Caoilfhionn Gallagher

Caoilfhionn Gallagher is a barrister of 8 years' call (called to the Bar of Ireland, July 2001). She is dual-qualified, called to both the Bars of Ireland and England and Wales. Caoilfhionn is a human rights and civil liberties specialist, and has particular expertise in prison law and community care for children and vulnerable adults. She is a co-author of the best-selling Oxford University Press textbook on the Human Rights Act, Blackstone's Guide to the Human Rights Act (4th ed, 2007; 5th ed, forthcoming, August 2009), and she has been appointed as a Council of Europe expert on Articles 10 and 11 ECHR. Her proficiency has been recognised by both Chambers and Partners and the Legal 500.

WHAT THE DIRECTORIES SAY

• Legal 500 2009: Caoilfhionn is listed as a 'leading junior' in human rights and civil liberties. She is recognised for work in urgent judicial review proceedings for children in custody.

• Chambers and Partners 2010: Ranked as 'up-and-coming' in Public and Administrative law, Caoilfhionn Gallagher is "focused and deeply knowledgeable about human rights," agree sources. "A tough negotiator," she is a public law generalist, but also undertakes complex cases relating to vulnerable children.

PUBLIC LAW & HUMAN RIGHTS

Caoilfhionn has a wide-ranging claimant public law practice at all levels. She regularly appears in the High Court and Court of Appeal, and has also been instructed in the House of Lords and Privy Council. Notable cases include:

7/7 Victims, Survivors and Bereaved:

• R (Rachel North and Others) v Secretary of State for the Home Department: representing bereaved families and survivors of the 7th July 2005 bombings; review of government's refusal to institute an independent inquiry into intelligence failures prior to the bombings, and the adequacy of existing mechanisms of review and inquiry (with Patrick O'Connor QC). See BBC News coverage (read)

Separation of Mother and Baby:

• R (G) v Nottingham City Council and Nottingham University Hospital [2008] EWHC 152 and 400 (Admin): unlawful removal of newborn baby from his mother, a care leaver; Article 8, common law and Children Acts (with Ian Wise). See coverage in the Guardian (read) and Family Law Week (read).

Guantanamo Bay:

• Intervention for a coalition of NGOs in R (Al Rawi and Others) v. Secretary of State for the FCO and Secretary of State for the Home Department: UK's obligations concerning non-national UK residents detained in Guantanamo, settled prior to hearing in the House of Lords.

Misbehaviour in Public Office:

• Lawrence v. AG for Grenada [2007] UKPC 18, [2007] WLR (D) 76: constitutional definition of 'misbehaviour in public office'/ fair trial, led by Edward Fitzgerald QC.

• In Re Chief Justice of Gibraltar: inquiry regarding the Chief Justice of Gibraltar, led by Edward Fitzgerald QC.

Electoral Law

• Ali v Hacques (Re Election Petitions in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets) [2006] All ER (D) 113 (alleged impropriety in the conduct of local elections, with Gavin Millar QC).

Children and Young People

• R (S) v Sutton LBC [2007] EWCA Civ 790, (2007) 10 CCLR 615: local authorities' duties to homeless children upon their release from custody.

• R (O) v. Hackney LBC [2007] ELR 405: school admissions and special educational needs.

Article 2

• Lewis v Chief Constable of Staffordshire, Birmingham County Court: police failure to protect from death threats, led by Edward Fitzgerald QC.

• In Re Rosemary Nelson Inquiry: independent public inquiry into the murder of a solicitor in Northern Ireland, including questions of possible RUC collusion in her death; representing an NGO, British Irish Rights Watch, seeking intervenor status (with Andrew Nicol QC).

• Caoilfhionn regularly advises on judicial reviews of inquests, and is also available for inquest hearings.

PRISON LAW

Caoilfhionn regularly undertakes prison-related judicial reviews. This includes:

• emergency Children Act 1989 cases concerning homeless, self-harming and vulnerable young people in and leaving custody;

• Article 5 and Article 6 challenges to the Secretary of State and Parole Board;

• judicial reviews of adjudications and appeals to the MoJ;

• issues relating to healthcare and disability (Articles 3 and 8 ECHR, and the DDA);

• separation of mother and baby, and placements in Mother and Baby Units;

• challenges to sentence miscalculations;

• challenges to revocation of licences and recalls to custody;

• matters arising in privately run/ 'contracted out' prisons.

She has given expert evidence to the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee on electronic tagging, and has particular expertise in the structural and logistical flaws in the recall procedures for individuals on licence with a 'tag'.

In addition to prison-related judicial review, Caoilfhionn regularly represents lifers, IPPs and recalled prisoners before the Parole Board. She also represents prisoners wishing to transfer jurisdiction, including many UK-based Irish prisoners who wish to serve the remainder of their sentences in Ireland.

URGENT JUDICIAL REVIEW WORK

Caoilfhionn has extensive experience in urgent and out-of-hours judicial review work, and is happy to discuss cases informally before being instructed, and assist solicitors unfamiliar with urgent procedures.

HUMAN RIGHTS CONSULTANCY

In addition to litigation dealing with human rights issues, Caoilfhionn undertakes human rights consultancy and advisory services for many UK and Irish clients, including NGOs, the Ministry of Justice/ Department of Constitutional Affairs, and Irish government departments.

Prior to Doughty Street Caoilfhionn worked for six years as an academic, campaigner and policy lawyer, and this experience means she is well placed to assist campaigning organisations with strategic litigation (test cases and third party interventions). She has represented and advised (amongst others) the Howard League for Penal Reform, Fair Trials Abroad, British Irish Rights Watch, REDRESS, the National Council for Voluntary Organisations, the Law Society, the Centre for Corporate Accountability, JCWI, NUS, Genewatch, the AIRE Centre, the Campaign for the Accountability of American Bases, REPRIEVE, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, the Irish Council for Ageing and Older People and the NSPCC, and she previously worked for Liberty. In 2005 she delivered a paper on costs in public interest litigation to a specialist group reviewing the Corner House principles, chaired by Lord Justice Maurice Kay. She has a particular interest in third party interventions and is happy to discuss strategic campaigning objectives with organisations before being instructed.

Year of Call

2001

2001 - Ireland. 2006 - England and Wales

Email Address

c.gallagher@doughtystreet.co.uk

Click for contact details

Specialist Teams

Member :

• Actions Against the police
• Community Care & Health
• Direct Public Access
• Human Rights
• International Law Group
• Prisoner's Rights
• Public and Administrative Law