HUMAN RIGHTS LAW

The Human Rights Team acts for persons whose human rights are infringed in a wide range of areas of law including actions against the police and public authorities, extradition, international law, inquests, mental health, prisoners’ rights and public and administrative law.

Prison law specialists represent applicants in prison adjudications, challenge the infringement of human rights on behalf of prisoners serving indeterminate sentences and present submissions to the Home Secretary.

Our public and administrative law experts have been involved in significant judicial review and appellate cases and challenges to decisions of a wide range of public authorities, including the police, the Home Office, prisons, the military, the Department of Education and the Mental Health Commission. Team members have represented appellants in the leading control order challenges and a landmark action for damages for the unlawful imposition of a control order.

Human rights challenges in the criminal law sphere include cases relating to fitness to plead provisions, trial procedure, sentencing, enhanced disclosure of criminal records and custody time limits.

We have specific expertise of judicial review of police procedures.

The Human Rights Team advises and conducts cases before the Privy Council, including death-row appeals.

Team members have acted as consultants and represent persons in cases involving the conduct and welfare of military personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan and are currently involved in one of the first actions against the Ministry of Defence for breach of the right to life under Article 2 ECHR.

We regularly advise and act in relation to serious breaches of national security, including terrorism, espionage and extradition proceedings. Chambers was involved in the first case against the USA to protect the rights of detainees at Guantanamo Bay. In the related area of international mutual legal assistance, we advise clients who face action from foreign governments for the freezing or forfeiture of their assets.

International Practice Group

The International Practice Group provides advice, representation and training in international human rights law and transitional justice issues. Members have acted on behalf of individual clients, governmental organisations and major NGO’s in providing international human rights expertise in respect of a wide range of jurisdictions including: Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Russia, Georgia, Macedonia, Serbia, Iraq, Turkey and the USA.

Members have worked with major NGO’s around the world including Amnesty International, The Womens’ Initiative for Gender Justice, No Peace Without Justice, The Kurdish Human Rights Project and Human Rights Watch. We have extensive experience in litigating serious human rights violations before the European Court of Human Rights [ECtHR] but members have also acted in cases before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the United Nations Human Rights Committee. (Members regularly act on behalf of applicants who are the victims of disappearances, extra-judicial killings, torture/ill-treatment, fair trial issues and freedom of expression.) Chambers also has a strong link with the European Human Rights Advocacy Centre [EHRAC] through which members assist lawyers in countries from the Former Soviet Union in litigating before the ECtHR.