Richard practices in the fields of domestic and international human rights law. He was called to the Bar in 1993 and took silk in 2009 after 16 years in practice.
He is recognised as a leader in his field in all major legal directories. The current edition of Chamber & Partners recommends him as a leading practitioner in 5 separate categories including human rights, public international law, actions against the police and personal injury. For a number of years he has been identified in "Chambers Global" as one of the world's leading public international law advocates.
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 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); A & others v HM Treasury concerning a challenge to the vires of financial sanctions under the United Nations Act (argued before the Court of Appeal in June 2008 and listed as the very first case before the Supreme Court in October 2009); 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 before 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. Richard is currently representing all of the UK citizens and residents released from Guantanamo Bay in their claims against the British Security Services (Al Rawi & Others v Security Services & Others) and a in a separate claim represents Binyam Mohammed in his claim against a airline handling company alleged to have been complicit in his extraordinary rendition (Mohammed v Jeppessen).
His international case load encompasses private international law claims from all around the globe. In recent years he has been instructed in cases stemming from South Africa, the DRC, Sudan, Kenya, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Iraq, Papua New Guinea, Colombia, Bangladesh and Sierra Leone. Examples of 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 claim against a British based mining company for complicity in the torture of environmental protestors in Peru (Guerro & Others v Montericco & Another). He is instructed in the largest ever Group Action brought before the British Courts, a claim on behalf of 30,000 individuals against a multinational firm of commodity brokers arising out of the dumping of waste in the Ivory Coast (Motto & Others v Trafigura). Richard has been instructed in a large number of private law claims on behalf of torture victims. He represented the family of Baha Mousa, who was tortured to death in by British soldiers in Iraq, and nine other torture victims in a successful civil claim against the UK government. He is currently instructed on behalf of a significant number of Iraqi citizens arising out of other incidents of torture and mistreatment. He is also instructed in a claim by former Kenyan torture victims alleged to have been 'Mau Mau' fighters in their claims against the British government.
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 (argued before the House of Lords in 2008) a claim arising out a fatal shooting. He appeared in the recent conjoined appeals before the assessing the impact of the Human Rights Act on claims against the police, Chief Constable of Hertfordshire v Van Colle, Smith v Chief Constable of Sussex (argued before the House of Lords in July 2008). 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, a group claim on behalf of children unlawfully held in detention 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 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 appeared for the Children's Commissioner in the recent successful challenge before the Court of Appeal to the practice of physically restraining children in custody AC v Secretary of State for Justice. He also recently appeared for the Interveners in an appeal considering the application of the Human Rights Act to individuals detained under the Mental Health Act Savage v South Essex Partnership NHS Trust (argued before the House of Lords in December 2008).
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 Stradahur & others v National Environmental Research Council (argued in the House of Lords in 2006), the Hatfield Rail disaster and the Gerona Aircrash. He recently successfully represented several hundred ex-servicemen in a claim arising out of their use as 'human guinea-pigs' at Porton Down military facility between 1950 and 1975.
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.
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Year of Call
1993
Queen's Counsel
2009
Education
BA (Hons)
Email Address
r.hermer@doughtystreet.co.uk
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