PracticeSadat Sayeed joined Garden Court Chambers in April 2002 as a second six pupil, having completed his first six at Matrix Chambers as the pupil of Raza Husain. He became a tenant at Garden Court in October 2002. Sadat is a practitioner specialising in advice and representation in all areas of immigration, asylum, nationality, deportation, EU free movement and human rights law. He undertakes advocacy at Tribunal, High Court and Court of Appeal level. He deals with the full range of asylum work, as well as entry clearance and in-country immigration cases. Sadat has expertise in the application of human rights law to immigration and asylum cases, and is well versed in challenging immigration detention in the High Court. Sadat regularly provides training in immigration and asylum on behalf of the Legal Services Commission, and also for Refugee Action. Sadat practises in the law relating to terrorism, as this often overlaps with his immigration and asylum practice. He has appeared in the High Court in relation to control orders imposed against suspected terrorists under the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005. He has also been part of the legal teams involved in challenging the proposed deportation of suspected terrorists to countries with which the UK government has signed Memorandums of Understanding (which give assurances that such deportees will not be tortured). In 2006, Sadat undertook a fellowship at the Center for Constitutional Rights in New York, having been awarded a Pegasus Scholarship by the Inns of Court. Sadat went to New York to specifically work on behalf of the detainees being held at Guantánamo Bay. His focus was on the international law aspects of the Guantánamo litigation, and he was involved in the drafting of the Center's submissions to the United Nations Committee Against Torture (on the USA's compliance with the Convention Against Torture) and to the United Nations Human Rights Committee (on the USA's compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights). He also worked on the Guantánamo refugee issues. During 2009, Sadat was seconded to a firm of solicitors to work as in-house counsel on a set of high level political asylum and human rights cases. The particular focus of Sadat's work during this period was the intersection between extradition and asylum proceedings. Sadat also practises in inquest law, and appears on behalf of bereaved families in inquests arising out of controversial deaths in prison, police and immigration custody. He has appeared in numerous inquests, including those involving self-inflicted deaths, police pursuits, restraint and neglect. His approach to such inquests is both probing and investigative, but he is also acutely aware that inquests are emotionally draining for bereaved families, and therefore must be conducted sensitively. In inquests, Sadat regularly deals with matters relating to the Article 2 (ECHR) investigative obligation. Sadat has developed a practice in private law claims against public authorities, particularly arising from his immigration law and inquest law practices. In relation to the former, he has been instructed on a number of damages claims (in both the County Court and also as part of claims for judicial review) for false imprisonment, assault and battery, misfeasance in public office and breaches of human rights. In relation to the latter, he has been instructed in negligence and human rights claims following deaths in custody. What Others SaySadat is recommended as a leading junior for Immigration by Chambers & Partners UK 2010, which states that he is "noted by sources for his sheer enthusiasm and positive approach to work, which rub off on both clients and those who instruct him". Sadat is also recommended as a leading junior for Immigration and Nationality by the Legal500, which describes him as "a junior of promise". Notable CasesO'Driscoll v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2002] EWHC 2477 Admin (Divisional Court)
Compatibility of s.16 of Terrorism Act 2000 with Articles 10 and 11 of ECHR. R (on the application of Parmaksiz) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2006] EWHC 2235
Contempt of court against the Home Office for removal in breach of injunction. R (on the application of Warren) v Her Majesty's Assistant Coroner for Northamptonshire [2008] EWHC 966 (Admin)
Requirement for expert psychiatric evidence to be heard at an inquest in the context of the investigate obligation under Article 2 ECHR) AM & AM (armed conflict: risk categories) Somalia CG [2008] UKAIT 00091
Country Guidance case on risk for Somali returnees, route and method of return, internal armed conflict, international humanitarian law and Article 15(c) Qualification Directive. JA (Ivory Coast) v Secretary of State for the Home Department; ES (Tanzania) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2009] EWCA Civ 1353
Lead test cases on the issue of what meaning and weight should the courts give, within the proportionality balance under Article 8 ECHR, to former grants of leave to HIV sufferers on the basis that the UK had 'assumed responsibility' for their HIV treatment. YD (Togo) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2010] EWCA Civ 214
Concerned with the impact of recent ECHR case law on the settled test for relocation within Article 8 ECHR, as clarified by the House of Lords in Huang, EB (Kosovo) and Chikwamba. PublicationsSadat was a regular contributor to the Administrative Court Digest (formerly Crown Office Digest) and has written numerous articles in Socialist Lawyer. Sadat contributed to the 6th and 7th editions of Macdonald's Immigration Law and Practice and is a contributor to the forthcoming 8th edition. He is also a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of the Journal of Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Law. Sadat has also published the following articles: "Beyond the Language of Deference" [2005] JR Vol 10 Issue 2
"Guantánamo Bay - Five Years On" [2007] JIANL Vol 21 Number 2, pp.109-129 Honours- CPE Bursary (1999), Major Scholar (2000) and Duke of Edinburgh Scholar (2000) (all from Inner Temple)
- Pegasus Scholar (2006 - Inns of Court, Pegasus Trust)
Professional Memberships- Administrative Law Bar Association
- Immigration Law Practitioners' Association
- Inquest Lawyer's Group
- Liberty
- Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers
- Society of Black Lawyers
- Legal Action Group
Activities and InterestsSadat was formerly a volunteer at Tower Hamlets Law Centre, working for the Immigration Group. He is also on the Management Committee of CAPA Civil Rights, a Tower Hamlets based police monitoring group, which provides advice and support to, and campaigns on behalf of, the victims of police and racial harassment. He is also fluent in Bengali. Finally, Sadat is a long-standing Liverpool FC supporter, although he sometimes wonders why. Profile updated May 2010
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