News & Events

Public Law

John McKendrick QC acts for the Official Solicitor in the Administrative Court

John McKendrick QC was instructed to represent the Official Solicitor in her capacity as statutory office holder in the recent case of EG v Parole Board and Others. The Official Solicitor occasionally, but rarely, acts as office holder rather than litigation friend before the courts. Mrs Justice May was required to determine the consequences of the uncertainty of how an incapacitated prisoner could pursue his appeal before the Parole Board without an accredited representative or a litigation friend. The EHRC, Law Society, Lord Chancellor and the Official Solicitor were added to the proceedings. Mrs Justice May interpreted the 2019 Parole Board Rules to permit the appointment of litigation friends and found EG had been the subject of a violation of…

News 10 Jun, 2020

Sanctions: Foreign Policy, Economic Warfare, or Both?

Sanctions: Foreign Policy, Economic Warfare, or Both? By Alex Haines and Oliver Powell The law of sanctions and its cross-jurisdictional nature is complex, not least because its sources are both national and international; the measures it covers are both multilateral and unilateral; and the relevant case law has developed at a different pace and in different directions depending on the legal system at play. If the interaction between the four major actors in sanctions– the United Nations (U.N.), the European Union (E.U.), the United States and the United Kingdom (U.K.) –was not complicated and convoluted enough, three 2018 political developments have made a clear grasp of this area even more difficult, by injecting another level of uncertainty: (i) On 18…

News 11 Sep, 2019

John McKendrick QC succcessfully acts in Court of Appeal termination case

John recently appeared for the appellant in the Court of Appeal challenging a first instance declaration that a termination at 23 weeks was lawful and in an incapacitated woman’s best interests. The appeal was heard urgently the day before the termination was due to take place. The Court of Appeal, McCombe, King and Peter Jackson LJJ granted permission to appeal, allowed the appeal and dismissed the NHS Trust’s application. The Judgment can be found here. The Court emphasised the mandatory section 4 requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005, the need to fully consider the wishes and the feelings of an incapacitated person and importantly the views of others, as well as the medical evidence, when it was proposed the…

News 11 Jul, 2019

John McKendrick QC acts for NHS trust in High Court Jehovah’s Witness case

John McKendrick QC is currently acting in the High Court, London for an NHS trust responsible for the treatment of a 17 year-old Jehovah’s Witness. The boy, who has leukaemia and who lives in the south east of England, has refused potentially life-saving blood product treatment for his condition, because of his religious beliefs. NHS trust doctors are respecting the boy’s views and doctors are not treating him with blood products. Lead barrister for the trust, John McKendrick QC said that the boy had refused to consent to treatment involving “blood products” and that the teenager was “extremely articulate about his Jehovah’s Witness faith”. John regularly appears before the Administrative Court, Court of Protection, Family Division, the Tribunal system and the…

News 7 Jun, 2019

Court of Appeal hands down guidance on ‘limbo’ status and Article 8 in the deportation context

In RA(Iraq) v SSHD [2019] EWCA Civ 850 (handed down on 17 May 2019), Claire van Overdijk successfully represented the Secretary of State for the Home Department in a case concerning the so-called ‘limbo’ status – whereby a person is prevented by continuing circumstance in their country of origin from being deported, but also prevented by lack of leave to remain in the UK from working, receiving normal State benefits, renting or buying property, or accessing the full range of NHS benefits. The appellant argued that together these constitute a disproportionate interference with family or private life under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. In the judgment, the Court provides a comprehensive overview of domestic and ECtHR case…

News 17 May, 2019

Equality & Human Rights Commission panel appointments

Chambers is pleased to announce the appointments of Claire van Overdijk, Sarah Crowther QC, Alex Line and Katarina Sydow on their recent appointments to the Equality & Human Rights Commission panel of counsel. Claire is appointed to the A panel and Sarah and Alex are appointed to B panel with Katarina appointed to C panel. They all look forward to working with the Commission and assisting in representation and advisory cases. The appointments run from 1st April 2019 for a term of four years.

