An ‘excellent set’ with ’good strength in depth’, Monckton Chambers have a strong public law practice, with members integrating expertise in commercial law to lead in a range of judicial reviews and administrative law matters. The ‘obvious choice for the most legally complex matters’, Robert Palmer KC leads for the claimant in R (Aquind Ltd) v Ofgem, a challenge to a decision to refuse to approve an electricity interconnector between Portsmouth and Normandy citing the MoD’s national security objections, and Brendan McGurk KC achieved success on an appeal in R (Humane League) v SSEFRA, in which a campaign group alleged that DEFRA operated in an unlawful policy in allowing the use of rapidly-growing chicken breeds for food production. ’A very effective advocate’, Eric Metcalfe is a prominent junior in the set with recent work including acting alone in Moss vs The Upper Tribunal, a case concerning access by non-parties to court documents in that forum. Azeem Suterwalla KC took silk in 2025.
Legal 500 Editorial commentary
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Profile
Position
Eric is a specialist in human rights, information law, public law and EU law.
He is direct access qualified.
He has advised and acted for a wide range of human rights organisations including the ACLU, the AIRE Centre, ARTICLE 19, the Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Human Rights Watch, the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union, Index on Censorship, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, JUSTICE (the UK section of the International Commission of Jurists), the Kurdish Human Rights Project, the Legal Resources Centre, Liberty, the Media Legal Defence Initiative, and Privacy International. He has carried out human rights work in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belarus, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, Russia, Rwanda, Taiwan and Turkey.
Career
Called 1999.
Memberships
He is a member of the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s A Panel and the general editor of Sweet & Maxwell’s Human Rights Law Reports. He was previously a member of the Attorney General’s B and C panels, an external fellow of the Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law and the director of human rights policy at JUSTICE, the UK section of the International Commission of Jurists. He is direct access qualified.
Education
BA, LLB (University of Canterbury, NZ), LL.M. (Queen’s University, Canada), D Phil (Oxon).
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Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- 'Gemma Goodwin is particularly helpful.'
- 'Monckton Chambers provide an efficient service. The clerks take time to find the right counsel for the right case.'
- 'Clerks are excellent, they respond quickly to queries and are always keen to help.'
- 'The clerks are efficient and approachable.'
- 'Excellent set. Good strength in depth and no issues with clerks.'
- 'Monckton have always provided excellent counsel. Their strength in depth is notable, with members able to pick up and run with matters even at short notice.'
- 'If you don't use them in this sector, then you are missing a trick.'
- 'Incredible depth of talent.'