Ramby is a specialist barrister in judicial review and public law. He has many high profile reported cases and has appeared in the High Court, Court of Appeal, House of Lords (Supreme Court) and the European Court of Justice.
His specialism includes child support law, social services, civil liberties, individual rights, civil actions against the state, extradition, education, prison and discrimination law.
Ramby frequently undertakes pro bono work and was Times Lawyer of the Week for representing a Hindu wishing to undertake an open air funeral pyre in the UK.
Education Law cases include:
1. Represented students and parents to challenge decisions of local authority not to award discretionary grants. Challenge of a decision by Birmingham City Council’s upheld on appeal, not to award the child a discretionary grant to attend the Elmhurst School for Dance and the Performing Arts: Youngson, R (on the application of) v Birmingham City Council [2000] EWHC Admin 430 (11 December 2000).
2. Represented parents to challenge decision of local authority to close schools. DK applied for judicial review of a decision by BCC to close a school and approval of that decision by the Secretary of State for Education. Her application was based on the failure of BCC to provide interpreters to cover all ethnic groups likely to be present at the public meeting called by BCC to discuss the closure. DK claimed that the provision of an interpreter limited to Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu constituted racial discrimination under the Race Relations Act 1976 against other minorities and flawed the consultative process. BCC were not obliged to provide interpreters, either by statute or common law as held in R. v Governors of Small Heath School Ex p. Birmingham City Council Times, May 31, 1989 . There was no racial discrimination in not providing for every ethnic group likely to be present. Any discrimination was based on the size of the groups and not their origin. R-v-Bham City Council ex parte Kaur -(1991) 155 L.G. Rev. 587.
3. Challenge by way of judicial review of a decision of a local authority refusing to provide free school transport to a child to attend school of his parents choice.
4. School Admissions Appeals Policy – representing parents before the School Adjudicator challenging the local authority’s Admission Policy.
5. Representing parents whose children have been refused admission to schools –before Appeals Panel.
6. Advising and representing parents to obtain provision of suitable education/tuition at home.
7. Instructed by the Commission for Racial Equality (now demised). Successfully sued local authority and school for discriminating against a child contrary to the Race Relations Act 1976 (now Equality Act 2010).
8. Represented parents to claim damages for negligent mistreatment of child by school – resulted in payment of damages to child.
9. Advised students on liability of Universities in failing to provide them with adequate professional training.
10. Represented and advised pupils/students on expulsion from schools/colleges.
11. Advised and represented students to challenge decisions taken by Universities classifying students as not being ordinarily resident in the UK and not treating them as home students for the purposes of charging University fees under the Education (Fees and Awards) (England) Regulations.
12. Sought judicial review of decision taken by University to classify a part time worker student as one who is not ordinarily resident in the UK for purposes of charging him higher fees. As the Claimant was a worker during the three years before he applied to enrol at the University his status or position is equal to that of an UK national placed in the same situation who would not have been treated as if he were in the UK solely for the purpose of studying during that period he worked-test case –settled.
13. Represented pupils against claims brought by schools in respect of unpaid school fees on the ground of breach of contract.
14. Represented parents before the Crown Court and Divisional Court against conviction for failing to secure the attendance of children at school contrary to section 444 Education Act 1996 (as amended).
Qualifications
BA
MA
LLB
LLM
