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International Law

Working for global justice.

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Tooks Chambers International Law team provides specialist advice, representation and advocacy in all areas of international law. Particular specialisms of the International Team include international human rights law and international criminal law.

Tooks is also able to offer expertise where international issues with domestic law in the context of crime, public law, employment & equality, immigration law, family law and other areas. In accordance with our commitment to assist individuals failed by the justice system, we have particular expertise in accountability and redress for breaches of human rights and universal jurisdiction for international crimes. We have further expertise in the related fields of state, sovereign and diplomatic immunity of individuals, governments and international organisations and have played a fundamental role in many of the leading cases in these areas.

The nature of our international human rights work encompasses a wide range of issues including particular examples such as the death penalty, forced disappearances, human trafficking, discrimination, human rights and armed conflict, rights of the child and property issues. The right to self-determination has played a fundamental part in our work, with members writing academically on the issue and representing national liberation movements from many different areas of the globe.

Our international criminal law work includes universal jurisdiction, crimes against humanity, war crimes, both international and internal armed conflict, the Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocols, gender based violence, the ad hoc international criminal tribunals and extradition. We are one of the leading chambers practising before the international criminal tribunals. In recent years, international law issues have arisen in the context of prosecutions related to protests and demonstrations. Tooks barristers have acted in many leading cases in this area and are able to offer widespread expertise where international and domestic law overlap. Members of Tooks Chambers have worked in a diverse and wide range of different countries and territories. These include Angola, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cape Verde, India, Ireland, Israel, Kosovo, Moldova, Mozambique, Namibia, the Northern Ireland, Occupied Palestinian Territories, Trinidad & Tobago, Puerto Rico, Uganda, Ukraine, the United States, Vietnam and Zambia.

Through their work, our barristers have been admitted to practise at the bars of many diverse jurisdictions including in the United States of America, The International Criminal Court, the UN War Crimes Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, and the UN War Crimes Tribunal for Rwanda. Our clients include individuals, non-governmental organisations ("NGOs"), international organisations and organisations of the United Nations. We have a wide range of international law expertise gained during the 25 years of our existence. Some examples in the fields of international criminal law, international human rights law and other international work are set out further in the experience section [link].

Further Information

Further information about individual members of our International Law team can be obtained using the links to the right. You can also contact our clerks directly:

International Law Team Experience

Members of Tooks Chambers have particular experience in the fields of international human rights and international criminal law, as well as other international work such as before other international courts and tribunals. Some examples of the nature of our work are set out below.

Recent news

  • The Russell Tribunal on Palestine Opens its Third Session
    Michael Mansfield travelled to South Africa for the opening of the third session of the Russell Tribunal on Palestine on 5th November.
    10 November 2011
  • Richard Reynolds Returns to Chambers
    Tooks are delighted to announce that Richard Reynolds has returned to Chambers after working for a year as Judicial Assistant to Lady Hale at the United Kingdom Supreme Court.
    6 October 2011
  • Michael Mansfield QC to lead the prosecution at the Ecocide mock trial
    Michael Mansfield QC to lead the prosecution at the Ecocide (the environmental equivalent of genocide) mock trial – Thursday 30th September at the Supreme Court with Jane Russell
    16 August 2011
  • Jane Russell Gives Paper on European Arrest Warrants
    Jane Russell has given a paper on European Arrest Warrants at the joint United Kingdom Association for European Law and Glasgow University Conference on "EU Criminal Law and the UK: Where do Rights come in?"
    24 May 2011
  • Hannah Rought-Brooks Returns to Practice
    Tooks are pleased to announce that Hannah Rought-Brooks has returned to practice following her sabbatical in Palestine.
    16 March 2011
  • Martin Huseyin Appointed to the List of Counsel of the International Criminal Court
    Martin Huseyin has been appointed to the list of counsel for defendants or victims of the International Criminal Court.
    16 February 2011
  • Paul Troop Appears in Tariq in the Supreme Court
    Tariq v Home Office raises the compatibility with European Community law and the European Convention on Human Rights of the system of secret hearings using “special advocates” in equality cases.
    25 January 2011
  • The Tar Sands Project
    Michael Mansfield QC and Jane Russell are involved in the legal challenge of the global oil and gas companies' sinister exploitation of tar sands, a toxic fuel which is endangering local wildlife and has a dangerous effect on global climate change.
    18 October 2010
  • Kamran Choudhry Admitted to Defence Counsel List at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon
    Kamran Choudhry has been admitted to the list of counsel eligible to represent accused before the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, based in the Hague. His appointment increases the number of Tooks counsel eligible to represent defendants and victims before the international criminal tribunals.
    13 September 2010
  • Paul Troop Provides Training for the Special Tribunal for Lebanon
    Paul Troop spoke on the topic of The Crime of Terrorism in International Law for the Defence Office of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (“STL”). This was part of the mandatory training for those who are on the List of Defence Counsel that took place in The Hague between the 6 and 9 September 2010
    8 September 2010

[Image] International Law