News 16 May, 2019

Sarah Crowther QC on freedom of expression and contract law

Sarah Crowther QC was a guest speaker at the UCL Contracts and Freedoms conference yesterday, on the conflict between fundamental rights and contractual obligations in cyberspace. As part of a panel chaired by Lord Sales, examining freedom of expression and contract law, Sarah commented on a paper presented by Nick McBride of Cambridge University on the practice of social media platforms in blocking accounts and barring users on the basis of their Terms of Service. Freedom of contract is seen as a key strength of English commercial law, yet the uncertainties over Brexit, and the potential impact upon English law as the applicable law of choice, highlight the importance of considering the limits to parties’ freedom of contract. Sarah practises…

News 10 May, 2019

Ashers Bakery case at UK Supreme Court – Sarah Crowther QC gets judgment

The long-awaited judgment in Ashers v Lee was today handed down by the UK Supreme Court, with OTC Silk Sarah Crowther. More widely known as the ‘gay cake’ case, this is a landmark free speech victory for Ashers Bakery over whether Christian owners of a bakery can lawfully be required to ice a cake with a message promoting same-sex marriage. The background: In 2015, Ashers Bakery was found to have discriminated against a customer on the grounds of sexual orientation and political opinion. The complicated case seemed to be nearing its conclusion, when the last-minute postponement of the hearing extended the appeal issues. Then, the Attorney General intervened into the case claiming there was a potential conflict between Northern Ireland’s…

News 10 Oct, 2018

The British Legal Awards 2017: Finalists

We are delighted to have been shortlisted in Legal Week’s British Legal Awards 2017 – Chambers of the Year category. The British Legal Awards hosted by Legal Week in association with The City of London Law Society, takes place at the end of the LegalWeek Connect, and is due to be attended by 1,000 lawyers. All 29 categories have been carefully chosen to reflect the ever-complex and challenging work of business lawyers at law firms, within legal departments and at the Bar. Key awards this year include The City of London Law Society Lifetime Achievement Award, Chambers of the Year, Law Firm of the Year, General Counsel of the Year, Editor’s Award: Law Firm Leader of the Year and the Legal…

News 20 Oct, 2017

‘Well-being’ principle in judicial review case – Care Act 2014

The High Court has recently handed down judgement in R (on the application of JF acting through his mother and litigation friend KF) v The London Borough of Merton [2017] EWHC 1519 (Admin). The case concerned a judicial review claim against the content of needs assessment under the Care Act 2014. It was conducted by a local authority for a young adult with very severe and complex care needs. It also concerned a challenge against the local authority’s decision to transfer the young adult to an alternative care home. The judicial review claim succeeded on both grounds. The Claimant was represented by Alex Line of Outer Temple Chambers. This case is a recent and important example of a successful challenge…

News 5 Jul, 2017

Outer Temple welcomes Alex Line

We are pleased to announce that Alex Line has joined Outer Temple Chambers to work across our Employment and Public law Practice Areas. Alex is primarily a civil practitioner whose practice is focused particularly on the areas of education (about which he is passionate), social welfare, court of protection, public law, employment and discrimination. He regularly appears in employment tribunals, county courts and different chambers of the First-Tier Tribunal. Alex has also High Court, Employment Appeal Tribunal and Upper Tribunal experience and will add further strength and depth to the growing team. For more information on Alex’s practice, please click here.

News 17 Mar, 2017

Claire van Overdijk joins Outer Temple Chambers

We are delighted to announce that Claire van Overdijk has joined Chambers. Claire is a public law specialist and private clients (trusts and estates) barrister, with expertise in private international law. She was appointed to the Attorney General’s B Panel on 1 September 2016 following two years on the C Panel. Her extensive experience in mental capacity law and the Court of Protection has allowed her to establish a dual practice with specialisms in the health/welfare and property/financial affairs jurisdictions of the court. Claire is the first and currently the only practitioner at the Bar to date to be recognised as a leader in both areas of the COP’s jurisdiction and is a welcome addition to our Public law and Commercial &…

News 14 Mar, 2017

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