Overview
John Jones specialises in extradition, war crimes and counter-terrorism. In addition to his domestic practice, which has included appearances before the House of Lords, Supreme Court and the Privy Council, John has appeared as counsel before a number of international courts and tribunals, including the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, the Special Court for Sierra Leone and the European Court of Justice.
John read Philosophy, Politics and Economics as an open exhibitioner at St. Edmund Hall, Oxford University where he gained an M.A.. He also has an M.A. in Law from City University in London and an LL.M. from George Washington University in Washington, D.C.
John is admitted to practice law in the District of Columbia, USA and the Kingdom of Cambodia. He was temporarily admitted to the Bar of Gibraltar in a judicial review challenge (Desoiza v Judicial Services Commission) and to the Kigali Bar for a case pending before the Rwandan Supreme Court to be heard at the end of January this year.
John is a member of the Attorney-General's 'B' Panel (civil).
What the directories say
John Jones is consistently recommended within Chambers and Partners. He is listed in band 1 Leading Junior Extradition in the 2012 edition:
The "excellent" John Jones is also admitted to practice in the District of Columbia, USA. He commands respect from sources as a result of the great technical knowledge he displays, particularly in extradition law. He acted on the Norman Hull matter, concerning the repatriation of a UK prisoner from the Republic of Ireland.
He is also consistently listed in the "Legal Experts" directory in the field of Civil Liberties.
Counter-terrorism and financial sanctions
- John is acting in several cases involving United Nations Security Council counter-terrorism sanctions imposed against individuals and entities allegedly associated with Usama bin Laden, Al-Qaeda and the Taliban network. He is advising four individuals and one entity placed on the United Nations Consolidated List about the de-listing procedures and avenues for legal redress both in domestic courts and before the Court of Justice of the European Communities (ECJ), which have so far engaged two separate proceedings before the ECJ (Abdulbasit Abdulrahim v. Council and Commission; Faraj Hassan v. Council) and one set of domestic proceedings involving asset-freezing against the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. John has also acted in control order cases under the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 and has acted in extradition cases relating to terrorism. He is co-author (with Dr Miša Zgonec-Rožej) of an article which appeared in the Law Society Gazette in September 2009 entitled "Freezing assets of 'terrorists' - how fair is the UN sanctions committee?" - click here to read the article.
Recent cases include:
- The Queen on the application of Bhuta v HM Treasury [2011] EWHC1789 (Admin)Terrorism - financial restrictions - whether Article 6 ECHR applies to disclosure in challenges to asset freezing directions made by HM Treasury. Permission to appeal has been granted by the Court of Appeal.
- Khaled (R on the application of) v. Foreign & Commonwealth Office [2010] EWHC 3789 (Admin) United Nations Security Council sanctions regime - freezing financial assets of alleged terrorists - Al-Qa'ida and Taliban (United Nations Measures) Orders 2002 and 2006.
- Secretary of State for the Home Department v. Faraj Faraj Hassan Al Saadi [2009]EWHC 3390 (QB) Revocation of Control Order.
- Faraj Hassan (C-399/06 P) v. Council of the European Union and the European Commission, 3/12/2009 (Court of Justice of the European Union (Second Chamber))EU law - restrictive measures taken against persons and entities associated with Usama bin Laden, the Al-Qaeda network and the Taliban - Regulation (EC) No 881/2002 - Freezing of funds and economic resources of a person following his inclusion in a list drawn up by a body of the United Nations - Action for annulment - Fundamental rights - right to respect for property, right to be heard and right to effective judicial review.
- Secretary of State v. AS [2009] EWHC 2564 (Admin) Control orders - disclosure - Article 6 of the ECHR
Extradition
John is a specialist extradition practitioner and author. He is the General Editor of the Extradition and Mutual Legal Assistance Handbook (Oxford University Press, 2010 (second edition)) and publishes the Extradition Law Reports (Southside Legal Publishing, 2007). He has appeared on behalf of requested persons, foreign governments and judicial authorities in a large number of extradition proceedings. He has represented, among others, governments and judicial authorities of the Czech Republic, France, Germany, HKSAR, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine and the United States. In 2007, he was seconded to the Extradition Unit of the Crown Prosecution Service's Serious Crimes Division, where he was responsible for preparing extradition requests on behalf of the CPS and representing foreign states and judicial authorities in extradition proceedings in the English courts.
Among his other extradition cases, John has recently represented Julian Assange (editor in chief of Wikileaks), in the proceedings in the magistrates' court, in relation to Sweden's request for his extradition (Swedish Judicial Authority v. Assange [2010] EWHC 3473 (Admin.)). He has also represented Deborah Dark, Wolfgang Hertel and Ejub Ganic in their successful challenges to their extradition, as well as Andrew Symeou in relation to his extradition to Greece. He currently represents Rafik Khalifa (founder of Khalifa Bank and Khalifa Airways) in relation to Algeria's request for his extradition and is also presently involved in extradition requests from the USA (O'Dwyer), the UAE (Tudor), Thailand, Albania, the Russian Federation and Croatia (in the war crimes case of Zdinjak). He has also advised in extradition matters in foreign jurisdictions.
