Bijan has a broad public law practice, with a particular specialism in immigration law. He has acted at all domestic levels up to and including the Supreme Court, as well in proceedings before the European Courts.
Bijan is ranked as a leading junior in Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners. He is appointed to the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s A panel of preferred counsel. He sits as a part-time judge in both the First-tier Tribunal and the Upper Tribunal of the Immigration and Asylum Chamber.
PUBLIC LAW
Bijan is an established and versatile judicial review practitioner whose broad practice includes immigration and nationality, welfare benefits, community care, prisons, criminal justice, protest, information and new technologies.
In recent years, Bijan has gained substantial experience in bringing high-profile, systemic public law challenges on behalf of both individuals and NGOs. He also has substantial experience of acting for third-party interveners in such claims.
Bijan is appointed to the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s A panel of preferred counsel.
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IMMIGRATION LAW
Bijan practices in all areas of immigration, asylum and nationality law. He acts in judicial review claims and statutory appeals, and advises on the making of applications to the Home Office.
In recent years, Bijan’s practice has focused on acting for senior political and business figures in complex, high-profile and diplomatically sensitive asylum claims (confidentiality precludes their identification). These are cases that typically involve parallel extradition and INTERPOL proceedings. Bijan acts from the earliest pre-application stages through to the appellate stage.
That said, Bijan’s cases have raised the full spectrum of issues in this area including all forms of international protection; protected rights under the European Convention on Human Rights; British nationality law; general immigration under the Immigration Rules, including all areas of the Points Based System; exceptional cases falling outside the Immigration Rules; EU law; the EU Settlement Scheme; trafficking claims; and immigration detention. He has also acted in proceedings with a national security dimension before the Special Immigration Appeals Commission and is regularly instructed to challenge removal from the UK at short notice, seeking urgent injunctive relief if necessary.
Bijan sits as a part-time judge in both the First-tier Tribunal and the Upper Tribunal of the Immigration and Asylum Chamber.
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NOTABLE CASES
R (Donald) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2024] EWHC 1492 (Admin)
A judicial review challenge to the Secretary of State’s decision to abandon the commitment to implement all 30 recommendations of the Windrush Lessons Learned Review. The Court held that abandoning the commitment to introduce a migrants’ commissioner and review the role and remit of the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration was unlawful (including on discrimination grounds). Bijan represented the intervener Black Equity Organisation. This case was reported on by The Guardian, the BBC, The Independent and Sky.
R (Liberty) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2024] EWHC 1181 (Admin)
A judicial review challenge brought by the Liberty to the legality of Regulations adopted by the Secretary of State which lowered the threshold for police intervention in processions and assemblies by protesters by defining the phrase “serious disruption” in the Public Order Act 1986 to include any disruption that was “more than minor”. The Court held that the Regulations were ultra vires the enabling power and also unlawful on consultation grounds. Bijan represented the intervener Public Law Project. This case was reported on by The Telegraph, The Guardian, the BBC, The Independent and Sky.
R (Independent Monitoring Authority for the Citizens’ Rights Agreements) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2022] EWHC 3274 (Admin), [2023] 1 WLR 817
A judicial review challenge to the Secretary of State’s interpretation of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreements, as implemented via the EU Settlement Scheme. The Court held that the Secretary of State’s interpretation was wrong and that no second application to the Scheme is required to secure indefinite leave to remain after five years of residence in the UK. Bijan represented the intervener the3million. This case was reported on by The Guardian, Financial Times, the BBC, Al Jazeera and Sky.
R (W) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2020] EWHC 1299 (Admin), [2020] 1 WLR 4420
A judicial review challenge to the ‘no recourse to public funds’ regime, which the Court held was unlawful to the extent that it did not adequately protect people who were not yet destitute but would imminently suffer inhuman or degrading treatment without recourse to public funds. Bijan represented the intervener Project 17. This case was reported on by The Guardian.
R (S2) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2018] EWHC 993 (Admin)
A judicial review challenge to a decision to revoke indefinite leave to remain, made in the context of parallel appeal proceedings before the Special Immigration Appeals Commission. Bijan represented the claimant, S2.
R (Watson) v (1) Secretary of State for the Home Department and (2) First- tier Tribunal (Extant appeal: s94B challenge: forum) [2018] UKUT 165 (IAC), [2018] Imm AR 1094
A judicial review challenge concerning the position of those deported from the UK prior to the promulgation of the judgment of the Supreme Court in Kiarie and Byndloss (below). Bijan represented the applicant, Watson.
R (Kiarie and Byndloss) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2017] UKSC 42, [2017] 1 WLR 2380
In a landmark judgment, the Supreme Court ruled that the certification of two human rights claims under section 94B Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 was unlawful under Article 8 European Convention on Human Rights. Bijan represented the intervener, Bail for Immigration Detainees. This case was reported on by The Guardian and the BBC.
R (OO (Nigeria)) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2017] EWCA Civ 338
For the first time in a reported case, a section 94B Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 certification decision was held to be substantively disproportionate under Article 8 European Convention on Human Rights and quashed. Bijan represented the appellant, OO.
HD (Trafficked women) Nigeria CG [2016] UKUT 454 (IAC)
The Upper Tribunal considered and gave country guidance for victims of trafficking returning to Nigeria, deciding that the key risk criterion was a vulnerability to re- trafficking. Bijan represented the appellant, HD.
