News & Events
News & Events
The Supreme Court of St Helena has handed down judgment in the constitutional case of Buckley v the Attorney General in which Josh Hitchens acted for the Plaintiff. Mr Buckley was a remand prisoner detained in HMP Jamestown, a prison which has been repeatedly condemned as inadequate and unsuitable. At the end of trial, the Defendant conceded that the unsafe conditions within the prison violated the Defendant’s positive obligations under the Plaintiff’s Constitutional right to life. In his judgment, the Chief Justice endorsed that concession, and also found that the conditions in the prison breached Mr Buckley’s constitutional rights to be free from inhuman or degrading treatment, to dignity, and his constitutional rights as a remand prisoner. The judge accepted…
News 11 Oct, 2024
The Legal 500 2025 rankings have just been announced and Outer Temple Chambers is delighted with another year of excellent results including a Tier 1 Pensions ranking We are proud to announce that we have been recognised as a Top Tier Set in Crypto & Blockchain Assets again, as well as achieving a Top Tier Set ranking in Pensions. These Tier 1 rankings mean we are now ranked for excellence in nine practice area rankings with 73 individual members ranked across 27 practice areas. A huge congratulations to all of our barristers and clerks within these teams for another year of excellent results. A particular thank you to all our clients and colleagues for taking the time to provide references.…
News 2 Oct, 2024
In R (Williams) v Secretary of State for Justice [2024] EWHC 2144 (Admin) Alex Line, instructed by the Government Legal Department, successfully represented the Defendant before Hugh Mercer KC (sitting as a Deputy Judge of the High Court), who dismissed the claim. The Claimant is serving an indeterminate prison sentence having been found guilty of serious sexual offences against children. The case concerned a decision of the Parole Board, who recommended that he be released from closed to open prison conditions. The final decision on this issue is reserved to the Secretary of State for Justice, who declined to follow the Parole Board’s recommendation, and determined that Claimant should remain in closed conditions due to risk that he would abscond.…
News 16 Aug, 2024
Education Law Specialist, Alex Line, has recently been involved in an important Upper Tribunal decision concerning families of armed forces personnel who have children with special educational needs. Alex Line recently appeared in the Upper Tribunal in Hampshire County Council v GC & GC [2024] UKUT 128 (AAC), acting for the local authority. This is an important case (described by Upper Tribunal Judge West in his decision as a ‘test case’) concerning a family who moved to Dubai for two years because the father was deployed there as part of his naval service. The local authority ceased to maintain their child’s EHC Plan pursuant to s.45 of the Children and Families Act 2014, on the basis that the family were…
News 5 Jun, 2024
Outer Temple’s Alex Cisneros, has been praised by the Court of Protection for “exemplary professionalism” in “trailblazer” case involving the Public Guardian and 8 litigants in person. The case involved a 96-year-old woman with a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. Her six children and one of their spouses were all parties to the proceedings but were unrepresented. The case involved several applications from the person’s attorney for gratuitous care payments, retrospective approval of gifts and authorisation of future renovation work to the attorney’s property. In concluding the proceedings, the court thanked Alex Cisneros, the sole barrister in this case, for his “exemplary professionalism in what was … well, I’m not aware of any other case involving eight litigants in person” –…
News 17 May, 2024
The case was before the Upper Tier Mental Health Tribunal and concerned the discharge of a restricted patient who had been assessed to lack capacity to make decisions about various matters including his residence and compliance with psychotropic medication regime. Outer Temple’s Alex Cisneros appeared as counsel for the Secretary of State for Justice in this case. The Upper Tier (UTT) was considering an appeal relating to a 63 year old man, ML, who was a restricted patient detained under sections 47 and 49 of the Mental Health Act 1983. His tariff (the criminal aspect of his detention) expired 30 years ago. ML was seeking a conditional discharge from detention. The First Tier Tribunal (FTT) had heard evidence that the patient lacked capacity…
News 28 Nov, 2023
