Category: News

The Appellant, SS, had originally been sentenced to 4 months’ imprisonment for possession of cannabis with intent to supply.  He was a low-level street dealer who was essentially seeking to fund his own habit by selling cannabis from a friend’s flat.  The Honorary Recorder of Luton declined to suspend the sentence despite significant mitigation: amongst other factors, the Appellant was aged 19, had no previous convictions, and at the time of the offence had had a chaotic lifestyle, but had since secured full-time employment working six days a week.

The Appellant particularly feared the loss of his employment as a result of an immediate custodial sentence.  On appeal, he was also concerned about the length of time for which he would need to disclose his criminal record and how this would affect his future prospects.

At an expedited hearing, the Court readily agreed that the sentence ought to have been suspended but was further persuaded that in failing to suspend at the outset, the Appellant had lost the opportunity to keep his liberty by complying with Probation.  Therefore, replacing the original sentence with a suspended term of custody was no longer a just outcome.  In the circumstances, it was deemed appropriate to recognise this by imposing a community order instead.  Under new legislation, his conviction will now be spent in a year.

The Appellant was represented by Alex Chakmakjian.

Thirteen “incredibly rare” San Salvador rock iguanas, classed as being in danger of extinction, were seized from within a suitcase at Heathrow Airport last month.  The iguanas, valued at £130,000, had been concealed within socks.

In a case that was widely reported by the media, two young women were arrested whilst transiting a flight from The Bahamas, and were subsequently charged with the fraudulent evasion of a prohibition on importation: see The Guardian’s coverage here.

Gwawr Thomas was instructed on behalf of one of the defendants.

1 Mitre Court Buildings is extremely disappointed by yesterday’s announcement from the Criminal Bar Association and the Circuits.

We note that the agreement was reached two days before the deadline for responding to a consultation on further direct action. We are dismayed that the CBA and the Circuits have acted without a mandate from their membership.

We firmly believe that our fight is about the fundamental issues of access to justice and equality of arms, not merely about the Bar’s earnings.  The draconian and unwarranted cuts to litigators’ fees, together with the introduction of dual contracts, will force the closure of many solicitors’ firms, jeopardising access to justice and diversity within the profession.  We are committed to standing by our solicitor colleagues and, to that end, will be participating in the action of 31st March and 1st April, by declining to appear in magistrates’ courts and refusing returns from Higher Court Advocates choosing not to work on those two days.

Chambers was founded on a commitment to fight fearlessly for access to justice for all members of the community. We firmly believe that the continued provision of legal aid is fundamental to securing that right for everyone, regardless of means, social background, or country of birth.

Over recent years, repeated cuts to legal aid have jeopardised access to justice for the poor and the vulnerable. In keeping with our founding ethos, 1MCB members have been active in campaigning against this assault on our society’s most marginalised groups. In particular, we have:

• refused to attend court on the morning of 6th January and all day on 7th March 2014;
• been well represented at each of the meetings, marches and demonstrations that have been organised by the Criminal Bar Association, the South Eastern Circuit, Justice Alliance, Save UK Justice and the London Criminal Courts Solicitors Association;
• responded (collectively and individually) to each of the consultations that has been issued by the Ministry of Justice;
• lobbied MPs, ministers and the Justice Select Committee;
• sought to raise the profile of the campaign by way of television, radio and webcast interviews, and by publishing articles in both the legal and mainstream press;
• unanimously pledged not to sign up to QASA, nor to undermine our colleagues by accepting briefs on the ‘roll out’ circuits.

In line with our commitment to taking lawful direct action to defeat further cuts, no member of the Crime Team will be available to appear in publicly funded cases in the Crown Court in which they are not the instructed advocate, effective from 7th March 2014. Every effort will be made to inform our instructing solicitors well in advance of hearings which cannot be covered as a result of the instructed advocate being unavailable.

We thank our solicitors for their understanding and loyalty at this time.

On 8th March 2014, Neelim Sultan will be taking part in a panel discussion at Oxford Lawyers Without Borders’ second annual conference.  The theme of the conference is ‘The Rule of Law and International Development’.  Neelim will be addressing the various ways in which the rule of law is fundamental to development, and discussing both the positive and negative impact that developed countries have in that regard.  Joining her on the panel will be Roger Leese, Chair of Advocates for International Development, and Peter van Veen, Director, Business Integrity of Transparency International.

