Matthew Radley (1991)

Matthew Radley was the only child of Dr Peter Radley (1962) and his wife Margaret. He was educated at Bishop Stortford College and gained a place to read Modern and Medieval Languages at Queens’. He opted to study French and Russian, but, because he was doing Russian from scratch, he spent the summer before matriculation living with a family in Moscow immersing himself in the language. When he arrived at College in 1991 (in the footsteps of his father, his uncle Dr Donald Radley (1952) and his cousin Dr Stephen Radley (1981)), it was immediately apparent that his Russian language skills were already such that he could attempt Part I of the Tripos in both French and Russian at the end of his first year and he duly obtained the top first in the University in both. He then decided to change to the Law Tripos, including a year studying European Law at the University of Poitiers, again obtaining very high first class marks. He was born with a congenital heart condition, missing one of his coronary arteries. Nevertheless, he played 1^st XI hockey for Queens’, was an active member of the Christian Union and the Chapel, and supported MagSoc and Queens’ Bench. He was married in Queens’ Chapel to Yelena Berlin, the daughter of the family he had stayed with in Moscow, whilst still an undergraduate, and the couple lived in a married flat above the boathouse.

Matthew’s twins, Emilia and Mark, were born in August 1996 when Matthew was just 24 years of age. Following graduation, Matthew was articled at Linklaters and qualified as a solicitor.

He moved with his family to Luxembourg in January 1999 to work for the Court of Justice of the European Union (or the ‘ECJ’, as it is perhaps better known). His qualities as an excellent lawyer and gifted linguist meant that he integrated rapidly and very successfully into the multinational, multilingual environment of the Court. He started his career as a référendaire (variously translated as ‘judicial assistant’ or ‘legal secretary’) in the cabinet of the British Judge at the General Court (then the Court of First Instance of the European Communities), Sir Christopher (now Lord) Bellamy KC, analysing case files and preparing first drafts of judgements.

When Sir Christopher returned to the UK in December of that same year, his successor Judge (now Sir) Nicholas Forwood did not hesitate in keeping Matthew on in his cabinet. Good référendaires are worth their weight in gold to a busy judge, and Matthew rapidly proved his worth, working closely with his judge on many of the leading cases decided by that Court in the following decade.  A fellow judge once told Judge Forwood that he had the ‘Rolls Royce of cabinets’; in response he observed that, if so, Matthew was a vital part of the engine. Matthew’s legal skills, enthusiasm and linguistic mastery were also much in evidence when the Court enlarged in 2004 with the addition of judges from ten new Member States.  He always made himself available to help these new arrivals and to explain some of the intricacies of the Court’s judicial workings, or to discuss some knotty legal problem. 

On 1 January 2010 Matthew moved across to work instead as a référendaire for the Belgian judge at the Court of Justice, Koen Lenaerts. As Judge Lenaerts rose in power and influence, becoming first a president of a chamber of five judges, then Vice-President, and finally President of the Court (since 8 October 2015), Matthew remained a core member of ‘cabinet Lenaerts’. By now vastly experienced, he was entrusted with the vital liaison work with the Court’s Registry (essentially, everything procedural that ensures smooth and efficient case-handling as cases pass through the system), as well as continuing to contribute to the blockbuster cases and helping President Lenaerts with the extensive English-language output of speeches and articles that happens in parallel with presiding over judicial work.

Matthew remained throughout the same genuine, unassuming person that he had always been. He played non-competitive squash with partners including the new British Advocate General, Eleanor Sharpston, who was delighted to be counted as a friend. He gave generously and unstintingly of his time to help newer colleagues find their feet. Although his work involved much responsibility and corresponding stress, he managed to deal with the constant stream of phone-callers and visitors as though they, and the problems they were bringing him, were the only important calls on his time today. The Registry’s many administrators with whom he interacted on an almost daily basis and fellow référendaires were devastated to come in to work on a Monday morning to find that Matthew had died over the weekend. His many friends inside and outside the Court were shellshocked – ‘this can’t have happened: X saw him at the cinema on Saturday evening!’ ‘I was texting him on Sunday morning!’

The last word should go to the President of the Court. In the communication that he put out on Monday 7 September 2026 to break the news to the many Court staff directly affected, President Lenaerts expressed his deep sorrow, and continued, ‘Nous avons perdu un collègue non seulement brilliant et consciencieux, fin connaisseur du Tribunal ainsi que de la Cour où il a successivement exercé les fonctions de référendaire, mais aussi connu de tous pour son intelligence humaine, sa modestie et son amabilité’. A non-literal translation might read: ‘We have not just lost a brilliant and conscientious colleague, a real connoisseur of both the General Court and the Court of Justice, in which he served successively as a référendaire. Everyone also knew Matthew for his human sensitivity, his modesty and his kindness.’

Matthew is survived by his twin children, Emilia Radley (2014) and Mark Radley, and also by his second partner, Magali Rousselot, and their 12 year-old son, Solal Radley.

Written by Eleanor Sharpston, K.C.