About Ian
Personal
Born Glasgow, Scotland, 1945. UK citizen.
Professional
Judge, General Court of the European Union, 2015-2020; member of the Third Chamber; Faculty of Advocates (the Scottish Bar), 1972; New York Bar, 1977 (admitted after examination, under special order of the New York Court of Appeals following challenge to the constitutional propriety of excluding non-resident aliens from bar membership); appointed Queen’s Counsel, 1988; 2 Hare Court, latterly Blackstone Chambers; English Bar, 1996; Brussels Bar 1998.
Co-founder of Forrester & Norall, 1981; enlarged to Forrester Norall & Sutton, 1989; merged with White & Case, 1998.
Co-founder, European Trade Law Association.
Trustee, European Union Baroque Orchestra (2004); Member, Dean’s Advisory Board, Tulane University Law School (2006); Honorary Professor, University of Glasgow (2010); Member, Glasgow University School of Law Advisory Committee (2010); Master of the Bench, Middle Temple (2012); Member of the Board of Trustees 2012-2015, Academy of European Law.
Legal Practice
1968-1972, experience in Scotland (with Messrs. Maclay Murray & Spens) and New York (Messrs. Davis Polk & Wardwell) on a variety of topics, ranging from the insurance aspects of the hijacking of aircraft by Palestinian guerrillas to commercial disputes and personal litigation. Devil of David Edward, then a junior advocate, 1972.
Since 1972, EEC/EU practice in Brussels:
Competition: patent licences, distribution, joint ventures, trade association activities, abuse of dominant position, discriminatory pricing, representing defendant and complainant parties before the European Commission, the House of Lords, the Court of Session, the High Court, the Court of Justice and the Court of First Instance of the EC, arbitral tribunals. Trade, customs and dumping: advice on valuation, classification, origin, duty suspensions, quotas, EFTA, GATT, CCC, Lomé Convention, GSP, free movement of goods, Articles 30 and 36 of the EEC Treaty. Dumping: acting for European industry, American exporters, Japanese exporters, before the Commission and the Court. Advising on EEC measures on fisheries, steel, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, automotive parts, professional persons, lawyers, agriculture, sugar, dangerous substances, glass containers, professional sport, broadcasting, football and other topics. Urging the Commission to take measures against a Member State, contesting national measures in violation of the EEC Treaty; constitutional conflicts between national and Community rules. Clients have included Belgian, Canadian, Chinese, English, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Scottish, Spanish, US companies, as well as the European Commission, trade associations, governments and private individuals. Participation in following cases (either direct actions or referrals from national courts): (1) before the European Court of Justice: DCL v. Commission and Bulloch, Bethell v. Commission, Control Data v. Commission [I and II], Du Pont v. Customs & Excise, Government of Gibraltar v. Council, Gibraltar Development Corporation v. Council, Government of Gibraltar and Gibraltar Development Corporation v. Council, Canon v. Council, Matsushita et al. v. Council, NMB et al. v. Council, Liberal Democrats v. European Parliament, Bosman v. UEFA, GSK Services v Commission, ; (2) before the Court of First Instance of the European Communities, BBC et al. v. Commission (the Magill/Radio Times case, upheld on appeal to the European Court of Justice), NMB v. Commission, Titan Cement v. Commission, Pfizer v. Council, Les Laboratoires Servier v. Commission, Du Pont Teijin Films Luxembourg et al. v. Commission, Glaxo Wellcome v. Commission, Commission and NDC v. IMS, Nintendo v Commission, Microsoft v. Commission, Hans Martin Tillack v. Commission, Chalkor v. Commission; several cases on behalf of private citizens against the European Commission and the European Parliament; (3) appearances before national competition authorities (UK, Greece, Kosovo), and courts in Serbia, Belgium, Scotland, England: London Boroughs Transport Committee v. Freight Transport Association Limited and Others (before the House of Lords), HMA v. Orru, High Court of Justiciary (Scotland), General Instrument (UK) Ltd. V. H.M. Customs & Excise (before the UK VAT and Customs Tribunal, then on appeal before the High Court), A and Others v. National Blood Authority and another (before the High Court of Justice, Queen’s Bench Division); (4) before the EFTA Court: Bellona v. EFTA Surveillance Authority; (5) before the European Court of Human Rights: several cases concerning denial of property interests, abuse of prisoners, victims of fraud, and a journalist whose sources were compromised, Tillack v Belgium; (6) Head of White & Case’s Pro Bono Practice, 2012-2015.
Academic
Lectures on EC trade, competition, legal and policy topics to various academic and private bodies in Amsterdam, Brussels, Cannes, Chicago, Edinburgh, Florence, Glasgow, Lausanne, Leyden, London, Madrid, New York, Nice, Osaka (including the Kankeiren), Paris, Salzburg, Santander, Seoul, Seville, Tokyo (including the Keidanren), Vienna, Washington; courses on EC law in Grenoble and Paris (under the auspices of Tulane University); Salzburg (McGeorge University); Edinburgh (Law Society of Scotland, Edinburgh University); Glasgow (University of Glasgow); author or co-author of articles on EC competition and trade topics, and of translations of the German Civil Code, Commercial Code, and Introductory Law.
Education
University of Glasgow (1962-1967) M.A. (History and English Literature) 1965; LL.B. 1967; LLD honoris causa, 2009; Tulane University of Louisiana, New Orleans (1968-1969) M.C.L. 1969.
Miscellaneous
Elder, St. Andrew’s Church of Scotland, Brussels; Chairman 1981-1986, British Conservative Association in Belgium.
Various student offices; member of two-man British Universities debating team, toured Canada (1966); Commonwealth Expedition to India (1967); ocean races; travel.