Recent High Court and Supreme Court/ House of Lords cases include:
- Musikyavichius v Government Of The Russian Federation [2011] EWHC 1549 (Admin) Extradition to Russia - failure by district judge to make adequate findings relating to prison conditions in Russia - remitted to District Judge.
- HH and PH v. Deputy Prosecutor of the Italian Republic, Genoa [2011] EWHC 1145 (Admin) Extradition to Italy - Article 8 ECHR and the rights of young children in light of ZH (Tanzania) - mental condition bar to extradition. Leave to appeal to the Supreme Court has been granted and the appeal will be heard in March 2012.
- Harkins v SSHD/Government of the USA [2011] EWHC 920 (Admin) Extradition and human rights - whether extradition to the USA to serve sentence of mandatory life imprisonment without parole for "felony murder" would be compatible with Article 3 ECHR. This case is currently before the ECHR.
- Public Prosecutor Of Hamburg v Altun [2011] EWHC 397 (Admin) Extradition to Germany -double jeopardy - offences committed in Germany and requested person convicted in Turkey - relationship of double jeopardy and amnesty provisions - whether "in jeopardy" when the requested person was un-returnable from the UK as a refugee at the time of his conviction.
- Bulla v Albania [2010] EWHC 3506 (Admin) Extradition to Albania - right of re-trial where tried in absence under Albanian law.
- Hertel v Government Of Canada [2010] EWHC 2305 (Admin) Extradition - double criminality - tax offences - conduct not criminal if transposed to the UK.
- Regional Court in Konin, Poland v Pawel Walerianczyk [2010] EWHC 2149 (Admin)Extradition - Validity of filing and serving unstamped notice of appeal.
- The Government of Lithuania v Al [2010] EWHC 2299 (Admin) Extradition to Lithuania - extradition held to be incompatible with Article 8 of the ECHR.
- Republic of Serbia v Ejup Ganic CWMC, 27 July 2010, also: [2010] EWHC 878 (Admin) Extradition request from Serbia for alleged war crimes found to be politically motivated and an abuse of process - whether crimes extradition crimes - extraneous considerations - for further details, click here.
- Louca v. A German Judicial Authority (Supreme Court) [2009] UKSC 4. Extradition to Germany - whether an EAW needs to refer to other EAWs issued for the same offence.
- Romanowski v Regional Court of Lublin, Poland [2009] EWHC 2878 (Admin) Extradition to Poland - reference in EAW to fact of breach of bail - whether EAW sought extradition for offence of breach of bail.
- Sciezka (No. 2) v Sad Okregowy, Kielce, Poland [2009] EWHC 2748 (Admin) Extradition to Poland - Passage of time - trial in absence - respect for first instance findings of fact.
- Sciezka v Sad Okregowy, Kielce, Poland [2009] EWHC 2259 (Admin) Extradition to Poland - Validity of filing and serving unstamped notice of appeal.
- R (Bary and Al Fawwaz) v. Secretary of State for the Home Department [2009] EWHC 2068 (Admin) Extradition to the USA for alleged participation in a conspiracy to murder US citizens, US diplomats and other internationally protected persons in relation to 1998 bombings US embassies in Nairobi and Dar Es Salaam - whether conditions in "Supermax" federal prison constitute inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment - whether fair trial possible where defendant designated by US President as a global terrorist. This case is currently pending before the ECHR.
- Navadunskis v Serious Organised Crime Agency [2009] EWHC 1292 (Admin) Extradition to Lithuania - Judicial Review of SOCA's "decision" to remove extraditee after withdrawn appeal - Interaction of extradition and asylum law - remedies available where statutory appeal cannot be re-opened under CPR 52.17.
- Farnesi and Fawaz v Court of Livorno [2009] EWHC 1199 (Admin) Extradition to Italy - whether EAWs sufficiently particularised and whether extradition compatible with human rights.
- Trenk v District Court in Plzen-Mesto [2009] EWHC 1132 (Admin) Extradition to Czech Republic - appellant discharged on basis that it was unclear whether his extradition was sought as an accused person or merely for questioning.
- Moulai v Director of Public Prosecutions of Creteil France [2009] EWHC 1030 (Admin) Extradition to France - Conviction in absence - whether EAW a conviction or accusation EAW - whether EAW sufficiently particularised.
- Spanovic v. Government of Croatia [2009] EWHC 723 (Admin) Extradition to Croatia for war crimes - passage of time, psychiatric condition and extraneous circumstances - Articles 5, 6 , 8 and 14 of the ECHR.
