Garden Court is renowned as one of the leading chambers in the UK for defending protesters, including environmental protestors.

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Garden Court is renowned as one of the leading chambers in the UK for protest work, specialising in civil liberties, human rights and criminal defence.

We are ranked as a leading chambers in both the Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners for our expertise in these areas of law.

Our barristers have considerable experience defending environmental protesters in criminal proceedings, including:  

Greenpeace activists 
Anti-fracking protestors 
Anti-GM crop protesters 
The ‘Heathrow 13’ 
G20 Climate Camp protesters  

In the civil jurisdiction, we have pursued legal action in the High Court on human rights grounds against energy companies, such as Ineos and UK Oil & Gas, who seek draconian injunctions to restrict the legitimate right to protest.  

Our barristers have authored the key text on protest rights, The Protest Handbook. 

Recent notable cases and news

Friends of the Earth takes legal challenge against anti-protest injunctions to European Court of Human Rights

Friends of the Earth is represented in these proceedings by Stephanie Harrison KC, Stephen Clark and Fatima Jichi of Garden Court Chambers and by Wessen Jazrawi at the law firm Hausfeld.

24 May 2024

Greenpeace activists acquitted in trial alongside Greta Thunberg

Owen Greenhall, of the Garden Court Protest Team, was instructed be Mike Schwarz of Hodge Jones and Allen solicitors. Raj Chada also of Hodge Jones & Allen represented the co-defendants.

2 February 2024

Garden Court secures top tier rankings in the Legal 500 UK 2024

Garden Court Chambers is proud to be recognised as a Top Tier set again in the Legal 500 UK 2024 rankings.

4 October 2023

Paul Clark co-authors chapter in 'Litigating the Climate Emergency How Human Rights, Courts, and Legal Mobilization Can Bolster Climate Action'

14 November 2022

High Court discharges injunctions in INEOS protestor cases

Stephen Simblet QC, of the Garden Court Chambers Civil Liberties and Protest Teams, represented Joe Corré in the most recent proceedings.

25 March 2022

High Court radically scales back UK Oil and Gas protest injunction

Stephanie Harrison QC, Stephen Simblet QC and Fatima Jichi represented Weald Action Group protestors. Stephen Clark also represented protestors.

9 February 2021

Application to end draconian UKOG injunction banning peaceful protest at oil sites in Surrey and Sussex

Stephanie Harrison QC, Joint Head of Chambers and a member of the Garden Court Chambers Civil Liberties Team is representing five protesters.

24 March 2020

Court of Appeal overturns draconian injunctions preventing protests against INEOS fracking activities

Stephanie Harrison QC and Stephen Simblet represented Joe Corré. Henry Blaxland QC & Stephen Clark represented Friends of the Earth.

3 April 2019

Environmental campaigners in court to protect right to free speech threat from oil and gas injunctions

Stephanie Harrison QC is representing Joe Corré, one of the named defendants.

5 March 2019

Environmental campaigners in court to protect right to free speech threat from oil and gas injunctions

Stephanie Harrison QC is representing Joe Corré, one of the named defendants.

5 March 2019

Oil and gas companies' use of injunctions "a threat to our civil liberties"

Parliamentarians, lawyers and campaigners joined forces on 16 January to warn about the growing threat to civil liberties from injunctions against campaigners who protest against fracking, oil and gas companies.

17 January 2019

Notable Cases

 

LGT FFT and DGLG v Wolverhampton CC (FoE and Liberty intervening) 
The Supreme Court has granted Friends, Families and Travellers (FFT), London Gypsies and Travellers (LGT) and Derbyshire Gypsy Liaison Group (DGLG) permission to appeal the use of these wide-ranging ‘anti-Traveller’ injunctions taken out by Wolverhampton City Council and numerous other councils. Marc Willers KC is leading Tessa Buchanan and Owen Greenhall, and Stephanie Harrison KC is leading Stephen Simblet KC and Fatima Jichi.

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We are top ranked by independent legal directories and consistently win awards.

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