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Richard Hermer
Richard Hermer practices in the fields of domestic and international human rights law. For the past 4 years he has been identified as a 'Star of the Bar' by Chambers & Partners (1 of only 4 junior members of the bar) and the latest edition recommends him as a leader in his field in 7 separate categories including human rights, public international law, actions against the police and personal injury. He is similarly recognised in all other major legal directories. The 2007 "Chambers Global" guide to the international legal profession names Richard as one of the world's leading international public lawyers. Recent public international law cases include Al-Jeddah v Secretary of State for Defence a claim brought by a British citizen interned by UK troops in Iraq (argued before Court of Appeal in 2006, listed before the House of Lords in November 2007); Mitchell & others v Al-Dali & others a claim against Saudi Arabian officials accused of torturing British citizens (argued before the House of Lords in June 2006); Gentle & others v Prime Minister & others a claim on behalf of the families of British servicemen killed in Iraq seeking a public inquiry into the legality of the war (argued before the Court of Appeal in November 2006); Prosecutor v Kallon in which he was instructed by various international NGOs to intervene before the Special Court for Sierra Leone on the question of the legality of amnesties, and an intervention on behalf of NGOs in the case of Al-Skeini & others v Secretary of State for Defence a claim examining the territorial scope of the Human Rights Act (argued by the House of Lords in 2007). Over the last few years Richard has advised a variety of individuals and international human rights groups on the legal ramifications of the "War on Terror", including legal claims arising out of detention at Guantanamo Bay. He has also given expert evidence and assistance in human rights litigation in the United States Courts. His international case load encompasses private international law cases from all around the globe. In recent years he has been instructed in cases stemming from South Africa, the Congo, Sudan, Kenya, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Iraq, Papua New Guinea, Colombia, Bangladesh and Sierra Leone. Examples of recent international cases include a group action against the British government for bomb related injuries sustained by Maasai tribes-people in Kenya, a claim by Colombian peasant farmers against BP for environmental damage and a group action against oil traders for wide-spread pollution in the Ivory Coast. Richard's domestic human rights practice focuses in the main on private and public law claims against public authorities. He has been in a number of leading civil actions against the police such as Farqharson v MPS (£250,000 for racially motivated torts); Barry v MPS (highest ever award against a Forensic Medical Examiner) and Ashley v Chief Constable of Sussex (listed before the House of Lords in 2008) a claim arising out a fatal shooting. He has been in the forefront of the development of claims against the Home Office brought by wrongfully detained asylum seekers including the Group Action brought by victims of the Yarls Wood fire and an intervention on behalf of NGOs in the leading Court of Appeal case of ID v The Home Office. Claims on behalf of prisoners include acting as Lead Counsel in a Group Action brought by prisoners in respect of the treatment of their drug dependencies. Claims against public authorities include acting for the estates of Derek Bentley and Victoria Climbie. He is also regularly instructed in Inquests resulting from a death in custody such as the series of deaths of Irish men in Brixton prison, the series of deaths of vulnerable women at Stayl prison, and the case of Adam Rickwood, the youngest person to die in custody in the modern era. Richard has long experience of Group Actions in the domestic courts including as counsel in the Tobacco litigation, the Oral Contraceptive Litigation, Bangladeshi Arsenic Claims (argued in the House of Lords in 2006), the Hatfield Rail disaster and the Gerona Aircrash. He is instructed on behalf of ex-servicemen used as human guinea-pigs at Porton Down and has been instructed in relation to the Buncefield Oil Depot explosion. In 2000 Richard was appointed the first Human Rights Practitioner in Residence at Columbia University, New York where his specialist area of research focused on international human rights and corporate responsibility. Recent Reported cases include: last updated October 2007
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Year of Call1993 EducationBA (Hons) Email AddressSpecialist TeamsRichard Hermer is a member of the following specialist law teams: |
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