Administrative and Public Law

Our leading public law barristers have a long-standing reputation for taking on cutting-edge challenges against public authorities.

"The clerks are an asset to their chambers. They will go out of their way to accommodate potential instruction and also in continuing case support in the form of facilitating conferences."

Chambers & Partners UK Bar Guide

"The clerks are incredibly responsive, efficient, friendly and engaging to work with. They have excellent foresight."

Chambers & Partners UK Bar Guide

"The set's well-known expertise in areas such as immigration and civil liberties is grounded in a firm command of public law principles and judicial review. Its capability in this area is strongly geared towards safeguarding the rights of vulnerable groups and individuals, in challenging policies of the Home Office and other government departments."

Chambers & Partners UK Bar Guide

"Barristers from this set have appeared in numerous high-profile cases on immigration detention, including Lawal v SSHD, a successful challenge to the deportation of witnesses shortly after the death of an immigrant in detention. The barristers possess notable experience covering policy on human trafficking, mental health and criminal justice.

Chambers & Partners UK Bar Guide

To contact the Public Law Clerks, please email publiclawclerks@gclaw.co.uk or phone

+44 (0)20 7993 7600

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We help our clients pursue public law challenges against all public authorities including government departments, courts and tribunals, coroners, the police, housing authorities, schools and prisons.

Areas of Expertise

  • Challenges to government policy and secondary legislation
  • Constitutional challenges to all the key departments of state
  • Challenging cuts to public services
  • Access to justice
  • Deaths for which the state could be responsible
  • Public inquiries
  • Human rights and international humanitarian law
  • False imprisonment, administrative detention and prisoners’ rights
  • National security and counter-terror measures
  • Social welfare and health
  • Criminal justice
  • Discrimination
  • Trafficking and modern slavery
  • Environmental and planning

Our public law barristers specialise in bringing challenges that defend the rights of individuals and have a wider lasting and beneficial impact for society and affected groups.

Public law challenges arise in nearly all of Chambers’ specialist areas. Our core strength is the multi-disciplinary expertise we can offer at all levels of seniority. We pursue bold and innovative points of law to secure the best possible outcome for our clients.

Our public law barristers write leading texts on judicial review and regularly train others on how to pursue judicial reviews. We are always happy to discuss creative ways in which we can work with you and add value to your work.

Garden Court Chambers won the Human Rights and Public Law Set of the Year Award at the Chambers Bar Awards 2016 and was shortlisted for Public Law Set of the Year at the Legal 500 Awards in 2024, 2023, 2022 and 2017. We are ranked in the Chambers & Partners UK Bar Guide for Public Law and in the Legal 500 Directory for Administrative & Human Rights Law.

Recent Notable Cases & News

Garden Court Chambers celebrates 50th Anniversary

This year marks 50 years of Garden Court Chambers winning ground-breaking cases of constitutional importance.

Friday 31 May 2024

Court of Appeal orders urgent hearing in important case on child criminal exploitation and school exclusions

The Appellant is represented by Nicola Braganza KC, Ollie Persey and Alex Temple of Garden Court Chambers. They are assisted by Maya Thomas Davis (first six pupil). In the High Court, the Appellant was also represented by Harry Harris. They are instructed by Kate Ward and Karen May at Bindmans LLP assisted by Tatyana Koleva.

Tuesday 4 Feb 2025

Louise Hooper listed in 100 Brilliant Women in AI Ethics 2025

We are delighted to announce that Louise Hooper of Garden Court Chambers has been listed in the 100 Brilliant Women in AI Ethics list - 2025.

Friday 31 Jan 2025

Home Office concedes trafficking victim’s judicial review claim on day of trial

HHB was represented by Emma Fitzsimons of the Garden Court Public Law and Immigration Law Teams, instructed by Bryony Goodesmith and Nakita Hedges at Deighton Pierce Glynn Solicitors.

Wednesday 29 Jan 2025

Marc Willers KC listed in The Lawyer Hot 100 2025

We are delighted to announce that Marc Willers KC of Garden Court Chambers has been listed in The Lawyer magazine’s Hot 100 list.

Tuesday 28 Jan 2025

Adrian Berry to be appointed King’s Counsel

Garden Court Chambers is delighted to announce that Adrian Berry will be appointed King’s Counsel in 2025.

Friday 24 Jan 2025

Past Notable Cases

 

We are known for ground-breaking and successful challenges to government policy in test cases of constitutional importance.

Our barristers regularly appear in the European Court of Human Rights, European Court of Justice, Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, High Court and the Upper Tribunal (Administrative Appeals Chamber).

