Public Interest Lawyers

 

Chambers 2009 Ranking

Phil Shiner, Solicitor of the Year

 

   

       

Daniel Carey, Young Solicitor of the Year

 

Specialists in Environmental, Planning, Human Rights, and Public Law

PIL Iraq Report: On 30 June 2009, Public Interest Lawyers released their report “British Forces in Iraq: The Emerging Picture of Human Rights Violations and the Role of Judicial Review”.  The report details the series of challenges brought on behalf of Iraqi civilians against the British government for serious human rights violations.  The cases seek independent, open and comprehensive investigations.  Writing about the report in the Law Society Gazette, Roger Smith of Justice stated: “[Phil Shiner has] shown the power of this simple right of inquiry. It shines a light on the kind of murky security and military practices that can thrive only in the dark. In the long term... the military overseas will be the better for it, painful though the short-term consequences may be.”

 

A copy of the report is available here:

 

PIL Iraq Report

PIL was established in 1999. Since its formation the practice has taken on some of the most significant public law cases of recent times. PIL practises in the following domestic areas: Public, Human Rights, Environmental, Planning and Urban Regeneration Law. Internationally, we practise Public, Human Rights, Humanitarian and Environmental Law

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PIL is at the forefront of International Human Rights Law and practice head Phil Shiner is presently considering a number of potential new cases arising out of the recent attrocities in Gaza.

Several of our international cases have attracted public and media interest, and in particular those challenging the behaviour of UK forces and the powers of the coalition forces in Iraq under international humanitarian law, such as Al Skeini and Al Jedda, and those challenging the legality of the use of force under international law, such as R (CND) v The Prime Minister in 2002 and Gentle & others. Our clients in Gentle & others are the parents of British soldiers killed in Iraq.

Our practice extends to challenging the legality of the UK Government’s maintenance, storage and replacement of Trident, trading in arms, and the purchase and use of cluster munitions under international and domestic law. We also bring cases that challenge the security and environmental threat posed by the Government’s nuclear weapons and energy policy.

PIL also handles a number of discrimination cases on behalf of the Gurkhas, as well as non-European members of the former (British) Indian Army against the Ministry of Defence. In 2002 PIL won the case of Gurung v MOD, which led to compensation payments of £10,000 to Gurkha soldiers who were held prisoners of war by the Japanese during World War II.

We have also brought cases in defence of the right to freedom of speech and protest, defending Sikh protestors who were arrested under the Anti Social Behaviour Act 2003 after demonstrating peacefully outside the Birmingham Rep theatre in December 2004.

PIL is also breaking new ground with some cases on the Government’s urban regeneration policy, challenging the Government’s Pathfinder project. In the case of Pascoe, we acted on behalf of communities served with mass compulsory purchase orders in order that their houses may be demolished and their local areas regenerated. In most of these cases, the houses planned for demolition have belonged to their occupants for decades and are in perfectly good condition.

We continue to maintain an outstanding reputation in environmental and planning law. We advise NGOs, community groups, residents groups, action groups, amenity groups, pressure groups and individuals affected by projects in their neighbourhoods that have adverse environmental effects. These may involve new roads, incinerators, landfill sites, quarries, opencast coal schemes, and other polluting projects. We have in addition brought a number of successful cases against the positioning of mobile phone masts.