No5’s Philip Rule is to speak at the event organised by the Bar Council and the Law Society of England & Wales in Colombia this Thursday 5 September.

The JW Marriott hotel in Bogotá, Colombia, will host the English legal professions’ Colombia 2019 event. The event is an opportunity for Colombian legal practitioners to meet with English counterparts to discuss current trends and issues in legal services and sharing of skills in the respective jurisdictions. There is also a reception following the event hosted at the British Ambassador’s Residence.

The final programme of the “Anti-corruption: a Public Law Perspective” session welcomes the attorney-general of Colombia – the Inspector General (Procurador General) of Colombia, Mr Fernando Carrillo Flórez – to the line up of distinguished speakers. The session will feature:

Claudia Dangond Gibsone, is a Partner and Head of the Public law Department at DG&A Abogados, based in Colombia. She specialises in the fields of public, constitutional, administrative and international law, disciplinary and fiscal control. She has occupied various public positions in Colombia as advisor of the Constitutional Court, advisor to the Constitutional Assembly, Advisor to the National Legislative Commission, and Director of Foreign Investment at the Ministry of Commerce and Foreign Trade. She was Dean at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana Political Science and International Relations School. She has also served as a Professor of Constitutional law for more than 20 years. Claudia studied for her law degree and Masters in International Relations at the Pontificia Universid Javeriana before also completing her MsC in Politics of Development in Latin America at the London School of Economics and Political Science in 1998. She has since also added a further Postgraduate Degree in Administrative Law. Her works have been published in various media; sometimes converted to opinion articles for printed media (national and international) and television.

Saimo Chahal QC (Hon.), is the joint head of public and administrative law and international law at Bindmans LLP. Saimo’s practice includes judicial review claims, inquests and inquiries and international cases. Several of Saimo’s cases have reached Supreme Court and European Court of Human Rights level. Saimo sits as a judge of the Mental Health Tribunal and the Court of Protection. Saimo deals with substantial high-profile cases, which have attracted attention and influenced law and policy. She is one of a small number of Honorary Solicitor QC’s – she was awarded this for making a major contribution to the development of the law of England & Wales. She is ranked in the directories for her work in Administrative and Public Law, Civil Liberties and Human Rights, and Healthcare, and has received many awards and recognitions for her work. She has also been involved in many international delegations due to her reputation and experience, including in Ramallah, Palestine and within countries of the EU. Saimo also acted in the Inquest into the Hillsborough football stadium disaster, and in many complex inquest cases concerning deaths in custody, mental hospitals, care homes and the community.

Philip Rule, of No5 Barristers’ Chambers, has a multi-disciplinary practice at the Bar, including a strong public law practice concerned with the regulation of public authorities’ conduct. He undertakes a very significant volume of civil and criminal appellate work, and his cases have gone before the Supreme Court, European Court of Human Rights, Privy Council, and Cayman Islands Court of Appeal. His expertise is recognised by appointment to preferred counsel panels including the Equality and Human Rights Commission (representing individuals), and Regulatory Counsel A-panel (instructed by government agencies). Philip also undertakes inquest and regulatory discipline cases. His important and hard work has been recognised with the prestigious award of 2017 Legal Aid Barrister of the Year, by the Legal Aid Practitioner’s Group Award, and he was nominated for Barrister of the Year by the Modern Law Awards. He is recognised in legal directory listings for his expertise in human rights and detention law in particular. Philip also delivers advocacy and legal training.

The moderator for the session, Toby Cadman, is Co-Founder of Guernica 37 International Justice Chambers. He is an established international law specialist in the areas of international criminal and humanitarian law, international terrorism, anti-corruption, maritime security, extradition and mutual legal assistance, and human rights law. He has provided extensive advice on judicial reform, legislative drafting, institution building and training to judges, lawyers and law enforcement agencies throughout the Balkans, Latin America, Middle East, North Africa and South Asia. He advises on developing professional and transparent institutions that protect human rights, combat corruption, and reducing the threat of transborder and transnational crime and developing training curricula for law enforcement, prosecutorial and governmental agencies for the investigation of international crimes.

Further details of the event, including information on registering to attend, may be found here: https://www.barcouncil.org.uk/supporting-the-bar/international/business-development/business-development-visits/english-law-week-in-mexico-and-colombia/

The programme for the Colombia event (which follows an event in Mexico in the preceding days) is available here: http://ow.ly/KX0D50vTbwz

Philip Rule is Head of the Public Law Group and also a member of the Crime, Inquests Public Inquiries and Coronial Law, International Human Rights, and Regulatory groups at No5 Barristers’ Chambers.

He can be instructed by contacting his clerks for each area of practice, and enquiries to publiclaw@no5.com can be passed on to the relevant Practice Director, or alternatively please refer to https://www.no5.com/people/clerks/