Our team also fights for clients in judicial reviews that may not hit the headlines, but are nonetheless vital for protecting the rights of vulnerable individuals.

Our recent news items can be viewed above. Past notable historic cases can be viewed below.

R (K and Anor) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2018] EWHC 2951(Admin)
High Court strikes down Home Office decision to cut support for victims of trafficking and modern slavery in a claim successfully challenging the policy decision of the Home Office. Reported in the Guardian and Independent.

R (DS and Ors) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions UKSC 2018/0074
Challenge to revised benefit cap as unlawfully discriminating against lone parents with children under two. Supreme Court Judgment pending. See Rights Info.

Hussein v Secretary of State for the Home Department & Anor [2018] EWHC 2013 (Admin)
Permission granted to seek public inquiry into systematic abuse at Brook House immigration removal centre. Reported in the Guardian in February and May 2018.

R (PRCBC) v Secretary of State for the Home Department, CO/2663/2018
High profile challenge concerning the excessive fee charged by the Home Office to children who wish to register for British citizenship. Reported in the Guardian.

R (Against Borders for Children) v Secretary of State for Education, CO/8/2018, C1/2018/0763
School census data collection is breach of EU and domestic data protection principles. Further to the litigation, the Education Secretary decided in May 2018 to cease collection of such data in future school census. Reported in the Independent.

R( Andrews) v SSBEI and SSHCLG, CO/3256/2018
High Court rules that Mineral Planning Authorities are not bound by statutory definition of fracking and can apply their own wider definitions

R (Medical Justice) v SSHD [2017] CO/5386/2016
High Court rules government redefinition of torture in immigration detention policy is unlawful. Wide reaching findings for hundreds of victims of torture found to have been wrongly detained in immigration detention centres. Reported in the Guardian.

R (ota) CL v Greater Manchester Police [2018] CO/3515/2016 & CO/1076/2018
Boy wins right to judicial review in challenge to have details of ‘sexting’ incident erased by police. Reported in the Guardian.

R (oao Slade & Baxter) v HM Attorney General and the DPP (C1/2018/1351)
Successful test case to challenge the refusal by the Attorney General to conduct independent inquiry of high-profile criminal case. Reported by the BBC.

R(C) v Secretary of State for Justice [2016] UKSC 2
The Claimant successfully challenged a decision by the Home Secretary to refuse him unescorted leave in the community and maintained an order of anonymity to protect his identity. Widely reported, including by the BBC.

R (Kiarie; Byndloss) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2017] UKSC 42; [2017] WLR 2380
Landmark Supreme Court ruling on access to effective remedy for out of country appeals.

R (Joanna Dennehy) v SSJ and Governor of HMP Bronzefield  [2016] EWHC 1219 (Admin)
Successful challenge to the legality of regulations and policies on prolonged segregation of vulnerable prisoners.

Contact team

What others say

“The set’s well-known expertise in areas such as immigration and civil liberties is grounded in a firm command of public law principles and judicial review. Its capability in this area is strongly geared towards safeguarding the rights of vulnerable groups and individuals, in challenging policies of the Home Office and other government departments. ”

Chambers UK Bar Guide

publications

Our barristers have contributed to or co-authored many of the leading texts on public law, immigration, housing and criminal justice:

  • Judicial Review: A Practical Guide, 3rd edition 2017 – Amanda Weston KC
  • Judicial Review: A Practical Guide, 2nd edition 2012 – Amanda Weston KC
  • Judicial Review: Law & Practice, 1st edition, 2012 – Amanda Weston KC
  • Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery: Law and Practice, 1st edition 2018 – Michelle Brewer and contributions from other members of the public law team
  • Archbold Criminal Pleading Evidence & Practice – Maya Sikand, Contributing Editor 2015 to date
  • Blackstone’s Guide to the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008, OUP, 2009 – Maya Sikand
  • Blackstone’s Criminal Practice, OUP – Maya Sikand, Contributing Editor 2009 – 2014
  • Housing Allocation and Homelessness, Jordans, 4th edition, 2016 – Liz Davies KC
  • Macdonald’s Immigration Law and Practice – all editions have included contributions from many members of the public law team
  • Butterworths’ Immigration Law Service – Greg Ó Ceallaigh

Associate member expertise

We have strong academic links and boast a number of Associate Members with particular expertise in areas such as discrimination law, race and policing in the EU, gender, equality, sexuality, human rights approaches to legal gender recognition, environmental law and planning law.

