Overview
Phillippa took silk in 2011 and is already identified in three practice area by Chambers & Partners (2012) (administrative and public law; civil liberties and police law) where it is said that she is "unanimously perceived as 'amazing' and a 'sincere and committed' silk", who "regularly goes over and above the work she needs to do in order to satisfy the client" and is an "immensely popular figure at the Bar". She 'always identifies the way forward" offering "'incisive analysis' of a case. She is a lauded as an "expert in the operation of the criminal justice system at all levels". Phillippa's expertise spans the public and private law arenas. She is equally at home in complex trials requiring mastery of large volumes of evidence and skilled cross examination as before the Administrative Court, Court of Appeal or Supreme Court arguing novel and difficult points of law. Actions Against the Police & Public Authorities Phillippa has extensive trial experience in complex private law claims brought against public authorities including the police and central government departments. Recent cases include a successful claim on behalf of four young women trafficked from Nigeria in the first case before the English courts to examine in detail the investigative duty under Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (OOO v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis [2011] EWHC 1246 (QB); [2011] U.K.H.R.R. 767). Her long running involvement in litigation challenging the compatibility of "kettling' with respect for the right to liberty recently culminated in in the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in Austin v United Kingdom(15 March 2012). In Al Rawi and others v Security Service and others she represented a number of Guantanamo detainees in the successful mediation of their claims against the Government for complicity in their torture and detention. She is currently representing the claimants in the "Mau Mau" litigation against the Foreign and Commonwealth Office arising out of the systematic torture of suspected insurgents in the Kenyan uprising in the 1950s, as well as over 300 Iraqis bringing private law damages claims both under the Human Rights Act and for assault and false imprisonment following their internment in the aftermath of the Iraq war. Other recent and ongoing cases include:
- Allbutt and others v Ministry of Justice (Court of Appeal. Ongoing claim in negligence arising out of friendly fire incident during Iraq war)
- Locally Employed Civilians v Ministry of Defence, DFID and FCO (negligence claim brought by more than 50 Iraqi civilians employed by the defendants during the occupation of Iraq for failure to protect them against attack by insurgents).
- Iraq abuse litigation - claim by more than 300 Iraqis for false imprisonment, and under HRA for breaches of Arts 3, 5 and 8. Claimants allege abused and in some cases tortured as well as unlawful internment by British forces comprising part of the coalition force during and after the war in Iraq.
- Jones and others v Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis and others (High Court. Ongoing claim arising out of misconduct of undercover police officers engaging in intimate relationships with claimant protesters during course of undercover operations).
- Iqbal v Prison Officers Association [2010] Q.B. 732; [2010] 2 W.L.R. 1054 (False imprisonment claim against defendant arising out of its call for strike action, resulting in prisoners not being let out of their cells).
Administrative & Public Law
Phillippa has an extensive public law practice representing a broad range of individual applicants. She also acts for NGOs such as Reprieve and Campaign Against the Arms Trade. She is described in Chambers and Partners (2012) as "a true public law all-rounder," who "can turn her hand to many matters".
- R (Omar) v Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (ongoing) - Norwich Pharmacal application, seeking disclosure of any information which will assist the claimant in demonstrating that he was unlawfully rendered from Kenya to Uganda.
- R (Tabbakh) v Secretary of State for Justice (ongoing) - Article 8 challenge to the lawfulness of licence conditions imposed upon applicant convicted of terrorist offences, including a challenge to the procedure by which such decisions are taken by MAPPA which provides no opportunity for making informed representations.
- R (BBC and Babar Ahmad) v Secretary of State for Justice [2012] EWHC 13 (Admin); (2012) 162 N.L.J. 94 - successful challenge to SSJ's refusal to permit the BBC to broadcast an interview with Babar Ahmad, a prisoner detained pending extradition to the USA on terrorist related charges.
- R (King) v Secretary of State for Justice [2012] EWCA Civ 376 , (CA) - judicial review to determine the applicability of Article 6 in its civil sphere to prison disciplinary proceedings resulting in punishment of cellular confinement.
- R (Bary) v Secretary of State for Justice [2010] EWHC 587 (Admin)) - lawfulness of decision to separate from general prisoner population detainees held in relation to deportation and extradition proceedings deemed to present a threat to national security.
- R (Reprieve) v Prime Minister and others (2010)- Judicial review of policy in force from 2004 governing interrogation by the Security Services on the grounds that it is unlawful as contrary to a common law prohibition on complicity in torture.
- R (CAAT and Cornerhouse Research) v SFO (2010) - challenge to SFO's prosecutorial decisions in relation to alleged corruption of BAE Systems).
- R (B) v Secretary of State for Justice [2009] EWHC 2220 (Admin); [2010] 2 All E.R. 151 - successful challenge under Article 8 EHCR to D's refusal to transfer a male to female transsexual to the female prison estate.
