News & Events
News & Events
Alex Cisneros appeared in a recent reported case before the Court of Protection, in which the Court investigated an unusual situation involving restrictions imposed on a young man at serious risk of offending. The case involved a young man with a history of offending and variable compliance with authorities. There was a risk, given his offending history and drug and alcohol reliance that the court would be forced to place him in a highly restrictive environment. Ultimately, the local authority adopted a multi-disciplinary approach and a solution was found. Alex Cisneros represented the local authority, who the court thanked for its “hard work” to find a safe placement for the protected party that would not be unnecessary restrictive. The case…
News 9 Dec, 2021
Paul Livingston is Junior Counsel to the Brook House public inquiry, set up to investigate mistreatment of individuals detained at Brook House IRC in 2017, as shown on BBC Panorama’s “Under-Cover: Britain’s Immigration Secrets”. Hearings began earlier today with an opening statement from Brian Altman QC, Leading Counsel to the Inquiry.. Chaired by Kate Eves, The Brook House Inquiry is a public inquiry set up to investigate the decisions, actions and circumstances surrounding the mistreatment of individuals who were detained at Brook House Immigration Removal Centre (IRC) shown in the BBC Panorama programme “Under-Cover: Britain’s Immigration Secrets”, aired on 4 September 2017. The Inquiry will consider allegations of mistreatment at Brook House relating to the period from April 2017 to…
News 23 Nov, 2021
John successfully appeared for the respondent before the High Court in AB v XS [2021] EWCOP 57, before Mrs Justice Lieven. The proceedings, in late October, concerned the welfare of an elderly lady, a British and Lebanese citizen, resident in Beirut, Lebanon. The application sought an order for the return of the lady from Beirut to England and Wales. Lieven J agreed with John’s submissions that she was habitually resident in Lebanon and therefore by application of section 63 of the Mental Capacity Act 2005, orders could not be made under the 2005 Act and that the exercise of the Inherent Jurisdiction on the basis of her British citizenship was inappropriate. She also accepted it was in her best interests to…
News 4 Nov, 2021
John McKendrick QC (instructed by John Holmes at Hempsons) acted for the First and Second Interveners in Bell v Tavistock And Portman NHS Foundation Trust [2021] EWCA Civ 1363. On 17 September, the Court of Appeal held that doctors can decide whether children under 16 can give informed consent to puberty blocker use. This judgment reverses the High Court ruling that individuals under 16 normally lacked the capacity to give informed consent to the treatment of puberty blockers, which delays the onset of puberty.The appeal was brought by the Tavistock Trust (supported by John’s clients), which has operated a Gender Identity Development Service for patients up to the age of 18 suffering from gender dysphoria since 1989. The Court of…
News 30 Sep, 2021
Outer Temple Chambers is delighted to welcome Practice Manager Ben Fitzgerald to our health team. We are delighted to welcome Ben Fitzgerald to the Practice Management Team at Outer Temple Chambers. Ben has taken up the position of Practice Manager and will be supporting the Health Department, which includes Clinical Negligence, Personal Injury and Travel, Sports and Public Law practices. Ben will work alongside Mark Gardner and Chris Rowe to ensure the efficient day to day running of the team and support Paul Barton, the Health Team Practice Director. Ben has been clerking since 2008, with experience in multiple practice areas, most recently focusing on personal injury, clinical negligence and international practices. He has also managed employment and professional discipline…
News 18 May, 2021
Tim Nesbitt QC and Alex Cisneros were successful this month in a Court of Appeal case, in which the Court of Appeal gives authoritative guidance on the approach required of Court of Protection under Article 6 of ECHR when considering excluding a party from proceedings. The case was an appeal against orders made by Mr Justice Hayden, the Vice-President of the Court of Protection, to exclude the mother of a highly vulnerable 19-year-old woman (“P”) from proceedings relating to the best interests of P. Allegations of sexual abuse by her partner against P had been made and were being investigated by the police. Tim Nesbitt QC and Alex Cisneros represented the mother, who had been excluded without being given an…
