Kurdish Human Rights Project: This is the legacy website of the Kurdish Human Rights Project, containing reports and news pertaining to human rights issues in the Kurdish Regions for 20 years. |
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| Legal Team |
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David Anderson QC David Anderson is a barrister at Brick Court Chambers where he specialises in civil liberties and human rights, EU, competition and public law. He became a Queen’s Council in 1999, has appeared in over 100 cases in the European Court of Justice and over 30 cases before the European Commission and Court of Human Rights and is listed in the Legal 500. A visiting professor at King’s College London his publications include ‘References to the European Court’ (Sweet and Maxwell) 2nd edition 2002.
Sir Geoffrey Bindman
Michael Birnbaum QC Michael Birnbaum is a barrister at 9-12 Bell Yard specialising in criminal law, commercial crime, judicial review, extradition and human rights law. He became a Queen’s Council in 1992, he frequently broadcasts on human rights and criminal law issues. A member of the Executive Committee of the Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales (BHRC), he is also Chair of the Africa sub-committee of the International Relations Committee (IRC) of the Bar.
Professor Bill Bowring Professor Bowring combines his work as a barrister at 2 Field Courts with his academic career as Professor of Human Rights at London Metropolitan University where he is Director of the University's Human Rights and Social Justice Research Institute. Professor Bowring is also the founder and Academic Coordinator of the EC/EIDHR funded European Human Rights Advocacy Centre (EHRAC), which is part of the Institute. Professor Bowring has appeared in the European Court of Human Rights, advised the government’s Department for International Development (DfID), the OSCE, United Nations (UN), and Council of Europe on human rights related issues.
Dr Susan Breau
Brenda Campbell Brenda Campbell is a barrister with the Garden Court Practice. She has worked extensively in the field of women's human rights, both nationally and internationally and continues to work with organisations such as Amnesty International, Women's Human Rights Project, Dublin and IWRAW Asia Pacific, Malaysia, the Kurdish Human Rights Project, London and the Bar Human Rights Committee. She has delivered training courses on the application of UN standards in domestic legislation in several European countries and has attended UN sessions in Geneva
Miriam Carrion Benitez Miriam Benitez-Carrion is a barrister on the employment team at 36 Bedford Row and practises predominantly in employment, immigration, asylum support and public law, focusing strongly on civil liberties. Her cases mainly concern serious sexual abuse, trafficking in women and domestic violence in the context of the Geneva Convention on Refugees and the European Convention on Human Rights. She has also lectured widely on international human rights and humanitarian law for bodies such as the OSCE, the UNHCR and the European Human Rights Advocacy Centre.
Parosha Chandran Parosha Chandran is a barrister practising from chambers at 1 Pump Court. Chandran is a Leading Junior in Human Rights law and practises predominantly in asylum law, immigration law, discrimination law, prison law and civil liberties. Her human rights work has taken her to the European Commission for Human Rights (Strasbourg), the UNHCR and the UN International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. She is a member of the FCO’s Pro Bono Lawyers Panel, in which capacity she provides advice to the families of Britons killed or detained overseas. She has extensive experience in lecturing and is the author of A Guide to the Human Rights Act 1998.
Louis Charalambous Louis Charalambous is a solicitor and partner at Simons Muirhead and Burton specialising in criminal litigation (especially journalism), libel and confidence claims, media regulatory advice and judicial review. Charalambous regularly writes and broadcasts on issues concerning human rights and his fields of expertise and is also a Committee member of the Criminal Appeal Lawyers Association. Louis Charalambous is also a member of KHRP’s Board of Directors.
Louise Christian Louise Christian is co-founder of Christian Khan and has acted for victims of the Lockerbie, Hatfield and Potters Bar disasters as well as detainees in Guantanamo Bay. Christian is the Chair of Inquest; former Chair of the Civil Liberties Trust and current Member of the Council of Liberty, the management committee advisory boards of the Centre for Corporate Accountability and is on the Board of Trustees of Article 19. She was awarded Legal Personality of the Year 2004 for “outstanding contribution to defending the rule of law” for her work defending detainees held at Guantanamo Bay.
