issues related to Economic and Monetary Union, their consequences, and the potential long-term effects if the United Kingdom were to leave the European Union”.
To the regret of many at his set, Brexit made this a reality in 2020. It became a recurring theme of the Lever lectures, while the Supreme Court honoured him with its own lecture in 2013.
He authored The Law of Restrictive Practices (1964) and contributed to leading legal texts, including Chitty on Contracts. Throughout his career, he also wrote widely for major academic journals on EU law topics.
Lever is survived by his brother, Timothy.
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