Stephen Brittain BL

Stephen Brittain was called to the Bar of Ireland in 2017.

He holds LL.B. and Ph.D. degrees from Trinity College Dublin. From 2013 to 2016, he served as judicial assistant to Mr Justice David Keane of the High Court of Ireland, working largely on chancery and family law cases.

He has been in practice at the Bar of Ireland since 2017, specialising in EU law, public procurement law, commercial law, public law, human rights law, and employment law.

He was formerly a member of the the Editorial Board of the Irish Journal of European Law, a committee member of the Irish Society for European Law, and served as Director of the Irish Centre for European Law from 2018 to 2022.

Advises extensively on public procurement law, commercial law, competition law, public law, human rights law, and employment law. Recent work includes:

Public Procurement Law

• CHC Ireland CAC v Minister for Transport [2023] IEHC 457; [2023] IECA 229; [2023] IECA 333 (for the Minister in public procurement proceedings challenging the award of a contract for the delivery of the State’s coast guard’s search and rescue service with a value of approximately €800 million)
• Dublin City Council v RGRE Devco No. 6 Ltd 2021 779 JR (for the Respondent in a challenge to the award of a contract for the development of the historic Pigeon House power station and hotel on the Poolbeg peninsula)
• O’Malley Ferries (Clare Island) Ltd v Minister for Rural and Community Development 2022/319 MCA (for the applicant in a challenge to the award of a contract for the provision of a passenger ferry service and connecting bus route to Inishturk Island)(settled)
• Glenman Corporation Ltd v Galway City Council [2023] IEHC 336 (for the applicant in an application to extend the time to bring a procurement challenge)

Commercial Law

• Janssen Biotech Inc v Amgen Technology (Ireland) Unlimited Co 2023 1328 P (intellectual property dispute concerning the scope of a supplementary protection certificate on a market with an approximate value of €2.5 billion)(compromised)
• Pola Logistics v GTLK Europe DAC & Ors [2022] IEHC 501 (acting for the applicants in a claim for specific performance of  purchase options over vessels with a value of €350 million where the vessels concerned were affected by EU sanctions against Russia)
• Eircom Ltd v ComReg [2022] IEHC 165 (acting for Eircom in a statutory appeal against broadband prices fixed by ComReg, approximate value €10 million per year)
• Electricity Supply Board & Anor v Richmond Homes Ltd & Anor [2023] IEHC 571 (for ESB in a Norwich Pharmacal application seeking disclosure of the identifies of persons alleged to be involved in bribery and corrupt activity)
• Donegal County Council v McBrearty [2023] IEHC 238 (application for summary judgment in plenary proceedings)

Competition Law

• Case C-333/21 European Super League Company SL v UEFA and FIFA (acting for Ireland in a competition law case against UEFA concerning its response to the establishment of the European Super League);

• acting as external counsel to the Office of the Attorney General in the drafting of the Competition (Amendment) Act 2022 and the Communications Regulation Bill 2022

Public Law

• Case C-479/21 EU:C:2021:929 Saqlain v Governor of Cloverhill Prison and Shahzad v Government of Mountjoy Prison (also Saqlain v Governor of Cloverhill Prison and Shahzad v Government of Mountjoy Prison [2021] IESC 45 (acting for the applicants in a challenge to the legal basis for the surrender provisions of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement and Trade and Cooperation Agreement)
• Case C-439/22 European Commission v Ireland (for the State in infringement proceedings brought with regard to the implementation of the European Electronic Communications Code)
• Case C-172/23 European Commission v Ireland (for the State in infringement proceedings alleging the non-implementation by Ireland of Article 13 of EU Regulation 1143/2014 on the prevention and management of the introduction and spread of invasive and alien species)

• Sheehan v Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal [2022] 1 ILRM 1 (acting for the respondent in this case concerning the scope of a statutory appeal under the Solicitors Act)

Human Rights Law

• Case C-769/22 European Commission v Hungary (for Ireland in infringement proceedings brought by the Commission claiming that Hungary’s anti-LGBTQ laws breach the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights)

Employment Law

• Acting for an executive in a medical devices company in an interlocutory injunction application brought to restrain his dismissal (compromised) (2023)
• Whelan v Minister for Transport [2023] IEHC 586 (for the Minister in judicial review proceedings regarding the reversion of the applicant following an unsuccessful period of probation)
• Power v CJSC Indigo Tadjikistan & Ors (Court of Appeal Record Nos 2023/37 CA, 2022/38 CA, 2023/43 CA, 2023/44 CA) (acting for a former executive of a mobile network company in protected disclosure proceedings)