Lucy Claridge Lucy Claridge studied jurisprudence at Oxford University and qualified as a solicitor in September 2000. She practised media litigation for three years in the city, including issues regarding freedom of expression, before studying for a postgraduate degree in International Peace and Security: Human Rights and International Security. She spent six months working at Liberty prior to joining KHRP, where she worked as Legal Officer from 2004 – 2007.
Sandra Conway Sandra Conway is an expert in human rights law. She is particularly interested in the interaction between counter-terrorism and human rights, and has advised the European Council on these issues. She has also acted as Human Rights Officer in the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights.
Jo Cooper Jo Cooper is a solicitor advocate and is Head of Chambers for Perren Buildings, Chambers. He has a Higher Courts qualification and specialises in public order law, especially cases involving demonstrations. In 2007, Jo Cooper delivered a successful KHRP legal training session in Armenia.
Fiona Darroch Fiona Darroch works as a barrister for Hailsham Chambers. She is a member of the European law group, where she specialises in environmental and human rights law. She has concentrated especially on large infrastructure projects such as dams and pipelines in the developing world. She also broadcasts, lectures and advises on corporate accountability, procurement and corruption in connection with such projects.
Jan Doerfel Jan Doerfel now practices out of Lamb Building. Previously at 8 King’s Bench Walk, he has also worked as the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture as well as with the Centre on Social Minorities. His work with minorities also led him to become involved with the cases of movements for the promotion of the rights of transsexual people.
Tim Eicke Tim Eicke is a member of the Essex Court Chambers and works as a barrister. He specialises in human rights law, EC law and all aspects of public law, acting both for applicants and for respondents. As a result, he appears regularly in domestic courts and tribunals as well as the European Court of Human Rights and the European Court Justice. He is also Joint Editor of the European Human Rights Reports and a Co-author (with David Scorey) of Human Rights Damages – Principles and Practice (Sweet and Maxwell, loose-leaf).
Diana Ellis QC Diana Ellis QC is a barrister specialising in Criminal and International Criminal Law who practices at 25 Bedford Row Chambers. She has extensive experience in handling serious criminal cases including murder, fraud, armed robbery, sexual abuse and drug trafficking. Miss Ellis is UN Appointed Counsel for the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, Authorised Counsel for the International Criminal Court and currently represents the Minister of Social Affairs before the Tribunal of the Khmer Rouge Government.
Ben Emmerson QC Ben Emmerson is a barrister with Matrix Chambers. He has specialised in European human rights law, with more than ten years’ experience of litigating before the European Court of Human Rights; his cases have particularly revolved around criminal due process, privacy, freedom of expression and discrimination. Aside from these commitments, Emmerson has helped to write and edit a number of books, such Human Rights and Criminal Justice, and the Human Rights section of Archbold. He was also the founder editor of the European Human Rights Law Review.
Joanna Evans Joanna Evans is a barrister at 25 Bedford Row. She practises in areas of crime such as large scale drugs importations, offences of serious violence, dishonesty, fraud, indecency and public order. Her work on international crime and human rights has included international criminal defence, consultancy work to international tribunals and work for various international organisations such as the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, the UN Human Rights Committee, and European and Inter-American human rights systems.
Alice Faure-Walker Alice Faure Walker has been practicing with Bates Wells and Braithwaite since 2000, having gained experience in a variety of sectors after graduating from Cambridge. Deputy Director of KHRP from 1998 – 2000, she currently specialises in charity law and advises a number of charities and private individuals on matters relating to establishment, constitutional issues, governance, legacies and disputed probate.
Edward Grieves Edward Grieves is a barrister at Garden Court Chambers and is an active member of the Bar Human Rights Committee. Recognised as Young Barrister of the Year at the Legal Aid Awards in 2005, his practice covers all areas of immigration law. Edward also has particular expertise in law relating to terrorism and has successfully represented defendants domestically and through the European Court of Human Rights. An acknowledged expert on Turkey he has led and participated in numerous missions to observe the trials of human rights defenders. Edward Grieves is also a member of KHRP’s Board of Directors.
