Practice Areas
PUBLIC LAW & PUBLIC INQUIRIES
5pb’s Public Law Group specialises in public law litigation and public inquiries. Members of 5pb have been instructed in some of the largest and most significant cases in this practice area in recent years. They have considerable experience in the representation of a wide range of clients, including private sector organisations, individuals, local authorities and central government. The Public Law Group provides a comprehensive service, spanning the lead up to, duration and aftermath of proceedings. Members of 5pb are security cleared to a high level and appear in cases involving sensitive issues and material.
Public Law
Members of the Public Law Group are regularly involved in judicial review and related proceedings; acting for claimants, defendants and interested parties. Chambers also has experience of wider public interest litigation. Recent examples include:
- Al Rawi and Others [2011] UKSC 34 – the case brought by former Guantanamo Bay detainees against a number of government departments for HMG’s alleged complicity in their detention, rendition and mistreatment.
- Camp Breadbasket Litigation (2010) – the case involving claims against the Ministry of Defence alleging abuse at the hands of British soldiers in a humanitarian aid centre in Basra, Southern Iraq.
- Ministry of Defence, LEC Claims (2011) – the claim brought by locally employed civilian interpreters and others against the Ministry of Defence for the failure to take adequate steps to protect them from militias.
- London Borough of Merton v Sinclair Collis – a case with the potential for wide-reaching consequences relating to the sale of cigarettes to underage persons from vending machines.
Public Inquiries
5pb has built up substantial expertise in numerous high-profile inquiries, including:
- The Guildford Bombings Inquiry
- The Southall Rail Accident Inquiry
- The Hinduja Passport Inquiry
- The Confait Inquiry
- The Bloody Sunday Inquiry
- The Rosemary Nelson Inquiry
- The Leveson Inquiry (into telephone hacking)
- The Detainee Inquiry
Members of the Public Law Group provide expert advice and advocacy in respect of statutory and non-statutory inquiries of all types. 5pb’s service covers every aspect of the inquiry, from disclosure in the early stages to the implementation, where necessary, of recommendations made by the inquiry. We are regularly asked to contribute to lectures and seminars in this dynamic area.
The legal directories consistently rank members of 5pb as leaders in the field of public law and public inquiries, with junior members predicted to be “heavily sought out” in years to come.
Inquests
5pb also provides advice and representation in relation to other inquisitorial proceedings, particularly Coroners’ Inquests. Recent examples include an inquest involving Article 2 issues following the suicide of a psychiatric in-patient, and an inquest into the death of a child during childbirth. Members of 5pb regularly appear on behalf of hospital trusts, pharmacists and general practitioners.
Please contact Dale Jones, senior clerk, for further information.