Outer Temple’s John McKendrick KC and Josh Hitchens have been instructed in a judicial review of the Lord Chancellor’s refusal to hold a public inquiry into abuse at Medomsley Detention Centre (“MDC”). A new investigation has been launched into the abuse at Medomsley Detention Centre after thousands of inmates have reported being attacked at the County Durham facility between 1961 and 1987. John McKendrick KC and Josh Hitchens, instructed by David Greenwood of Switalskis solicitors, were instructed in a judicial review of the Lord Chancellor’s refusal to hold a public inquiry into abuse at Medomsley Detention Centre (“MDC”). MDC was a detention centre for young offenders operating between the 1960s and 1980s. It is estimated that nearly 2,000 young people…
News 9 Nov, 2023
The final report of the Brook House Inquiry, in which Paul Livingston was Junior Counsel to the Inquiry, was published yesterday, 19th September 2023. The Inquiry, chaired by Kate Eves, was established to investigate the mistreatment of people detained at Brook House Immigration Removal Centre from April to August 2017, following a BBC Panorama investigation which was broadcast in September 2017, showing covert footage recorded over that period. The Inquiry found 19 incidents in which there was credible evidence of acts or omissions that were capable of amounting to mistreatment contrary to Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, including inappropriate use of force, unnecessary infliction of pain, physical violence, threatening and humiliating comments, and inappropriate segregation. Findings…
External Publications 20 Sep, 2023
The inquest into the tragic death of Archie Battersbee started on Tuesday 7th February 2023, with Carin Hunt representing Barts Health NHS Trust and Mid & South Essex NHS Trust; the Trusts that operate the hospitals where Archie was treated. Archie Battersbee was found unconscious at home on 7 April 2022 by his mother. Following treatment at the scene by paramedics he was conveyed to hospital. Sadly, Archie’s doctors suspected brain stem death and applied to court for a declaration that it would be lawful for them to undertake brain stem testing, as Archie’s parents did not want the testing to take place. A lengthy legal dispute in respect of Archie’s treatment ensued. Pursuant to an order of the court,…
News 9 Feb, 2023
The Women and Equalities Select Committee invited Naomi Cunningham to a formal meeting on the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill and Equality Act Naomi Cunningham appeared last week before the Women and Equalities Select Committee to discuss the interaction between the Equality Act 2010 and the Gender Recognition Act 2004. She appeared before MPs beside Lord Falconer of Thoroton KC, Robin White (Barrister, Old Square Chambers) and Dr Michael Foran (Senior Fellow and Lecturer in Public Law at Glasgow University) to explore the repercussions of the Scottish Government’s Gender Recognition Reform Bill. Cross-party MPs were told that the SNP’s Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill (GRR) will change the legal definition of sex for both men and women, to the extent that…
News 9 Feb, 2023
Outer Temple’s Joshua Hitchens’ book, Forced Marriage Law and Practice, has come Runner-Up for New Author’s prize in the Inner Temple Book Prize 2022. Josh Hitchens, jointly with Niamh Daly of 1GC Chambers, recently published Forced Marriage Law and Practice and we would like to congratulate them both for coming Runner-Up in the New Author category of the Inner Temple Book Prize 2022. The Inner Temple Book Prizes are described as “one of the highest honours that legal authorship can aspire to”. The Prizes are intended to recognise and to encourage the writing of books which make an outstanding contribution to the understanding of law as administered in England and Wales. The long term aim of the Prize is to…
External Publications 5 Jan, 2023
The OAS Administrative Tribunal has handed down judgment in Griner v Secretary General of the OAS, judgment no. 169. Alex Haines and Victoria Brown appeared for the successful Complainant during a three-day hearing at the OAS’s headquarters in Washington DC in April 2022 before all six judges of the Tribunal sitting en banc for the first time. In its historic decision, the Tribunal changed the applicable standard of proof for cases of serious misconduct. The landmark win entirely vindicates Mr Griner, whom the Tribunal ordered be re-instated with back-pay, or be awarded the maximum available under the Tribunal’s Statute; the latter for only the second time in the Tribunal’s history, and for the first time since the 1980s. The Trump…
News 4 Oct, 2022