Matthew Happold Matthew Happold practices as a barrister at 3 Hare Court, but since 2006 he has also worked for the law school at the University of Hull. In 2004 he was a Visiting Fellow at the Human Rights Programme, Harvard Law School, and a Visiting Professional in the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. His recent publications include Child Soldiers in International Law, and Constitutional Human Rights in the Commonwealth. Matthew is currently co-writing a monograph on the Special Court for Sierra Leone.
Roberta Harvey Roberta Harvey is a Solicitor practicing at Henmans LLP in Oxford, specialising in contentious trust and probate work for charities. Her work has included the resolution of disputes involving wills and probate actions where the mental capacity of the deceased is in dispute, undue influence claims, Inheritance Act claims and constructive trust and estoppel claims.
Gill Higgins Gill Higgins is a barrister at 25 Bedford Row Chambers, practising in Criminal Defence and International Law. Higgins has worked as Junior Counsel for the defence at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. She has also lectured and published extensively in International Criminal Law.
Mark Himsworth Mark Himsworth is a barrister at 2 Dyers Buildings, and specialises in criminal law. The majority of his practice is defence work, although he has particular expertise advising and representing local authorities. Mark has also worked at Interights, and at the OSCE in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Andrea Hopkins Andrea Hopkins was formerly a member of St John's Chambers in Bristol, before completing an LLM in international human rights law – she then became Legal Adviser to the Police Service of Northern Ireland, responsible for advising the police service on the application of human rights to the exercise of police powers. She is now a legal adviser for the charity Family Rights Group (FRG). She is the co-author of “Human Rights in the Investigation and Prosecution of Crime”.
Mary Hughes Mary Hughes is a barrister at 1 Pump Court, where she is part of the Family and the Civil and Public Law Groups. She has a background in Education and Research and has published extensively in women's issues. Mary regularly lectures and writes for the New Law Journal and for Counsel Magazine. She is listed in Legal 500 as a Leading Junior in Education. In March 2005, Mary carried out a trial observation for KHRP on freedom of expression.
Arild Humlen Arild Humlen is a Norwegian lawyer in private practice in Oslo and is a member of the Norwegian Bar Association (DNA), holding the position of Chair of the Bar Association’s commission on asylum and immigrant law. Humlen is also a member of the European Immigration Lawyers Network. Arild Humlen is also a member of KHRP’s Board of Directors.
Michael Ivers Michael Ivers is a barrister at Garden Court Chambers. His practice is exclusively criminal defence work. In addition, he practices administrative law and has conducted Judicial Review and Divisional Court matters connected with Criminal Cases. Michael is also involved in several aspects of human rights, including conducting trial observations, preparing published reports and occasionally lecturing in human rights in international jurisdictions. Michael Ivers is also the Chair of KHRP’s Board of Directors.
Chris Jacobs Chris Jacobs is a public law specialist and a member of the civil team at 36 Bedford Row. While he has worked in agriculture, property, public, planning and environment, he also has a particular interest in international human rights law. A member of the Bar Human Rights Committee and the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network, Chris has been involved in cases and projects especially concerned with North Africa.
Nina H.B. Jorgensen Nina Jorgensen is an expert in international law, and particularly on international crime and the responsibility of the state. She has published several books and articles on this issue. Nina has also served as a Senior Legal Advisor in the Office of the Prosecutor in the Special Court for Sierra Leone.
Ajanta Kaza Ajanta Kaza is a barrister at 1 Pump Court. Her areas of practice include crime, human rights, and particularly terrorism, sexual offences and offences against the person. She has defended in prosecutions brought both under the Terrorism Act 2000 and the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001. As well as a KHRP Legal Team member, Kaza is also a member of the Bar Human Rights Committee and the Criminal Bar Association.
