COMBAR Constitution

The Constitution was last updated in July 2025. Please click here to download a copy.

Young Barristers’ Committees’ International Grant Programme 

The scheme is open for applications.  Details may be found at the International professional and legal development grant programme (barcouncil.org.uk) page.

If you have any questions please email ybc@barcouncil.org.uk

Combar supports the Bar Council’s Young Barristers’ Committees’ International Grant Programme. This is a programme that supports junior barristers (of 7 years’ practice or less), who are in employed or self-employed practice, to participate in international events or conferences of their choice by providing them with financial support. Candidates can make only one application for the grant each year.

IMPORTANT: Combar Application Criteria

Applicants must have been a Combar member for at least 18 months before they can apply for the grant.  This includes pupillage to allow those in their first year of membership, post pupillage, to apply. Successful applicants are asked to write a report about the international event for which they received funding and to attend at least one university law fair on behalf of Combar later in the year.

Although in principle the Bar Council may be prepared to make International Grants available for conferences taking place in the UK (as its Guidance says), Combar’s approach to the exercise of its discretion whether to make a contribution towards an International Grant is that we will not normally do so where the conference is due to take place in a location that does not involve any long distance travel or an overnight stay. Generally, successful applicants will receive grants from Combar of no more than £850.

Please click here to visit the Bar Council website for further details.

Examples of previous reports by previous beneficiaries of the grant can be made available on request to the Combar Administrator (admin@combar.com).

North America

COMBAR North American and Offshore Meeting – 27-29 May 2026  – Registration in open.

We are delighted to announce that registration is now open for the 2026 North American and Offshore Meeting.  Please register here.

Rome is wonderful in May. The weather is warm, but not too hot, the light is golden, and city life spills out onto the streets late into the evenings.

This conference is the highlight of COMBAR’s year, bringing together commercial barristers of all seniorities with our guest Judges, top North American and offshore lawyers and legal leaders from Rome.

This year we will be joined by Lord Leggatt of the UK Supreme Court and Mr Justice Henshaw, Judge in Charge of the Commercial Court in London as our UK judicial guests of honour.

The conference will be based at The Westin Excelsior a historic grand five-star hotel near the Villa Borghese Gardens, a short walk from some of Rome’s finest historical attractions and restaurants.

The conference will be packed with sessions on recent commercial topics, debates, Q&As, interactive talks and lots of networking time and fun.  The programme will include an exclusive evening reception on the rooftop terrace of the Hassler Hotel (recently featured on the BBC) overlooking the Spanish Steps and the skyline of Rome.  After an optional afternoon tour of the impressive Supreme Court of Cassation and reception with Italian Justices, we conclude with a gala dinner in the spectacular 16^th century  Chiostro del Bramante Rome, surrounded by modern art and with live music. The conference is designed for partners and families to join us for evening events and enjoy a special day out exploring the delights of Rome.

Junior COMBAR members are particularly encouraged to join us with significantly reduced conference attendance fees and a private breakfast organised between the Judge in Charge of the Commercial Court and junior barrister attendees. Juniors under 7 year’s Call can also apply to the Young Barristers’ Committees’ International Grant Programme which supports attendance by paying up to two thirds of your costs, including travel.

Hotel bookings using the group rate are fully refundable until 26 April 2026.

30 January 26  – Update – The hotel have informed us that the reservation link is no longer open for any new bookings and that members should contact the Reservations Office directly at 00070.eventsales@westin.com to get the best available rate.  We are working with the hotel to see if we can offer any other further options.

Room Booking Details

The hotel has asked us to draw guests’ attention to the right-hand side of the booking page which includes step by step instructions on how to book the room, which dates to select, the cancellation policy, and other important details.

Staying longer?

If you wish to book your stay outside of the core conference dates, the hotel has agreed to apply the group rate, where availability allows.  Please note that you will need to book the core dates through the link before contacting the hotel to book your extended dates:  Once you receive the email confirmation, you can send your request to: 00070.eventsales@westin.com  Please don’t try to select dates that are wider than the core period, this will indicate non-availability. However, if the system does allow you to book dates at the higher rate, please highlight this to the email above and copy in admin@combar.com

Room rates and taxes

Please note the room rates will have the 10% VAT and the room tax applied to the booking total. For example, a €530 Grandluxe room will have €53 VAT added and tourist tax per person of €10 euro.  This makes a Grandluxe room for one person €593 inc taxes.

• Deluxe Single: €390 / Double: €420 + 10% VAT
• Grandluxe Single: €530 / Double: €560 + 10% VAT
• Third bed: + €110 + 10% VAT

Breakfast included. City tax of €10 per person, per night not included. 3rd bed Euro 110 + 10% VAT

Room Cancellation Policy

• From 27 April to 12 May 2026: 50% penalty
• From 13 May to 20 May 2026: 80% penalty
• From 21 May to arrival day (27 May 2026): 100% penalty

Registration

Registration is now open please register here.   The link will allow you to book your place at the conference, reserve places for you and your guests at the receptions and the dinner and to volunteer to be a panel speaker.  Please note that the conference is open to COMBAR Members only unless by specific invitation. If you have any further questions, please email Nic on admin@combar.com.