- Symeou v. Public Prosecutor's Office at the Court of Appeals, Patras, Greece [2009] 1 WLR 2384. Extradition to Greece - abuse of process based on misconduct by Greek police.
- Hutton v Government of Australia [2009] EWHC 564 (Admin) Extradition to Australia - psychiatric condition.
- Kalniets v District Court of Ogre [2009] EWHC 534 (Admin) Extradition to Latvia - admissibility of fresh evidence in statutory appeal to High Court.
- Mucelli v Government of Albania/ Moulai v Deputy Public Prosecutor in Creteil, France (House of Lords) [2009] 1 WLR 276, [2009] UKHL 2. Extradition to Albania and France - Court's jurisdiction to vary time-limits for serving notices of appeal.
- Kwietniewski v Circuit Court in Tarnobrzeg Poland [2008] EWHC 3121 (Admin) Extradition to Poland - psychiatric condition and suicide risk.
- Louca v. The Office of Public Prosecutor in Bielefeld, Germany [2008] EWHC 2907 (Admin), The Times, 10 December 2008) Extradition to Germany - whether an EAW needs to refer to other EAWs issued for the same offence.
- Olah v Regional Court In Plzen Czech Republic [2008] EWHC 2701 (Admin) Extradition to the Czech Republic - District Judge refusing an adjournment - availability of judicial review in extradition proceedings.
- Bogdani v Albanian Government [2008] EWHC 2065 (Admin) Extradition to Albania - rights of re-trial where conviction in absence.
- Moulai v Director of Public Prosecutions of Creteil France [2008] 1 WLR 2460, [2008] 3 All ER 226, [2008] EWHC 1024 (Admin) Extradition to France - Court's jurisdiction to vary time-limits for serving notices of appeal.
- R (on the application of Hilali) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2008] EWHC 905 (Admin) Extradition to Spain - whether undetermined asylum claim is a bar to extradition to a third state.
- Wiercinski v. The 2nd Division of the Criminal Circuit in Olsztyn, Poland [2008] EWHC 200 (Admin); Extradition to Poland - whether extradition may be ordered where aggregate sentence imposed for offences which include a non-extradition offence.
War crimes
Since 1995, John has worked as an international criminal lawyer, practicing at the war crimes tribunals for the former Yugoslavia, Rwanda and Sierra Leone. He has recently been involved as counsel in five separate war crimes cases (Mehmed Alagic, Naser Oric, Momcilo Krajisnik (as part of the amicus team), Rasim Delic and Mladen Markac).
Between 1995 and 1999, he worked for the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague, as a law clerk and then associate legal officer to Judge Antonio Cassese, the first President of the ICTY. In 1998, John worked at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, in Arusha, Tanzania, as an associate legal officer, where he helped draft the first judgment on genocide.
In 2003, John was the first acting Principal Defender of the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL), in Freetown, Sierra Leone. In that capacity, he helped to set up the SCSL Defence Office and represented suspects and accused appearing before the SCSL - including a former Government minister, rebel (RUF) leaders and members of the AFRC junta - and assigned defence teams. He filed briefs and appeared in court on behalf of suspects, devised a legal aid system for the SCSL, and appeared on Sierra Leonean radio and television to explain the role of the Defence in international criminal trials.
Since 2001, John has been involved in international criminal defence work. He represented Naser Orić - the wartime commander of Srebrenica in Bosnia & Herzegovina - in his trial and appeal before the ICTY from 2003-2008. Orić was fully acquitted of all charges on appeal. See Trial Judgement, 30/06/06 (http://www.un.org/icty/oric/trialc/judgement/ori-jud060630e.pdf)( partial acquittal after trial)
Appeals Judgement, 03/07/08 (http://www.icty.org/x/cases/oric/acjug/en/080703.pdf) (full acquittal on appeal)
War crimes - command responsibility in relation to events in Srebrenica in 1992-1993. See also http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3719434.stm and
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/07/03/europe/hague.php.
John has appeared before the ICTY in five cases:
- co-counsel in the case of Prosecutor of the ICTY v. Mehmed Alagić, a Bosnian Army General;
- co-counsel in the trial and appeal of Prosecutor of the ICTY v. Naser Oric (IT-03-68-T & A), Bosnian commander in Srebrenica;
- co-counsel in the appeal of Prosecutor of the ICTY v. Rasim Delic, the highest-ranking officer in the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who was convicted on the basis of superior responsibility for crimes committed by mujahedin in Bosnia. Issue of whether appeal could be continued notwithstanding death of the appellant. ((http://www.icty.org/x/cases/delic/acdec/en/100629_1.pdf);
- co-counsel in the amicus curiae team in the appeal of Prosecutor of the ICTY v. Momcilo Krajisnik, speaker of the Bosnian Serb Parliament;
- co-counsel in the appeal of Prosecutor of the ICTY v. Mladen Markac, convicted in relation to the events surrounding Croatia's Operation Storm.
