Sean Aughey

With ‘terrific capability and expertise at all years of call’, Essex Court Chambers continues to lead in public international law, with members appearing in high-profile cases before the ICJ, ITLOS and a range of domestic courts. The ’unfailingly polite, respectful and cogent’ Sam Wordsworth KC recently defended the Government of Azerbaijan in ICJ cases against Armenia, in which both states accuse each other of violating the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. At the junior level the set includes the ‘phenomenally clever’ Sean Aughey who has acted on behalf of Iran concerning the legality of US sanctions under international law. ’Precise and compelling’, Tariq Baloch KC joined the Chambers in 2024 and is highly prominent in international treaty arbitration cases, with recent success representing Spain in the Court of Appeal concerning the registration of a €120m ICSID award against it. Hugh Mercer KC is now the British judge on the European Court of Human Rights.