News 20 Apr, 2021
Joshua Hitchens, led by Anand Beharrylal QC, represented the successful appellant in this appeal against the Attorney General of Trinidad and Tobago for wrongful arrest and false imprisonment of a soldier of the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force. The soldier of the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force (‘TTDF’) had been arrested and detained for kidnapping on Christmas Eve before being released without charge late on Boxing Day. The appellant was on duty in TTDF uniform and driving a TTDF vehicle in the company of another soldier when the vehicle was stopped. The appellant was then arrested essentially because he had in his possession $7000 in an envelope and due to a police intelligence report that TTDF soldiers were involved in…
News 8 Apr, 2021
In this case note, Sarah Crowther QC, Dan Clarke and Joshua Cainer consider the recent appeal in Covea Insurance Plc v Greenaway and Rocks [2021] 3 WLUK 379. This was an appeal from a case management decision in which a motor insurer sought permission to obtain factual expert evidence as to the meaning of the word ‘stolen’ in other language versions of the Sixth Motor Insurance Directive (Directive 2009/103/EC). They consider that the Court was wrong, as a matter of legal principle, to entertain the introduction to the proceedings of factual evidence as to the interpretation of EU law in other Member States (four experts on each side). Such an approach was not justified under EU law interpretative principles even…
Legal Blogs 26 Mar, 2021
Outer Temple Chambers is delighted to welcome Joshua Hitchens to our public law team. Joshua qualified in 2018 and practises in all of Chambers’ specialisms. He is a member of the Equality and Human Rights Commission Panel of Counsel and has acted in a number of high-profile public law matters. Most recently, he acted for the Claimant in the landmark case of R(Ncube) v Brighton and Hove City Council, Shelter Intervening [2021] EWHC 578 (Admin) in which it was established that Covid-19 is an emergency for the purposes of the Local Government Act 1972 and that local authorities have statutory powers to accommodate those with no recourse to public funds during the pandemic. He is also currently instructed in a…
News 15 Mar, 2021
John McKendrick QC, Justina Stewart and Chloë Bell write in the latest edition of the Journal of International Banking & Financial Law on potential public law implications of the UK Government’s plans for synthetic LIBOR to address tough legacy contracts. Plans announced in June 2020 to give the FCA enhanced powers to tackle “tough legacy” LIBOR contracts using “synthetic LIBOR” are intended to apply to a “narrow pool” of contracts. It is still unclear how such contracts will be defined, whether the pool will in fact be narrow and how precisely the legislation and enhanced FCA powers will operate in relation to such contracts. The reality, however, appears to be the imposition of synthetic LIBOR on parties to “tough legacy”…
News 1 Sep, 2020
The Caribbean Development Bank (“CDB”) has appointed John McKendrick QC to the role of Sanctions Appeals Officer and Alex Haines to the role of Sanctions Officer. The Caribbean Development Bank The CDB is a regional financial institution, established by an Agreement signed on 18th October 1969, in Kingston, Jamaica. The CDB came into existence for the purpose of contributing to the harmonious economic growth and development of member countries in the Caribbean, and promoting economic cooperation and integration among them. It is headquartered in Barbados. It has 19 borrowing members countries and is supported by 9 non-borrowing member countries, including the United Kingdom. The CDB’s Office of Integrity of Integrity, Compliance and Accountability (“ICA”) supports and reinforces institutional integrity within…
News 23 Jul, 2020
The Court of Appeal clarifies the relationship between the Family Courts and the Immigration and Asylum Chamber in assessing the risk of female genital mutilation. John McKendrick QC and Claire van Overdijk represented the Secretary of State for the Home Department (SSHD) in the recent case of Re A (A Child) [2020] EWCA Civ 731, which raised an issue of importance concerning the relationship between the jurisdiction of the Family Courts and the First Tier Tribunal of the Immigration and Asylum Chamber (IAC) and the overlap that exists when the risk of FGM is assessed for the purposes of a decision in each of those jurisdictions. The Court of Appeal confirmed that when the Family Court considers an application for…
News 19 Jun, 2020