North American and Offshore Meeting Montréal, Canada 28-30 May 2025

The successful meeting was held in Montréal, Canada 28-30 May 2025.  The venue for the Conference was  the Ritz Carlton.   Mr Justice Henshaw, the Judge in Charge of the Commercial Court, kindly attended the Conference as the UK Judicial Guest of Honour.  Canadian Supreme Court Judge, the Honourable Suzanne Côté was in attendance as the Canadian judicial guest of honour at the concluding gala dinner.

The Conference opened with a welcome reception in the Oval Room and Terrace at the Ritz Carlton.  A drinks reception was held at le9e, a recently restored 1930’s Art Deco gem located on the ninth floor of Montreal’s Eaton Centre. The meeting culminated with a gala dinner which was held in the spectacular  St James Theatre.

North American Meeting 2024 Stockholm, Sweden

The successful meeting was held in Stockholm from the 29th May – 31st May.  We were fortunate to be joined by both The Lady Chief Justice, Baroness Sue Carr, DBE, PC, and The Hon. Mr Justice Foxton, the Judge in Charge of the Commercial Court, as our Judicial Guests.

The meeting was primarily held at the Hotel At Six,  and at the nearby Nordic Light Hotel.  The conference consisted of sessions addressing contemporary issues for commercial litigators including Law and Technology, Issues in Cross-Border Litigation, and Perspectives in Advocacy at both first instance and appellate level. A breakfast for Juniors was kindly hosted by our Judicial Guests.

The Thursday evening cocktail reception was held in the spectacular Vasa Museum and included a tour of the 17^th century Swedish warship.  The events culminated with a gala dinner held in the Golden Hall of Stockholm City Hall, (Golden Hall  – Wikipedia), a beautiful historic venue. Swedish Supreme Court Judge Eric M Runesson gave a short welcome speech at the drinks reception immediately before the gala dinner

Combined North American and Offshore Meeting 2023, Boston, USA

The successful meeting took place in Boston from the 31st May to the 2nd June.  It is hoped that the presentations will be distributed to the participants in due course. The registration link is now closed.

Combar International

With the UK widely recognized as the leading international centre for legal services and the majority of Combar’s membership regularly undertaking international work, a key part of Combar’s role is to foster relationships with the international legal community. Combar’s strategy is spearheaded by an International Committee and implemented by sub-committees for North America, India, Africa and Offshore. The development of international links offers Combar members the opportunity to build new relationships and deepen existing ones, while providing a multi-jurisdictional forum for the exchange of ideas, developments in the law and regional market insight.

Central to this is our Honorary Overseas Members (HOMs) programme, whereby leading commercial law practitioners in overseas jurisdictions are invited to join Combar. Our much valued HOMs are involved in planning and implementing activity in each region, working with Combar’s committees to create an effective and influential international network. Criteria for becoming an HOM can be found here. Regional activities include:

• Promoting closer ties, cooperation and information exchange between commercial practitioners in different jurisdictions.
• Regional events to further develop relationships, in particular through the long-established annual North America Meeting (which alternates between North America and Europe) and the Combar India Roundtable Conference, which has taken place annually for the past 3 years.
• Funding scholarship and exchange programmes for foreign lawyers.
• Provision of financial support to legal organisations in the developing world.

International Committee

• Jeremy Richmond KC, Chair, International Committee
• Jamie Goldsmith KC, Jamsheed Peeroo, joint Chairs, Africa Committee
• Sapna Jhangiani KC, Chair and Chintan Chandrachud, Vice Chair, India & Asia Committee
• Tom Mountford Chair, Andrew Burns KC, Vice Chair, North America Committee
• Saima Hanif KC, Chair, Gulf Committee
• George Spalton KC, Quentin Cregan; Hannah Tildesley; Andrew Willins KC, Co-Chairs Offshore Committee

COMBAR’s International Work

Combar barristers are active in courts and arbitration centres across the globe. More than a quarter of the world’s 320 jurisdictions use English Common Law, and several Combar member sets have a permanent presence in international jurisdictions.

Combar barristers also undertake a huge range and quantity of international work from London, both litigation and London-based arbitration. More arbitrations take place in London than in any other city in the world. Over 40,000 commercial and civil disputes were resolved in the UK through arbitration, mediation and adjudication in 2018. In more than half the 800 cases going through the Rolls Building each year, all parties are from outside the UK; more than 200 foreign law firms from around 40 jurisdictions operate in London. With these numbers in mind it is no surprise that international exports generated by barristers contributed an impressive £327 million to the UK economy in 2018, with almost 2,000 barristers working on international cases, an increase of 90% over a decade. Combar’s role is to ensure that the English and Welsh Commercial Bar continues to flourish both through undertaking international work in the UK and across the globe.

(All stats from UK Legal Services 2019, TheCityUK, December 2019).

Sub Committees:

125th anniversary of the founding of the Commercial Court

2020 marks the 125th anniversary of the founding of the Commercial Court in London and also the 50th anniversary of the formal creation of the Commercial and Admiralty Court.

Since 1 March is the anniversary of the first day on which the Commercial Court sat, the Court launched its anniversary celebrations at the start of March 2020.

The Commercial Court 125th anniversary celebrations will be running throughout the year, with a series of events held in conjunction with practitioners in and users of the Court.

A number of events are planned to mark the anniversary, details of which may be found at this link (although please note that the events may be subject to change in the light of COVID-19).