Sadat Sayeed

Practice

Sadat Sayeed joined Garden Court Chambers in April 2002 as a second six pupil, under the supervision of Frances Webber. He completed his first six at Matrix Chambers as the pupil of Raza Husain (now QC). He became a tenant at Garden Court in October 2002.

Sadat is a practitioner specialising in advice, representation and advocacy in all areas of immigration, asylum, nationality, deportation, detention, EU free movement and human rights law.

Sadat's practice particularly focuses on advice and representation in politically sensitive cases involving high profile and senior figures from the worlds of politics, business and sport. He has acted for such clients from countries including India, Egypt, the Russian Federation, Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan. In these cases Sadat provides initial strategic advice, he assists with the preparation of legally and evidentially complex applications (whether for asylum/human rights protection or for an immigration status) and provides representation before the immigration tribunals, the higher courts and the European Court of Human Rights. Within the context of these cases, Sadat has a specific interest in the interplay between extradition and asylum proceedings.

Sadat also has a particular specialism in High Court challenges to unlawful immigration detention and is able to provide advice and advocacy in this fast moving area of law. Sadat's approach to such litigation is strategic and robust, in recognition of the fact that many detained clients are particularly vulnerable and find themselves at the 'sharp end' of immigration control.

Sadat also has a flourishing practice in commercial immigration and provides advice and representation for the full range of cases arising from the 'Points Based System'.

Sadat has developed a practice in private law claims arising from his immigration law practice. 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. Sadat recently achieved a settlement of £92,500 in damages for false imprisonment and misfeasance (including exemplary damages) following the removal of a family in breach of a High Court injunction.

What Others Say

Chambers UK 2012 said that Sadat "is a go-to man if you're after a tenacious advocate for a tough case. He undertakes a significant amount of asylum and human rights-related immigration work, but also has a flourishing business immigration practice."

Chambers UK 2011 said Sadat "is a popular choice amongst instructing solicitors, who say he is always prepared to take on a challenge and never gives up on it when he does."

Chambers UK 2010 said Sadat 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 by the Legal500, which describes him as "a junior of promise."

Notable Cases

R(Anam) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2010] EWCA Civ 1140 Appeal from the Administrative Court on the question of the legality of detention under Immigration Act 1971, with particular reference to the failure of the Secretary of State to apply his own policy on the detention of the mentally ill. The court considered the Hardial Singh principles as interpreted in SK(Zimbabwe) and the causation test as interpreted in WL(Congo), and their impact upon the legality of the appellant's detention.

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.

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.

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.

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)

R (on the application of Parmaksiz) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2006] EWHC 2235 (Admin)
Contempt of court against the Home Office for removal in breach of injunction.

O'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.

Publications

Sadat 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, 7th and 8th editions of Macdonald's Immigration Law and Practice.

Sadat is 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)

Sabbaticals

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.

From May 2009 to March 2010, 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. At the end of his secondment Sadat then spent three months travelling in Australia, New Zealand and Thailand.