Sir Sydney Kentridge QC Sir Sydney is a barrister at Brick Court Chambers. Born in South Africa, he became the leading lawyer for the defence in political trials in South Africa, including the Steve Biko inquest, and was involved in the inquiry into the shooting at Sharpeville in 1961. He also appeared for Stella Madzimabuto in both the then Rhodesia and the Privy Council in her challenge to the legality of the Ian Smith regime. Sir Sydney has also served as a Judge of Appeal in Botswana, Jersey and Guernsey.
Stuart Kerr Stuart is a solicitor with, and founder member of Karis Law, a firm which is dedicated solely to immigration law. His practice encompasses all aspects of asylum and immigration work, from appeals before Adjudicators, the Tribunal and the Court of Appeal and applications for Judicial Review. An expert in asylum claims from Turkey, Iraq, Algeria and Somalia, Stuart has also undertaken trial observations on behalf of the International Commission of Jurists, including the re-trial of Kurdish politician Leyla Zana.
Philip Leach Philip Leach is a solicitor and is a Senior Lecturer in Law at London Metropolitan University, specialising in human rights. He is a Director of the European Human Rights Advocacy Centre, which assists lawyers and NGOs in Russia in bringing human rights cases. He has considerable experience of representing applicants before the European Court of Human Rights and is a former director of Liberty. Philip has published on European Court procedures and Human Rights law.
Peter Lowrie Peter Lowrie is a barrister, whose areas of practice include criminal defence, especially concerning serious offences against the person, drug offences, sexual offences, revenue offences and extradition. Peter’s other main interest in international human rights law and he has been responsible for drafting several pleadings to the ECHR in multi-client cases.
Ola Maeland Ola Maeland is a lawyer with Hjort law firm in Oslo. Admitted to the Supreme Court in 2003, he specialises in contract law, construction contracts, employment and labour, and administrative law. He is also a member of the Norwegian Bar Association.
Bill McGivern Bill McGivern is a barrister at Valios Boardman Chambers, and specialises in public law with an emphasis on immigration, crime, particularly fraud, civil actions against the police, and education.
Fiona McKay Fiona McKay is currently a Senior Lecturer in Politics at Edinburgh University, as well as the Deputy Director of the Graduate School in Social and Political Studies and an Associate Director of the Institute of Governance. She has previously worked as Director of the International Justice Program at US based Human Rights First. Her research interests centre on issues concerning women and politics.
Eric Metcalfe Eric Metcalfe is a barrister and the Director of Human Rights Policy at Justice, the UK section of the Commission of Jurists, set up to promote the rule of law and to assist the fair administration of justice.
Mark Muller QC Mark Muller is a barrister at Garden Court Chambers, having moved in early 2006 from 10-11 Gray’s Inn Square, where he was Head of Chambers from 1998. His main areas of practice include public and international law, ECtHR litigation, European Court of Justice human rights actions, UN/OSCE post-conflict advisory work, domestic human rights law, international criminal defence work, terrorism, extradition, immigration and people trafficking offences. He has worked with justice reconstruction programmes in a number of conflict and post-conflict regions, such as in Afghanistan, Sudan, Palestine and Iraq. Domestically, he has often been involved with terror-related cases. He lectures widely and has written and edited numerous books, most recently on Turkey’s accession to the EU. Mark is also the Chair of the Bar Human Rights Committee and the former Chair of KHRP.
Sajjad Nabi Sajjad Nabi is a barrister at Veritas Chambers. He undertook a pupillage in media and defamation at 1 Brick Court and practised as a solicitor at DJ Freeman before being called to the bar. He has experience of several high profile media cases and continues to provide pre-publication advice to a variety of publishers and newspapers. He has also assisted with KHRP’s cases before the European Court of Human Rights.
