Edward Fitzgerald QC

Edward Fitzgerald QC represents doctors and other medical professionals  in professional disciplinary proceedings before the Fitness to Practice Panels of the General Medical Council. He also represents lawyers and sportsmen and women before their regulatory bodies. Recent cases have included hearings before the Fitness to Practise Panel of the General Medical Council and an appeal before the professional disciplinary panel of the Institute of Legal Executives.

Edward Fitzgerald QC has a specialist practice in criminal appeals. He has appeared in a number of high profile jury trials, including R v Sarah Thornton, R v Popat, R v Abu Hamza and the recent “milkshake murder” case of HKSAR v Nancy Kissel in Hong Kong; and in a number of cases involving guilty pleas and mitigation such as R v Venables. But, his acknowledged speciality is in his appellate work.

He has been involved in numerous important and difficult cases involving miscarriages of justice, issues of provocation and diminished responsibility, and difficult or complex points of law in the Court of Appeal, the House of Lords and the Supreme Court. These include: -

R v Erskine [2010] 1 WLR 183

R v Coutts [2006] 1WLR 3154

The Michael Stone appeal [2005] EWCA Crim 105

The Bridgewater Three Appeal

The Derek Bentley Appeal [2001] 1 Cr.App.R. 21

R v Cullen and Shanahan (The Winchester Three Appeal) [1991] 92 Cr.App. R. 239

R v Sarah Thornton [1993] 96 Cr.App. R. 112 - This case involved provocation and diminished responsibility.

Privy Council Appeals

He has a special expertise in Privy Council appeals and has argued many of the leading appeals from Commonwealth Caribbean including a series of breakthrough cases involving the death penalty. His criminal appeal cases before the Privy Council include: -

Hamilton and Lewis v The Queen [2012] UKPC 31

R v Pippesbourgh and Robateau [2008] UKPC 11

R v Trimmingham [2009] UKPC 25

R v Benedetto and Labrador [2003] 1 WLR 1545

R v Matthew [2005] 1 AC 433

Reyes v The Queen [2002] 2 AC 235

R v Greene Browne [2000] 1 AC 45

State v Sankar [1995] 1 WLR 194

Sentencing Appeals

Edward Fitzgerald has a special expertise in sentencing appeals and has conducted many of the leading sentencing appeals before the English Court of Appeal. These cases include some of the leading cases on discretionary life sentences, sentences of imprisonment for public protection and guideline cases involving minimum periods for mandatory lifers, drug importation and sexual offences. Some of the important sentencing cases he has argued are listed below: -

R v Coonan [2011] EWCA Crim 5

R v Erskine [2010] 1 WLR 183

R v Orobator [2010] EWHC 58 (Admin)

R v Pedley and Martin [2009] 1WLR 2517. On the level of risk required to justify a sentence of imprisonment for public protection.

R v Pyrah and Lichniak [2003] 1 AC 903

R v Offen [2001] 1 WLR 253

R v Mitchell [1997] 1 Cr.App.R. (S) 90. On the choice between hospital orders and life sentences.

R v Richardson [1994] 15 Cr.App. R. (S) 876. Sentencing for large scale supply of drugs.

Mitigation cases

Edward Fitzgerald has extensive experience in sentencing at first instance. He has presented the mitigation in a number difficult and sensitive cases. These include:

R v Venables [2012] EWCA Crim 1653

R v Reyes [2002] 2 AC 235

Edward Fitzgerald has been a leading extradition practitioner for the last twenty years. He is ranked 1^st in Extradition in Chambers and Partners and has been described as “a true intellectual giant – a top-class extradition and appellate lawyer”.

He has represented many high profile defendants in successful extradition battles. These include Mr Akmed Zakayev in his successful contest of extradition to Russia; Boris Berezovsky; Stanley Tollman; Lotfi Raissi; Roisin McAliskey; Ejup Ganic and Gary McKinnon. He has won numerous extradition cases against the United States, in the UK, Trinidad and the British Virgin Islands. He has also successfully acted for numerous Russian defendants, and particularly a number of defendants involved in the Yukos cases. Moreover, he has been at the forefront of the development of human rights challenges to extradition including a number of recent Supreme Court cases involving Article 6 (1); Article 5 (4) (Pomiechowski and Lukaszewski v Poland); and the case of F-K v Poland establishing new protections under Article 8 for mothers and children facing separation as a result of extradition.

Some of the leading cases in the field of extradition include:

The case of Gary McKinnon. Edward Fitzgerald represented Gary McKinnon over many years in this judicial review proceedings and drafted the representations to the Secretary of State which resulted in her withdrawing the order for extradition.

Poland v F-K - Successful challenge to the decision to extradite Mrs F-K. This is a historic win and is now one of the very few cases in which extradition has been halted on Article 8 grounds.

