Public Interest Lawyers

 

 

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

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.

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 who have been granted permission by the Court of Appeal to bring a judicial review into the Government’s failure to order an independent inquiry into the events leading to the decision to invade Iraq. That hearing will take place over three days at the Court of Appeal in November.

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 are acting for a Pakistani national in the case of Dost Mohammed who ought, similarly, to be entitled to compensation. PIL has also handled cases on the rights of Gurkhas to fair pay and pensions treatment.

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 act 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.