*/
Borderline Justice: The fight for refugee and migrant rights
by Frances Webber,
Published by Pluto Press, October 2012
ISBN 0745331637
£19.99
Asylum and immigration law was described late last year, by one of its current leading barristers Colin Yeo, as “the hardest and most bitterly fought, most controversial, most convoluted, perhaps most poorly funded and surely most tilted legal battlegrounds between the individual and the state”. Practitioners nodding in agreement would do well to pick up Frances Webber’s lucid, compelling and often angry book.
Formerly a barrister at Garden Court, she was part of a generation of activist lawyers who, since the 1970s, expanded the reach of public and human rights law into an area characterised by ever more restrictive decision-making and regressive politics. Whether battling the “culture of disbelief” in tribunals or arguing points of law before the House of Lords, she maintains that real advocacy means putting “the reality of clients’ lives into focus to judges inevitably insulated by their position of privilege and under political, bureaucratic and time pressure to see cases as purely intellectual exercises”.
It is an account which ranges fluidly from the minutiae of individual cases and immigration rules to the socio-economic trends that are shaping patterns of migration beyond governments’ control. It also serves as warning and manifesto to the present generation of barristers hoping to cope with the legal aid cuts in immigration from April 2013. The fight to ensure migrants can seek economic opportunity or physical protection in the UK has never been more fraught or unfair.
Taimour Lay is a 2nd six pupil at Garden Court Chambers focusing on asylum and immigration. He was a print journalist for eight years covering conflict, corporate abuses and political-economy in Africa.
It is an account which ranges fluidly from the minutiae of individual cases and immigration rules to the socio-economic trends that are shaping patterns of migration beyond governments’ control. It also serves as warning and manifesto to the present generation of barristers hoping to cope with the legal aid cuts in immigration from April 2013. The fight to ensure migrants can seek economic opportunity or physical protection in the UK has never been more fraught or unfair.
Taimour Lay is a 2nd six pupil at Garden Court Chambers focusing on asylum and immigration. He was a print journalist for eight years covering conflict, corporate abuses and political-economy in Africa.
Borderline Justice: The fight for refugee and migrant rights
by Frances Webber,
Published by Pluto Press, October 2012
ISBN 0745331637
£19.99
Asylum and immigration law was described late last year, by one of its current leading barristers Colin Yeo, as “the hardest and most bitterly fought, most controversial, most convoluted, perhaps most poorly funded and surely most tilted legal battlegrounds between the individual and the state”. Practitioners nodding in agreement would do well to pick up Frances Webber’s lucid, compelling and often angry book.
Formerly a barrister at Garden Court, she was part of a generation of activist lawyers who, since the 1970s, expanded the reach of public and human rights law into an area characterised by ever more restrictive decision-making and regressive politics. Whether battling the “culture of disbelief” in tribunals or arguing points of law before the House of Lords, she maintains that real advocacy means putting “the reality of clients’ lives into focus to judges inevitably insulated by their position of privilege and under political, bureaucratic and time pressure to see cases as purely intellectual exercises”.
The Chair of the Bar reports back
Clement Cowley, Partner at The Penny Group, explains how global events can influence the performance of pensions and ISAs, and why taking a long-term approach to investing is often the most effective strategy
Mário Barroso, Head of R&D and Method Development at AlphaBiolabs, discusses what family law professionals need to know about hallucinogens, from the main hallucinogenic drugs encountered in family proceedings, to their effects and the testing options available
Harmony Christian Ministries is the latest charity to benefit from a £500 donation from AlphaBiolabs via the company’s Giving Back initiative
By David Green
Mário Barroso, Head of R&D and Method Development at AlphaBiolabs, examines the forensic science underpinning hair drug testing, its evidential scope and limitations, and why it remains the gold standard for evidencing patterns of drug use in family proceedings
At the start of her term, Chair of the Bar 2026 Kirsty Brimelow KC set out a series of priorities for the year ahead. One of those priorities was children in the justice system
As the world becomes more digital, Barbara Vinagre Mota examines international research into the mental health consequences of judges’ exposure to graphic and immersive evidence, highlighting the importance of support systems
In an era of patient-centred care and growing concern over misconduct in medical settings, why do women still lack the right to choose women consultants for examination and treatment? Charles Davey investigates
Reviewed by Daniel Barnett
James McNeill Whistler at Tate Britain until 27 September Rothko in Florence at Palazzo Strozzi until 23 August Reviewed by Stephen Cragg KC
