Charles Banner KC

Charles Banner KC was called to the Bar of England & Wales in 2004 and to the Bar of Northern Ireland in 2010. He was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 2019 (at the age of 38, the youngest of the 2019 silks). He practices across both jurisdictions as well as internationally. He has rights of audience in the Dubai International Finance Centre Court (Part II Registered since 2015). He sits judicially on a part-time basis as a Justice of the Astana International Finance Centre Court in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan.

He has a heavyweight domestic and international practice, principally focused on (i) planning & environmental regulation, (ii) public procurement, competition & state aid and (iii) commercial dispute resolution in the context of development, infrastructure and construction (particularly in the energy, transport, residential and tourism sectors). He also has considerable experience of public law, EU law and commercial dispute resolution more generally.

He also acts as a dispute resolver. He sits judicially on a part-time basis as a Justice of the Astana International Finance Centre Court. He also accepts appointments as an Arbitrator (FCIArb & FHKIArb), Mediator (ADR Group Accredited) and Expert.

He is the creator and co-presenter of the high profile cross-chambers planning themed weekly discussion show, ‘Have We Got Planning News For You’.

His advocacy experience includes over 150 reported cases, including 18 appeals in the UK Supreme Court (making him one of the top 10 currently practising barristers by number of appearances in the Supreme Court since its opening in 2009). He has appeared in 13 cases before the EU Courts (Court of Justice and General Court), 9 cases before the UNECE Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee, 4 cases before the European Court of Human Rights as well as UK Parliamentary Select Committee hearings. He has also appeared in well over 100 planning and environmental inquiries/examinations.

He is currently Deputy Chair of the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (the statutory UK nature conservation advisory body) and an independent non-executive member of RICS’ Global Standards and Regulation Board. From 2017 to 2020 he was the UK Member of the EU Fundamental Rights Agency’s Management Board.

He is an elected Committee Member of the Planning and Environment Bar Association (since 2020), having previously been a Council Member and Trustee of the UK Environmental Law Association (2016-2020).

Work so far in 2022 includes: appearing in the Supreme Court in Hillside Parks (one of the most important planning cases in several years, concerning the relationship between successive planning permissions for development on the same site); litigation in Northern Ireland concerning the Casement Park stadium redevelopment, the Arc21 Energy From Waste project and the North-South Interconnector (all of which raise significant constitutional issues concerning the Belfast Agreement and the Northern Ireland Act 1998); promoting a 2800-dwelling tall buildings urban regeneration scheme in Basildon at inquiry; 7 planning inquiries concerning major residential proposals and 5 year housing land supply issues; high profile work with the Home Builders’ Federation concerning nutrient neutrality; plans for a new Center Parcs holiday village; advising on procurement issues relating to Northern Ireland’s most significant waste disposal contract; advising on constitutional issues in Trinidad and Tobago; a high value arbitration in the Bahamas; two judgments as Justice of the Astana IFC Court in Kazakhstan; and acting as arbitrator in relation to a dispute in Dubai.