He is also currently instructed as duty counsel in a matter before the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, only one of two Counsel from the UK, and only one of eight counsel worldwide, to be so instructed.
John has published and lectured extensively in the field of war crimes law. He has advised governments and international organisations on war crimes issues.
John has also taught international criminal law at the London School of Economics.
In 2009, John submitted written evidence to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights in relation to amending the law on genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes to allow retrospective prosecutions under the ICC Act 2001 (Parliamentary Joint Committee's 24th Report of Session 2008-09 ("Closing the Impunity Gap: UK law on genocide (and related crimes) and redress for torture victims")). John also acted as principal legal consultant for the Aegis Trust, the UK's Genocide trust, which successfully campaigned for a change in the law, resulting in section 70 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009, enabling genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes committed since 1 January 1991 anywhere in the world to be prosecuted in the UK, where the perpetrator is British or a British resident.
Judicial review
John is involved in a number of judicial review challenges, including to asset-freezing under counter-terrorist legislation (see above), notification requirements under the Counter-terrorism Act 2008, repatriation arrangements (see below) and disciplinary proceedings against a Judge in Gibraltar.
Criminal law
John's criminal practice includes Crown Court trials for serious offences, including robbery and aggravated arson, as well as District and General Courts-Martial.
Recent cases include:
R v Morton (William James) [2009] EWCA Crim 704. Appeal to Court of Appeal from General Court-Martial - Court-Martial ordering Newton hearing despite signed Basis of Plea, Goodyear indications.
Cleeland (R on the application of) v Criminal Cases Review Commission [2009] EWHC 474 (Admin) Judicial Review - alleged historical miscarriage of justice - status of lead tests for firearms discharge residue.
Human rights / Civil liberties
John's practice encompasses human rights and civil liberties generally. He has an extensive pro bono practice, working with, among others, Fair Trials Abroad and the FCO's Pro Bono Panel, on cases involving the death penalty, prisoners abroad and/or extradition. For the past 4 years he has been listed in the "Legal Experts" directory in the field of Civil Liberties.
John specialises in prisoner repatriation cases.
Recent cases include:
Norman Hull v R [2011] EWCA Crim 1261 Repatriation of British Prisoner from Ireland - Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons 1983 - correspondence of sentencing provisions between Ireland and the UK Appeared as Advocate to the Court, instructed by the Attorney-General.
Samantha O. v Governor of HMP Holloway and Secretary of State for Justice [2010] EWHC 58 (Admin). Repatriation of British prisoner from Laos - Repatriation of Prisoners Act 1984 and Prisoner Transfer Agreement with Laos - whether trial in Laos was a flagrant denial of justice - whether enforcement in the UK would breach Art 5 ECHR - setting a determinate sentence for a "transferred life prisoner" under section 273(2) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003
Willcox (R on the application) v Ministry of Justice [2009] EWHC 1483 (Admin)
Repatriation of British prisoner from Thailand - Repatriation of Prisoners Act 1984 and Prisoner Transfer Agreement with Thailand - whether enforcement of sentence for drugs offences violated the ECHR because of its disproportionate length and/or breach of the right to a fair trial in Thailand.
El Farargy v El Farargy & Ors [2008] EWCA Civ 884. Matrimonial finance - Article 6 of the ECHR
Asylum and immigration
John sits, part-time, as an Immigration Judge of the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber). As an advocate, he has appeared for appellants in asylum applications.
International commercial arbitration
From 1999 to 2001, John worked for White and Case in Paris, practicing in international commercial arbitration and also lecturing, in French, at the Law Clinic of Paris (Université de Paris-I).
Public Access
John has now qualified and is available to take on public access work.
Publications
Among his publications, John has published the following books:
- Extradition and Mutual Legal Assistance Handbook (Oxford University Press, 2010);
- International Criminal Practice (3rd edition, Transnational Publishers-Oxford University Press: 2003) by John R.W.D. Jones and Steven Powles;
- The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court: A Commentary (edited by Antonio Cassese, Paola Gaeta and John R.W.D. Jones) (Oxford University Press, 2002, 3 volumes);
- The Practice of the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda (Transnational Publishers: Irvington-on-Hudson, NY, USA. 1st edition: 1998, 2nd edition: 2000).
- Consultant on the International Bar Association's (IBA) International Criminal Law Manual. Please click here to view the Manual.
Directorships
John is a director of the Orangutan Protection Foundation (www.savetheorangutan.co.uk).
John is a fluent French speaker and also proficient in Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian.
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Year of Call
1992
Membership of foreign bars: District of Columbia, USA (1999); Kingdom of Cambodia (2009)
Email Address
j.jones@doughtystreet.co.uk
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Click for printable CV
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