Derrick Wyatt, KC
Biography
Derrick Wyatt, KC, has been a Fellow of St. Edmund Hall since 1978, received the title of Professor in 1996, and retired in 2009.
His teaching included EU law, constitutional law, administrative law, and public international law. He was Visiting Professor of Law at Oxford 2009 - 2014, teaching the law of the EU’s internal market.
He has published numerous articles and contributions to books, served on editorial committees and boards and he co-authored Wyatt and Dashwood's European Union Law, in its various editions, the latest being its 6th edition (Hart Publishing 2011). He was until recently a member of the International Academic Council of the Fide Fundación. Fide is the leading legal-economic think-tank in Spain, committed to involving civil society in the discussion of major legal-economic-scientific developments; it is independent and non-partisan.
He practised (Queen's Counsel 1993) from Brick Court Chambers until 2018, specialising in litigation before the European Court of Justice and the EU General Court in Luxembourg, and in giving legal advice to businesses and governments. His practice involved aspects of EU law, public international law, and constitutional law. He appeared in numerous cases before the European Courts in Luxembourg and represented and/or advised businesses in the UK, Ireland, the USA and Germany, and the Governments of the UK, Northern Ireland, and Cyprus. Cases involved the EU internal market, environmental issues and climate change, and international sanctions against the regimes in Iran and Syria.
Since the Brexit referendum, he has briefed the media, lawyers and financial service providers on Brexit and negotiations between the UK and the EU. He has appeared before UK Parliamentary Committees giving evidence on Brexit related issues, including the consequences of a "no-deal", and parliamentary scrutiny of the negotiation of trade agreements.
His blogs on law and policy issues have been published by think-tanks Policy Exchange, UK in a Changing Europe, and Fide Fundación, as well as by the London School of Economics (LSE blogs), and the news and media platform Brussels Signal. Blogs have covered issues of judicial reform, the role of judges and their right to speak out to justify their lawmaking role, Climate Change issues, Scottish independence, whether the UK should rejoin the EU, or seek a "Norway" solution, the development of the recently launched European Political Community, and issues for European defence arising out of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
He publishes Derrick Wyatt's Law and Politics Blog on derrickwyatt.substack.com. It contains original blogs along with re-posts of blogs already published by think-tanks or the LSE. There is also a twitter account with the handle @BlogWyatt.
Recent blogs: for the LSE’s European Politics and Policy Blog – The UK has been given an opportunity to help shape the future of the European Political Community – it should take it ; for the LSE's British Politics and Policy Blog - Public support is on the rise but the road to re-joining the EU would not be smooth, and Should the UK politicise the selection of its judges?; for think-tank UK in a Changing Europe – Should the UK join a more federal Europe or be its ally and trading partner? , Should the EU enlarge even if it threatens its common values? and The Sunak Government should back the EU and offer closer political links; for Spanish think-tank Fide Fundación What a Trump Presidency could mean for the EU and NATO. Recent blogs exclusive to Derrick Wyatt's Law and Politics Blog include Should Keir Starmer change his mind and back the UK joining the EU single market? and It is time to pilot a safe and lawful route for asylum seekers between Calais and the UK.
Most recent blogs are How Rishi Sunak could reboot the European Political Community without offending Eurosceptic Tories (the LSE), Why Zelensky's "true friend" Boris Johnson is backing Trump and Putin could invade the Baltics (Brussels Signal), and Derrick Wyatt talks to Radio Free Europe about Ukraine, Putin's goals, and defending Europe without the US (Fide Foundation).