Fatima Kola - Garden Court Chambers

Fatima became a tenant at Garden Court in October 2011, after successfully
completing her pupillage under the supervision of Rajiv Menon QC and Terry
Munyard.
Practice
Crime
Fatima's specialist practice area is crime, and she appears in the Youth Court,
Magistrates' Court (for both criminal and extradition matters) and Crown Court on a
range of matters. She continues to develop her experience representing youths
and mentally vulnerable clients in particular.
Notable Cases
R v MI (City of Westminster Magistrates' Court): case discontinued after
representations made that it was not in the public interest to prosecute.
R v MT (Brighton Youth Court): represented a youth client charged with ABH.
Proceedings stayed after successful abuse of process argument, with court finding
that there had been a failure to investigate and obtain evidence and a failure to
disclose evidence by the police and prosecution.
R v JW (Lewes Crown Court): suspended sentence where starting point would
have been 3 years' custody, for possession with intent to supply class A drugs.
Civil
Fatima has a strong interest in actions against the police. As a pupil, Fatima
assisted Leslie Thomas in the preparation and trial of a successful claim for
assault, false imprisonment and malicious prosecution. During pupillage she
gained varied experience in researching and drafting actions against the police.
Fatima is a regular contributor to Garden Court's prison law blog, and is
developing a practice representing prisoners at parole board hearings.
Background
Before coming to Garden Court, Fatima completed her PhD in international human
rights law at University College London. Fatima's thesis concerned the use of
torture in state counter-terrorism efforts and its impact on the international law
prohibiting torture. From 2007 to 2009, Fatima was a Teaching Fellow in the UCL
Faculty of Laws, teaching a variety of subjects including Islamic law, human rights,
and legal writing. Fatima has experience at a variety of organisations, including the
British Institute of International and Comparative Law and the International
Rescue Committee. Fatima is currently a member of the Bar Human Rights
Committee's West Africa team, working on reports regarding the human rights
situation in Mauritania.
Publications
Barrister profile
Fatima Kola
"Torture and Terrorism: A Case Study", UCL Jurisprudence Review Special
Edition on Torture in the Context of Terrorism, Summer 2006
"What's Wrong With Torture?", UCL Jurisprudence Review, as Review Prize
Runner-Up, 2007/2008
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Year of Call
2007
Email Address
fatimak@gclaw.co.uk
Telephone
020 7993 7600
Education
LLB; LLM Human Rights
(UCL), PhD International
Human Rights Law (UCL),
BVC; Frederick
Bonnart-Braunthal
Scholarship (PhD)
Garden Court Chambers
57 - 60 Lincoln's Inn Fields
London WC2A 3LJ
Tel 020 7993 7600
Fax 020 7993 7700

Professional Memberships
American Society of International Law
Human Rights Lawyers Association
Young Legal Aid Lawyers
Profile updated June 2012
Barrister profile
Fatima Kola
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