Public & Administrative Law

Garden Court has a long and distinguished history of challenging the decisions of a wide range of public bodies including courts and tribunals, the police, housing authorities, social services, the Home Office, hospitals, schools and prisons. Public and administrative law challenges arise in nearly all of Chambers' specialist areas and our team is made up of practitioners from each of these areas, at all levels of seniority.

Our well known expertise in human rights jurisprudence means that we are fully prepared to deal with public law cases involving alleged violations of ECHR rights (whether it be in the context of the use of control orders against terror suspects, the eviction of Gypsies and Travellers or general fair trial rights ). We also bring this experience to bear on the question of the proper test for judicial review as well as in relation to damages claims under the Human Rights Act 1998.

The following are more recent examples of the kind of public law / judicial review challenges undertaken by the team:

R (Smith) v Snaresbrook Crown Court [2008] EWHC 1282 (Admin) (challenge to the statutory interpretation of the test for the extension of "crack house" closure orders)

R (M) v Hammersmith & Fulham LBC [2008] UKHL 14 (challenge to the respective responsibilities of a housing authority and a social services authority for a homeless girl aged 17)

R (McCarthy and Others) v Basildon DC and the Equality and Human Rights Commission [2008] EWHC 987 (challenge to a decision to take direct action to evict a large encampment of Irish Travellers)

R (D) v Sheffield Youth Court [2008] EWHC 601 (Admin) (challenge to a youth court's decision to re-open the question of jurisdiction where the adult magistrates' court failed to consider venue before the entering of a plea and challenge to the use of s142 of the MCA 1980 to vacate an unequivocal guilty plea)

R (Lisa Smith) v London Development Agency and SSTI [2007] EWHC 1013 (Admin) (challenge to the Compulsory Purchase Order of land used as a Gypsy site for the purposes of the Olympics)

R v Secretary of State for the Home Department ex parte JJ; KK; GG; HH; NN; LL [2006] EWHC 1623 (Admin) (challenge to the compatibility of control orders with Article 5 of the ECHR)

A v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2004] UKHL 56 (House of Lords ruling on the compatibility of detention of terrorist suspects without charge with Article 5 of the ECHR)

R (D) v Camberwell Green Youth Court [2005] 2 Cr. App.R 1. (House of Lords ruling on the compatibility of special measures for young witnesses with Article 6 of the ECHR)

R (C) v Sunderland Youth Court (2004) 1 Cr.App.R (S) 76. (challenge to the unfairness of post-conviction ASBO procedure in the youth court)

R (D) v Sheffield Youth Court [2003] EWHC Admin 35; R (B) v Balham Youth Court [2004] EWHC 421 Admin; R (W) v Brent Youth Court [2005] EWHC 95 Admin. (All three cases were challenges to youth court jurisdiction decisions and the related)

R (P) v Barking Youth Court [2002] Cr.App.R 19 (challenge to the fitness to plead procedure in the youth court)

R v Director of Public Prosecutions ex parte Manning [2001] QB 330; (2000) 3 WLR 463 (challenge to the failure of CPS to prosecute prisoner officers following an inquest jury's unlawful killing verdict)

This large claimant set leads the way in housing, immigration and criminal law, and draws its public and administrative law work from these areas. Barristers here have a reputation for being "clever, likeable and approachable." Chambers & Partners 2008

Civil Clerks

If you would like more information about our Public & Admin law team email the clerks civilclerks@gclaw.co.uk or call us on 020 7993 7600

The team

Members of the Public & Administrative Law team are listed below - click on their names to go to their profiles.

Barrister Year of Call Email Address David Watkinson 1972 davidw@gclaw.co.uk Owen Davies QC 1973 owend@gclaw.co.uk Laurie Fransman QC 1979 laurief@gclaw.co.uk Jan Luba QC 1980 janl@gclaw.co.uk Stephen Cottle 1984 stephenc@gclaw.co.uk Beatrice Prevatt 1985 beatricep@gclaw.co.uk Rick Scannell 1986 ricks@gclaw.co.uk Marc Willers 1987 marcw@gclaw.co.uk Dexter Dias 1988 dexterd@gclaw.co.uk Leslie Thomas 1988 lesliet@gclaw.co.uk Valerie Easty 1990 valeriee@gclaw.co.uk Bethan Harris 1990 bethanh@gclaw.co.uk Colin Hutchinson 1990 colinh@gclaw.co.uk Edward Fitzpatrick 1990 edwardf@gclaw.co.uk Stephanie Harrison 1991 stephanieh@gclaw.co.uk Catrin Lewis 1991 catrinl@gclaw.co.uk Sonali Naik 1991 sonalin@gclaw.co.uk Michael Ivers 1991 michaeli@gclaw.co.uk Stephen Simblet 1991 stephens@gclaw.co.uk Nadine Finch 1991 nadinef@gclaw.co.uk Helen Curtis 1992 helenc@gclaw.co.uk Julia Krish 1992 juliak@gclaw.co.uk Pete Weatherby 1992 pweatherby@talk21.com Stephen Knafler 1993 stephenk@gclaw.co.uk Rajiv Menon 1993 rajivm@gclaw.co.uk Rajeev Thacker 1993 rajeevt@gclaw.co.uk Liz Davies 1994 lizd@gclaw.co.uk David Jones 1994 davidj@gclaw.co.uk Duran Seddon 1994 duran@gclaw.co.uk Michael Paget 1995 michaelp@gclaw.co.uk Edward Grieves 1995 edwardg@gclaw.co.uk Shereener Browne 1996 shereenerb@gclaw.co.uk Louise Hooper 1997 louiseh@gclaw.co.uk Nicola Rogers 1997 nicolar@gclaw.co.uk Maya Sikand 1997 mayas@gclaw.co.uk Adrian Berry 1998 adrianb@gclaw.co.uk Adrian Marshall Williams 1998 adrianmw@gclaw.co.uk Ronan Toal 1999 ronant@gclaw.co.uk Marina Sergides 2000 marinas@gclaw.co.uk Sadat Sayeed 2001 sadats@gclaw.co.uk Kate Aubrey-Johnson 2001 kateaj@gclaw.co.uk Desmond Rutledge 2001 desmondr@gclaw.co.uk Tim Baldwin 2001 timothyb@gclaw.co.uk Brenda Campbell 2002 brendac@gclaw.co.uk Sareta Ashraph 2002 saretaa@gclaw.co.uk John Beckley 2003 johnb@gclaw.co.uk