Expert resume of Christopher Vadja KC

King's Counsel, Member of Monckton Chambers, London; Professor of Law at the College of Europe in Bruges, a Visiting professor at King's College, London, and at Luxembourg University; Former Judge at the Court of Justice of the European Union ("CJEU").

Christopher Vajda was the UK judge at the CJEU from 2012 to 2020. During that time he was party to judgments in areas such as competition and state aid, data protection and privacy, energy, environment, finance, private and public international law, public procurement, sanctions, tax, trade and investment protection agreements, and transport.

Prior to his appointment as a judge Christopher Vajda had a wide-ranging practice at the English Bar. He acted for both public and private bodies, such as the UK Government, Government Departments, the Bank of England, the BBC and various sectorial regulators as well as for companies in fields such as energy, finance, IT, telecommunications and transport. He appeared frequently before the CJEU, and the UK Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal as well as in arbitrations. He chaired an arbitration in the Middle East involving a telecommunications dispute. He was also a part-time judge in England.

In 2020 he was appointed by the President of the CJEU to chair a Conciliation Commission to resolve a dispute within an EU Institution. In 2022 he was appointed by the EU as a member of its panel of persons suitable for appointment as Chairpersons for Arbitrations to which the EU is a party. In 2023 he was appointed to the Panel of Recognised Market Experts in Finance (PRIME). He sits as an ICC arbitrator as well an arbitrator under the auspices of other institutions. He also acts an expert witness. He has given in evidence in proceedings in many jurisdictions including France, Greece, Sweden, and in ICSID cases.

He has written and spoken extensively, particularly in the area of competition, state aid and investment protection treaties. He is fluent in French (the working language of the CJEU) and speaks German.

He is a graduate of Cambridge University and obtained a Licence spéciale en droit européen from  Institut d'études européennes in Brussels.