Poland v Lukaszewski and Pomiechowski. Supreme Court case dealing with Article 8 issues. Mr Fitzgerald successfully represented the Appellants in a Supreme Court case which established the new approach to time limits for appeal in extradition cases. It was held that the appellants had complied with the time limits by faxing the front sheet of their application to the CPS.

USA v Ferguson. Successful challenge to the decision to extradite Mr Ferguson. The judge accepted Mr Fitzgerald's arguments that the Forum Conveniens for the trial of Mr Ferguson on charges of conspiracy to defraud was Trinidad and not the US.

Fuller v A-G of Belize. One of the last appeals to the Privy Council from Belize, vindicated the right of person sought for extradition to argue abuse of process in the courts.

Serbia v Ganic. Extradition case of a former member of Bosnian presidency, who successfully contested extradition to Serbia.

Rwanda v Ugirashebuja and Ors [2009]. The successful appeal of Mr Ugirashebuja who is wanted in Rwanda for genocide.

United States of America v Stanley Tollman [2008] EWHC 184 (Admin). Successful ruling against the extradition of Stanley Tollman on grounds of oppression before the District Judge following the remittal of the case from the High Court.

Federal Republic of Germany v Roisin McAliskey - The successful appeal against extradition to Germany on terrorist charges of Roisin McAliskey, the daughter of Bernadette McAliskey, a case heard in Belfast.

R (On behalf of Lotfi Raissi) v SSHD [2008] EWCA Civ 72. Successful challenge to the Secretary of State's decision to refuse compensation to Lotfi Raissi, the Algerian pilot wrongly accused of participation in 9/11 plot and sought by the United States of America for extradition.

Russian Federation v Izmaylov, Russian Federation v Chernysheva and Maruev, Russian Federation v Temerko – In this series of cases Edward successfully represented a number of defendants sought by the Russian Federation for their alleged involvement in the crimes of the Yukos company.

Edward Fitzgerald has an extensive International Law practice, involving public international law and international human rights law. He has represented the Belize government in its case against Guatemala; and advised governments of Kazakhastan, Ecuador and Qatar on matters of international law and human rights law. He has challenged governmental decisions in numerous cases before the European Court of Human Rights, the United Nations Human Rights Committee, the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights and the African Commission of Human Rights. He has also appeared for individuals challenging conduct of states in the European Court of Human Rights, the Privy Council and the domestic courts of the Eastern Caribbean, Belize, Bahamas and Trinidad.

Abu Qatada v UK [2012] 55 EHRR 1

Venables and Thompson v UK [2000] EHRR 121

Stafford v UK [2002] 35 EHRR 32

Johnson v UK [1999] 27 EHRR 296

Singh & Hussain v UK [1996] 22 EHRR 1

Scott v Spain [1997] 24 EHRR 391

Portington v Greece App. No. 28523/95

Steel and Others v UK [1999] 28 EHRR 603

Represented the applicants Mitchell and Jones in the case of Jones and Others v Saudi Arabia in the House of Lords and conducted their appeal to the European Court of Human Rights

Mangouras v Spain [2012] 54 EHRR 25

He has also been involved in the case of Young Vui Kong v DPP in Singapore challenging the mandatory death penalty.

He is currently acting in one of the largest fraud cases in Trinidad, AG – Ferguson.

His other recent international cases include the case of A-G of Belize v Zuniga and Others – Civil appeal Nos 7, 9 and 10 of 2011 in Belize Court of Appeal

Edward Fitzgerald has thirty years of experience in the field of prisoners’ rights. Since the 1980s he has argued many of the landmark cases in the House of Lords and the Court of Appeal which established prisoners’ rights of access to the courts; access to lawyers and access to journalists. He also argued the leading cases that established the right to judicial review of disciplinary adjudications, including the case of ex parte Leach. Finally, he has taken many of the leading cases that established the rights of prisoners to parole review, and to fairness at parole reviews. His important cases have included:

ex parte Smith [2006] 1 AC 159

SSHD ex p Anderson [2003] AC 837

ex parte Hindley [2001] 1 AC 410

ex parte Pierson [1998] AC 539

ex parte Venables and Thompson [1998] AC

ex parte Leech [1994] QB 201

ex parte Wilson [1992] QB 740

ex parte Findlay [1985] AC 318

He has also successfully argued many important cases establishing the rights of prisoners in the European Court. These cases include:

Venables and Thompson v UK [2000] EHRR 121

Stafford v UK [2002] 35 EHRR 32

Johnson v UK [1999] 27 EHRR 296

Singh & Hussain v UK [1996] 22 EHRR 1

Benjamin and Wilson v UK [2003] 36 EHRR 1

Thynne, Gunnel and Wilson v UK [1991] 13 EHRR 666