Year of Call: 2000

 

Inn of Court: Inner Temple

 

Languages: English, German, French and Spanish.

 

Education: 

  • Manchester Met. University - Bar Vocational Course
  • University of Essex - LLM (Distinction) International Human Rights Law
  • College of Law (York) - CPE Law
  • University of York - BA Politics & Philosophy

 

Awards / Nominations:

In 2008 he was nominated and shortlisted for the Peter Duffy Award 2008 (awarded by JUSTICE, Liberty and the Law Society) for his outstanding commitment and work in the field of human rights in particular in the protection of minorities.

 

Clients and Practice:

Jan practices in Immigration, Asylum and Human Rights Law. He also has a particular interest in general Discrimination cases, Employment Law and also undertakes Civil and Personal Injury cases. He regularly appears at the First and Upper Tier Tribunal in asylum and immigration cases on behalf of a wide spectrum of clients with varying issues. His wide experience includes representing at:

·                     Substantive immigration and asylum hearings

·                     Deportation cases

·                     Bail hearings

·                     Judicial reviews

·                     Court of Appeal cases

 

He regularly advises on Judicial Review applications and applications to the Court of Appeal and frequently acts in emergency applications to stop removals, unlawful removal cases, cases involving medical Issues.

 

Jan has worked as an Immigration Consultant for the Royal College of Nursing particularly advising on Nationality Law and Points Based System Applications. He also advises on immigration applications for entry clearance applications, in-country visa applications, and leave to remain for Turkish self-employed business persons and employees under the Ankara Agreement.

 

Training:

An experienced trainer in Immigration Law, International Human Rights, Refugee Law and the use of UN Mechanisms, Jan has trained for ILPA, ECRE, HJT and the British Council and also trained and lectured NGOs and lawyers in the UK, Russia, Syria and the Ukraine on International Human Rights and Refugee Law.

 

Reported Cases: 

  • SX(Albania) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2008] All ER (D) 259 (Jun)
  • R(Armand Marcel Koimon) v The Secretary of State for the Home Department [2008]  EWHC 2733 (Admin)

 

Publications:

  •  Refugee Survey Quarterly, Vol.24, No.2 2005 The Convention against Torture and the Protection of Refugees in Human Rights and Refugees (UNHCR, Oxford University Press) 
  • IRCSM (July 2005)  Sexual Minorities in Uzbekistan
  • UN Fact Sheet No. 4 (June 2002)  Combating Torture (UN, Geneva)
  • Co-author of Press For Change: Transsexual People in the Workplace—A Code of Practice (1999)

 

Expert Panellist at European Parliament

 

In May 2017 and February 2018, Jan was invited by the European Parliament to present evidence as an Expert Panellist at the Joint Hearing on Citizens Rights post-Brexit. 

 

Media

 

He is regularly called upon by media to comment on immigrations issues of interest and Brexit.

 

International / Pro Bono Work:

 

Jan worked as a Research Assistant to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture from 2000 until the end of 2002 & undertook UN fact-finding missions to Brazil and Uzbekistan. He served on the Executive Committee of Medical Justice, which works to defend and promote health and associated legal rights of detainees in the UK. He also co-founded and was the Director of IRCSM, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) which lobbied international organizations on human rights matters, particularly on Discrimination issues affecting Refugees, Asylum Seekers and those affected by discrimination because of sexual orientation or gender identity. Jan regularly lobbies the UN in Geneva on a variety of Human Rights issues, including LGBT issues and matters relating to asylum and immigration policies and practice. He is in a position to advise NGOs in the UK and abroad on the effective use of UN mechanisms.

 

Use of International Mechanisms 

Jan has worked at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.

 

He has worked for a UN Special Rapporteur for several years, and has published papers on international law. He has a working knowledge of the workings of international mechanisms and how to best use them to assist a client's case.

 

Jan was Director of the International Research Centre on Social Minorities which lobbied various United Nations Committees on a wide range of Human Rights issues in selected countries,  including:

 

  • Economic, Social and Cultural rights  
  • Civil and Political rights
  • The Rights of Vulnerable Minorities
  • The Rights of the Child
  • Asylum & Immigration Policy
  • The Right to Health. 

 

Jan's recommendations were often included in the UN Committees’ Concluding Observations, which then oblige the relevant countries to implement them and respond by the next Committee Meeting. Some of Jan’s successes include:

 

  • UN Committee Meeting on Economic, Social & Cultural Rights, Geneva 2009 (UK & Russia)
  • The Right to Health
  • Asylum Seekers’ Right to Work
  • Non-Discrimination for the Change in Age for Spouses
  • Internal Displacement & Vulnerable Minorities
  • Refugee Issues
  • UN Committee Meeting on the Rights of the Child, Geneva 2008 (UK)
  • Refugee & Asylum-Seeking Children Issues
  • UN Human Rights Committee, Geneva 2008 (UK)