Caroline Nolan Caroline Nolan is a solicitor and member of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission as well as a member of the KHRP Legal Team. In 2005 she carried out research into the accessibility of economic, social and cultural rights and all-Ireland developments at the Institute of Governance, Public Policy and Social Research at Queen’s University, Belfast. She is also a member of the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network. Caroline Nolan has a long-history with KHRP, having previously held the post of deputy director. Hugo Norton-Taylor Hugo Norton-Taylor is a barister at 1 Pump Court where he works as part of the Civil and Public Law group. His work had focused especially on immigration, housing/landord and tenant law, and special educational needs. He co-founded the Queen Mary Law Journal in 1998, when a student at Queen Mary Law School. As a member of KHRP's legal team, Hugo has taken part in a trial observation to the regions and wrote The State and Sexual Violence (KHRP, 2003).
Declan O’Callaghan Declan O’Callaghan is a barrister with 36 Bedford Row. He works primarily within the field of public law, including housing, prison, asylum and immigration, education, local authority, social welfare and asylum support. His experience also extends to civil and criminal matters. A teaching fellow at the University of Exeter, he presents numerous lectures to professional and student audiences in the UK and abroad. Declan has also worked with cases at the ECtHR, House of Lords, the Court of Appeal and the High Court.
Mark O’Connor Mark O’Connor is a barrister with 36 Bedford Row. His practice concerns mainly administrative and public law, especially immigration and nationality law, prison law and homelessness/public law housing, and community care. He has regularly appeared in the Court of Appeal and the Administrative Court, and has also appeared before the European Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights.
Øvind Østberg Øvind Østberg is a barrister from Norway.
Tim Otty QC Tim Otty is a barrister at 20 Essex Street. His principal areas of practice are insurance and re-insurance law, civil fraud, private international law and public law. His public law work has a particular emphasis on domestic and international human rights law. An expert regularly consulted by the Council of Europe and the International Bar Association in international judicial training programmes, Tim also appears regularly in the High Court, Court of Appeal, the ECtHR and before various arbitration tribunals. Tim Otty is also on KHRP’s Advisory Group.
Gita Parihar Gita Parihar left private practice in 2001 to study the LLM in International and Human Rights Law to work in ActionAid, the international development charity. Subsequently Gita was at the Claims Resolution Tribunal in Zurich for Holocaust victims, as well as volunteering for the Liberty advice line. She has worked on environmental cases before the High Court and assisted with the test case of Al-Jedda concerning indefinite detention of a British national in Iraq. She now works with Friends of the Earth.
Gareth Peirce Gareth Peirce studied at Oxford University before working in the United States. Returning to the UK, she took a postgraduate course at the London School of Economics before being recruited as a solicitor. She has appeared for the Guildford Four (whose conviction she succeeded in having overturned), the Birmingham Six and the families of the victims of the Marchioness Riverboat Disaster. More recently, Gareth Peirce has defended a number of terrorist suspects detained indefinitely in the UK and those who have just returned to the country from Guantanamo Bay as well as the family of Jean Charles de Menezes. Gareth Peirce is also on KHRP’s Board of Directors.
Rajesh Rai Rajesh Rai is a barrister and ecologist. The majority of his work involves issues of public law, environmental law, immigration and refugees, crime, and personal injury. He has recently joined 12 Old Square Chambers in London’s Lincoln’s Inn. Rajesh Rai is also a member of KHRP’s Board of Directors.
Paul Richmond Paul Richmond is a barrister at 8 Kings Bench Walk Chambers. His practice covers all aspects of immigration, asylum and human rights law before the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal, Administrative Court and the Court of Appeal.
William Robinson William Robinson is a solicitor with Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, an international law firm. He has worked most often in commercial, competition and European Community law, both in the European Court of Justice and in the English courts. He also provides advice on various EU and human rights issues.
Knut Rognlien Knut Rognlien is a member of the Human Rights Committee of the Norwegian Bar Association. A specialist in criminal law, human rights and law of torts, he has worked in private practice in Oslo from 1982, conducting civil and criminal cases before the Norwegian courts and the ECtHR. He has also observed court cases in Ethiopia, Tanzania and Turkey.