Hilary Lennox successfully defended the rights of a mother before the Family Division of the High Court on 21st February 2014.  Having considered an application to determine whether Ireland or England & Wales was the appropriate forum for the case, Mr Justice Hayden ruled that inherent jurisdiction remained with the Irish Courts, and dismissed an application for wardship of the three children.  Interim care orders in favour of an English local authority, obtained in the London courts, were therefore quashed.  As a result, Hilary’s client and her three children can now remain in Ireland.

Read coverage of this case in The Irish Times, here.

Hilary, who joined Chambers earlier this year, continues to practise at the Irish Bar.

As part of Chambers’ ongoing work with Colombian human rights defenders, 1MCB was pleased to host a roundtable discussion with Rommel Duran Castellano.

Rommel is a human rights lawyer based in Bucaramanga: like many of his colleagues, he regularly faces attacks, threats and stigmatisation on account of his work representing victims of human rights violations in rural areas, where forcibly displaced small-scale producers are attempting to return to the land previously expropriated from them.

Rommel is particularly well known for his work on behalf of the Pitalito community, forcibly displaced in 2010 to make way for palm tree plantations and mining activity.  Further information about the case can be found here.

Ben Hawkin was pleased to accept an invitation to speak at an event to mark the launch of Project 17, a charity which works to reduce destitution amongst migrant children by improving access to information about entitlement to local authority support under section 17 of the Children Act 1989, and by ensuring that local authorities comply with their duties to safeguard the welfare of all children in need, regardless of their parents’ immigration status.

Ben, who acted for the Appellant in the seminal case of ZH (Tanzania), outlined the history of children’s rights in the United Kingdom and explained, to much applause, why the work of organisations such as Project 17 is more crucial than ever in the current political and economic climate.

Gwawr Thomas is one of Project 17’s founding trustees.

Read more about Project 17’s work here.

The trial of four defendants accused of killing the former Prime Minister of Lebanon, Rafiq Hariri, and 21 other persons, in the context of a conspiracy to commit acts of terrorism in Beirut, opens today in The Hague. Iain Edwards has been assigned as counsel to represent the interests of Mustafa Badreddine, alleged to be the ringleader of the conspiracy. He is one of only 15 international defence counsel representing the alleged co-conspirators. The trial is likely to last for more than a year.

Tanya Murshed has returned after eight months in Uganda working as Project Director for the Centre for Capital Punishment Studies (CCPS).

During her time in Uganda, Tanya assisted numerous individuals convicted of capital offences at the Kampala High Court. Most notably, she assisted condemned inmates who benefited from the case of Attorney General v Susan Kigula and 417 others which abolished the mandatory death sentence, helping them go back for re-sentencing at the High Court. Tanya provided extensive training on the principles of mitigation and sentencing to lawyers and law students from Makerere University who were responsible for collecting mitigating evidence on behalf of the Kigula beneficiaries. Tanya also worked closely with the Judiciary; The Uganda Law Society; Ministry of Gender, Labour and Development; Justice Centres Uganda and The Uganda Prison Service providing technical and logistical support in preparation for the special sentencing session that began on 18th November 2013.

In preparation for this session, Tanya pioneered a pilot scheme of pre-sentence reports and mental health assessments for all inmates falling to be re-sentenced. Working in conjunction with the Uganda Law Society, she obtained funding for this from the Democratic Governance Facility, a multi donor organisation created by Austria, Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, the UK and the Delegation of the European Union in Uganda.

Tanya also acted as Amicus Curiae with leading counsel Declan O’ Callaghan of Landmark Chambers, providing written representations on the legal issues affecting the sentencing of Kigula beneficiaries. Out of 140 individuals resentenced, only 9 had their death sentences maintained. The remaining 131 inmates were either released, given fixed term sentences or imprisonment for life.

Tanya will continue to work as Director of the Project and is currently working with the Ugandan Judiciary to introduce various changes into the criminal justice system.

Tanya was nominated for the 2013 Sydney Elland Goldsmith Bar Pro Bono Award for her work with CCPS.

Two minutes silence was held at 1MCB on Friday 6th December to reflect upon the life of Nelson Mandela.

Nelson Mandela was a door tenant of our chambers during his years of imprisonment, having accepted an invitation from our former Head of Chambers Len Woodley QC.  He was an inspiration to all who cared about justice. As President of South Africa he inaugurated the Constitutional Court which remains a most enlightened upholder of human rights. Many of us in these chambers campaigned for his release, and our present Head of Chambers Lord Gifford QC was an observer at the 1994 democratic election when he became President. We therefore have special reasons to mourn his passing and to celebrate his exemplary life.

1MCB is proud to announce that Jemma Levinson and Paras Gorasia have been recognised in Chambers and Partners 2014 as leading juniors in the fields of crime and employment, respectively.