- R (Saunders and Tucker) v IPCC [2009] HRLR. Challenge under Article 2 ECHR to police officer practice of writing up post incident accounts in collaboration with one another on ground this is inconsistent with implied investigative obligation.
Inquests & Inquiries Phillippa has extensive experience both of inquests and bringing challenges to coronial decisions by way of judicial review. International law Phillippa has an extensive international law practice in the field of human rights. Her long running involvement in litigation challenging the compatibility of "kettling' with respect for the right to liberty recently culminated in a hearing before the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Austin v United Kingdom (judgment 15 March 2012). She is currently representing the claimants in the "Mau Mau" litigation against the Foreign and Commonwealth Office arising out of the systematic torture of suspected insurgents in the Kenyan uprising in the 1950s, as well as over 300 Iraqis bringing private law damages claims both under the Human Rights Act and for assault and false imprisonment following their internment in the aftermath of the Iraq war. Other recent or ongoing cases include: - Al Rawi and others v Security Services - (High Court) Claims brought against the security services for complicity in torture by UK citizens and residents detained in Guantanamo.
- Allbutt and others v Ministry of Justice - (High Court) Ongoing claim in negligence arising out of friendly fire incident during Iraq war.
- Locally Employed Civilians v Ministry of Defence, DFID and FCO (High Court) - negligence claim brought by more than 50 Iraqi civilians employed by the defendants during the occupation of Iraq for failure to protect them against attack by insurgents.
- Iraq abuse litigation - claim by more than 300 Iraqis for false imprisonment, and under HRA for breaches of Arts 3, 5 and 8. Claimants allege abused and in some cases tortured as well as unlawful internment by British forces comprising part of the coalition force during and after the war in Iraq.
Media Law and Defamation
It was through her prisoners' rights practice that Phillippa first branched out into media law. She has represented many prisoners seeking access to the media, including the appellants in the seminal House of Lords case Simms and O'Brien and in 2012, Babar Ahmad in the successful judicial review brought by the BBC in which exceptionally the Divisional Court held that a refusal to allow an interview for broadcast purposes was contrary to Article 10 ECHR. She has been involved in securing injunctive protection on behalf of a number of individuals convicted of notorious crimes whose life or mental well being was put under threat by the glare of publicity. She represented Mary Bell and Maxine Carr when they secured lifelong contra mundum injunctions preventing the publication of any information liable to lead to the disclosure of their new identities. More recently she acted for Jon Venables in relation to the continued operation of the contra-mundum injunction secured on his release on licence in 2001, following his further prosecution in 2010. Prison Law and criminal Justice
Phillippa began specialising in prisoner's rights in the early 1990s when this was a little known area of law. She was involved in most of the leading House of Lords cases extending the scope of prisoners' rights, particularly the rights of indeterminate sentence prisoners. She undertakes all aspects of prison law, be they Parole Board hearings, where she has recently represented Learco Chimdamo in relation to his recall to prison, or complex judicial reviews. Recent cases include:- - R (Tabbakh) v Secretary of State for Justice (ongoing) - Article 8 challenge to the lawfulness of licence conditions imposed upon applicant convicted of terrorist offences, including a challenge to the procedure by which such decisions are taken by MAPPA which provides no opportunity for making informed representations.
- R (BBC and Babar Ahmad) v Secretary of State for Justice [2012] EWHC 13 (Admin); (2012) 162 N.L.J. 94 - successful challenge to SSJ's refusal to permit the BBC to broadcast an interview with Babar Ahmad, a prisoner detained pending extradition to the USA on terrorist related charges.
- R (King) v Secretary of State for Justice [2012] EWCA Civ 376 , (CA) - judicial review to determine the applicability of Article 6 in its civil sphere to prison disciplinary proceedings resulting in punishment of cellular confinement.
- Malcolm v Ministry of Justice [2011] EWCA Civ 1538, (CA) - claim under HRA for violation of Article 8 arising out of failure to secure to a segregated prisoner his entitlement to one hour's exercise in the open air.
- R (Bary) v Secretary of State for Justice [2010] EWHC 587 (Admin)) - lawfulness of decision to separate from general prisoner population detainees held in relation to deportation and extradition proceedings deemed to present a threat to national security.
- R (B) v Secretary of State for Justice [2009] EWHC 2220 (Admin); [2010] 2 All E.R. 151 - successful challenge under Article 8 EHCR to D's refusal to transfer a male to female transsexual to the female prison estate.
Languages spoken (including level competency)
French and German basic Memberships
Administrative Law Bar Association, Lawyers for Liberty, Justice. Publications - Halsbury's Laws - "Prisons and Prisoners" author of 1999 edition, consultant editor of forthcoming 2012 edition.
- Atkins Court Forms "Trespass to the Person".
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Year of Call
1991
Queen's Counsel
2011
Education
LLB (Hons) First Class, MA Distinction, Scarman Scholar
Email Address
p.kaufmann@doughtystreet.co.uk
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Specialist Teams
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