Jon Rud Jon Rud is a Norwegian human rights lawyer who has been living in Spain since 2000. He was formerly Chairman of Amnesty International in Norway, of the Norwegian Bar Human Rights Committee and of the Norwegian Council for the Rights of the Kurdish People. He has worked with a number of cases at the European Court of Human Rights, including many against Turkey. At present, he is Secretary-General of the EU-Turkey Civic Commission, as well as Chairman of the Kurdish Working Group of the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network. Jon Rud is also on KHRP’s Board of Patrons.
Jessica Simor Jessica Simor is a barrister at Matrix Chambers. Her public law practice is particularly concerned with questions of ECHR and EU law, the latter including competition law, agriculture, customs, free movement and the environment. She has strong commercial law experience within a public law context. Jessica is widely recognised as one of the country’s leading human rights lawyers, representing and advising individuals and governments or public bodies in numerous cases before both the domestic courts and the ECtHR in Strasbourg.
Keir Starmer QC Keir Starmer is a barrister and became the fourteenth Director of Public Prosecutions and the sixth head of the Crown Prosecution Service on 1 November 2008. Prior to this he was joint head of Doughty Street Chambers, specialising in human rights law. He became a Queen's Counsel in 2002. In 2002 he was also appointed to the Foreign Secretary’s Death Penalty Panel, which advises the British Government on death penalty issues. Kier also has extensive experience of litigation before international human rights tribunals, including the ECtHR. His other commitments involve lecturing and advising widely on the Human Rights Act 1998. He has undertaken litigation for KHRP and was lead counsel in the case of Acar v Turkey, which brought a successful judgement in 2004.
Nicholas Stewart QC Nicholas Stewart is a barrister with Ely Place Chambers. His areas of practice have varied extensively, including arbitration and mediation, media law, sports law, assets recovery and financial fraud, intellectual property, and human rights and civil liberties. Nicholas Stewart’s experience is considerable and he has worked with numerous important cases in the House of Lords, Privy Council and Court of Appeal. Nicholas Stewart is also on KHRP’s Board of Directors.
Jemima Stratford Jemima Stratford is a barrister at Brick Court Chambers. She specialises in European law, public and administrative law, and human rights. She has taken significant cases to the High Court, the Court of Appeal and the ECtHR.
Paul Troop Paul Troop is a barrister at Tooks Chambers and specialises in human rights and civil liberties, humanitarian, European, civil, employment and discrimination law. He has appeared before the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights and made the first successful application for an arrest warrant under the Geneva Conventions Act 1957 against Doron Almog. He is currently assisting KHRP with its caseload before the European Court.
Karlijn van der Voort Karlijn van der Voot graduated in law in New York and has since acted as a defence lawyer in the Special Court for Sierra Leone. She is an expert in international law and has also written in how international law affects domestic law, particularly in France.
Colin Wells Colin Wells is a barrister at 25 Bedford Row. His areas of practice include criminal defence work – confiscation proceedings, drugs, fraud, public order – and claimant civil actions against the police and the home office – advisory, pleadings and trial representation. He has also written in a number of publications, such as the New Law Journal 2004.
Chris Williams Chris Williams is a barrister with Tooks Chambers. He has worked especially on public law and human rights, with an emphasis on immigration law, inquests including judicial review of coroners’ verdicts, judicial review of decisions by magistrates and youth courts, civil actions against the police and home office, prisoners’ rights, tenant orientated housing law, and mental heath. Amongst other commitments, he has undertaken a considerable number of pro bono cases in different areas of law, and was chair of the management committee of Hackney Community Law Centre.
Joanna Wood Joanna Wood is a barrister at 1 Pump Court where she works as part of the Family and Civil and Public Law groups. She particularly focuses on immigration, asylum and human rights. She has a strong interest in pro bono work and is currently a volunteer at Hackney Community Law Centre at the immigration advice session. Joanna Wood carried out ECHR training in Armenia in May 2005 and has also assisted with KHRP cases before the European Court of Human Rights.
Nigel Wray Nigel Wray is a barrister involved with the Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales. He also worked with the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy before becoming associated with KHRP. |