The Team

Sonali Naik KC

Year of Call: 1991

Year of Silk: 2018

Stephen Simblet KC

Year of Call: 1991

Year of Silk: 2020

Grace Brown

Year of Call: 1995

Stephanie Harrison KC

Year of Call: 1991

Year of Silk: 2013

Marc Willers KC

Year of Call: 1987

Year of Silk: 2014

Leslie Thomas KC

Year of Call: 1988

Year of Silk: 2014

Amanda Weston KC

Year of Call: 1995

Year of Silk: 2018

Nicola Braganza KC

Year of Call: 1992

Year of Silk: 2022

Liz Davies KC

Year of Call: 1994

Year of Silk: 2022

Edward Grieves KC

Year of Call: 1995

Year of Silk: 2023

Irena Sabic KC

Year of Call: 2002

Year of Silk: 2023

Joanne Cecil KC

Year of Call: 2005

Year of Silk: 2024

Greg Ó Ceallaigh KC

Year of Call: 2006

Year of Silk: 2024

Patrick Roche

Year of Call: 1977

Kathryn Cronin

Year of Call: 1980

Stephen Cottle

Year of Call: 1984

Christopher Williams

Year of Call: 1988

Rebecca Chapman

Year of Call: 1990

Bethan Harris

Year of Call: 1990

David Jones

Year of Call: 1994

Louise Hooper

Year of Call: 1997

Adrian Berry

Year of Call: 1998

Gordon Lee

Year of Call: 1998

Ronan Toal

Year of Call: 1999

Bojana Asanovic

Year of Call: 2000

Felicity Williams

Year of Call: 2000

Tim Baldwin

Year of Call: 2001

Desmond Rutledge

Year of Call: 2001

Maha Sardar

Year of Call: 2002

Jodie Blackstock

Year of Call: 2003

Andrew Eaton

Year of Call: 2004

Mark Symes

Year of Call: 2004

Sarah Hemingway

Year of Call: 2006

Jennifer Twite

Year of Call: 2006

Kirsten Heaven

Year of Call: 2007

Richard Reynolds

Year of Call: 2007

Alex Grigg

Year of Call: 2007

Helen Foot

Year of Call: 2008

Ali Bandegani

Year of Call: 2009

Raza Halim

Year of Call: 2009

Sangeetha Iengar

Year of Call: 2009

Paul Clark

Year of Call: 2010

Owen Greenhall

Year of Call: 2010

Connor Johnston

Year of Call: 2010

Gráinne Mellon

Year of Call: 2010

Emma Fitzsimons

Year of Call: 2011

Bijan Hoshi

Year of Call: 2011

Taimour Lay

Year of Call: 2011

Maria Moodie

Year of Call: 2011

Una Morris

Year of Call: 2012

David Sellwood

Year of Call: 2012

Michael Etienne

Year of Call: 2012

Stephen Clark

Year of Call: 2013

Nick Bano

Year of Call: 2013

Ubah Dirie

Year of Call: 2014

Eleanor Sibley

Eleanor Sibley

Year of Call: 2014

Michael Engelhardt-Sprack

Year of Call: 2014

Ricky Blennerhassett

Year of Call: 2015

Matthew Ahluwalia

Year of Call: 2015

Franck Magennis

Year of Call: 2016

Zehrah Hasan

Year of Call: 2016

Luke McLean

Year of Call: 2017

Fatima Jichi

Year of Call: 2019

Ollie Persey

Year of Call: 2017

Oscar Davies

Year of Call: 2018

Steven Galliver-Andrew

Year of Call: 2018

Ella Gunn

Year of Call: 2018

Nadia O’Mara

Year of Call: 2018

Eva Doerr

Year of Call: 2019

Maaha Elahi

Year of Call: 2019

Acland Bryant

Year of Call: 2019

Rehab Jaffer

Year of Call: 2019

Georgie Rea

Year of Call: 2019

Alex Schymyck

Year of Call: 2020

Isaac Ricca-Richardson

Year of Call: 2020

Alex Temple

Year of Call: 2024

Hannah Lynes

Year of Call: 2021

Josephine Fathers

Year of Call: 2022

Abby Buttle

Year of Call: 2022

Sophie Lucas

Year of Call: 2023

Christopher Lambert

Year of Call: 2023

Matthew Banks

Year of Call: 2023

Leanna Burnard

Year of Call: 2024

Anna Morris KC

Year of Call: 2006

Year of Silk: 2023

Adrienne Copithorne

Year of Call: 2018

We are top ranked by independent legal directories and consistently win awards.

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