Articles

• Brittain, S and B Melo Araujo (2022) ‘Safeguard Provisions’ in C McCrudden (ed) The Law and Practice of the Ireland-Northern Ireland Protocol (CUP, 2022) 309
• Brittain, S and Paul Gallagher SC (2020) UCD Working Papers in Law, ‘The Court of Justice – Legal Reasoning and the Rule of Law in the context of Data Protection’ Criminology & Socio-Legal Studies Research Paper No. 8/2020
• Brittain, S, ‘Case Notes’ (2020) 17 Irish Employment Law Journal 16-20
• Brittain, S. ‘Procurement Law in Ireland: Book Review’ (2019) 62 Irish Jurist 168
• Brittain, S, ‘Case Notes’ (2019) 16 Irish Employment Law Journal, 15-19, 53-56, 83-88, 120-126
• Brittain, S, ‘To Ignore or to Exclude? Unlawfully Obtained Evidence from the Jacobites to J.C.’ (2017) 7 King’s Inns Law Review 23
• Brittain, S ‘Justifying the Teleological Methodology of the European Court of Justice: a Rebuttal,’ (2016) 55 Irish Jurist 134
• Brittain, S ‘The Relationship Between the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights: an Originalist Analysis’ (2015) 11 European Constitutional Law Review 482
• Brittain, S ‘The EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and the Member States: an Originalist Analysis’ (2013) 36 Dublin University Law Journal 277

• Brittain, S, (2023), “Update on Automatic Suspensions,” Public Procurement Law Conference, Irish Centre for European Law (ICEL)/McCann Fitzgerald LLP, 19 October 2023
• Brittain, S, (2023) “Dlí Gan Teanga, Dlí Gan Anam: an Bhfuil Feidhm ag Teanga ar Bith i nDlí na hEorpa?” Comhdháil 50 Bliain de Dhlí na hEorpa, Cumann Barra na Gaeilge, 1 June 2023
• Brittain, S, (2022) “European Super League v UEFA agus Cúirt Breithúnais an Aontais Eorpaigh,” Cumann Barra na Gaeilge, 29 November 2022
• Brittain, S, (2022) “The Charter, the Member States, and the Rule of Law,” The Rule of Law in the European Union Conference, ICEL, 11 November 2022
• Brittain, S, (2022) “Enhancing the Role of Stakeholders in the Legislative Drafting Process,” A + L Goodbody Solicitors, 6 September 2022
• Brittain, S, (2022) “Automatic Suspensions – Recent Irish Developments,” Public Procurement Law Online Seminar Series, 20 June 2022
• Brittain, S, (2022) “The Requirements of Article 37 of the Constitution,” Data Protection Online Seminar Series, 23 May 2022
• Brittain, S, (2021) “Safeguard Provisions: an EU Law Perspective,” Brexit Online Seminar Series, Irish Centre for European Law/Queen’s University Belfast, 25 March 2021
• Brittain, S, (2020) “The Role of the Notice Party in Procurement Proceedings,” Procurement Law Conference, Irish Centre for European Law and Eversheds Sutherland, 8 October 2020
• Brittain, S, (2019) ‘The Scope of Application of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights – “Implementing Union Law” – a Decade of Case Law’ EU Charter of Fundamental Rights 10th Anniversary Conference, Irish Centre for European Law (ICEL), 7 December 2019
• Brittain, S, (2019) ‘The Record Keeping Obligations of Public Authorities,’ Procurement Law Conference, Irish Centre for European Law and Eversheds Sutherland, 20 June 2019
• Brittain, S, (2019), ‘Compensation for Non-Material Damage Under the GDPR,’ Privacy and Data Protection Law Conference, Irish Centre for European Law (ICEL), 25 May 2019
• Brittain, S, and Meehan, G (2019), ‘Enforcing the Decisions of Adjudicators in Construction Disputes: a Practical Guide,’ Construction Law Conference, Construction Bar Association of Ireland (CBAI), 29 March 2019
• Brittain, S, and Oisín Quinn SC (2019) ‘Closing the Gender Pay Gap: the EU Parameters for Taking Positive Action,’ Employment Law Conference, Irish Centre for European Law (ICEL), 28 March 2019
• Brittain, S, (2017) ‘To Ignore or to Exlcude? Unlawfully Obtained Evidence from the Jacobites to JC,’ Irish Association of Law Teachers (IALT) Conference, 24 November 2017
• Brittain, S (2016) ‘Justifying the Teleological Methodology of the European Court of Justice: a Rebuttal,’ International Graduate Legal Research Conference, King’s College London, King’s College London, 4 April 2016

Committee Member, Irish Society for European Law (2015 – 2018)

Editorial Board, Irish Journal for European Law (2016 – 2018)