Inquests

Garden Court Chambers has long been among the most committed at the Bar offering representation for families at inquest. We cover deaths in police, prison and immigration custody, as well as deaths at institutions for the mentally ill. We have a particular expertise in police restraint and shooting cases. The team has a strong reputation across the UK in this difficult and sensitive area.

We are active members of INQUEST, the campaigning group which supports families of people who have died, especially while in the custody of the state. We also undertake inquests into deaths associated with medical negligence and accidents at work.

The civil team also has extensive experience in cases involving unlawful killing and neglect and our barristers have appeared in nearly all of the leading cases in this area. We strive to ensure that inquests are rigorous investigations of the circumstances surrounding deaths.

Inquest law has been significantly affected by the incorporation of the Human Rights Act, most notably by the investigative obligation under Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The civil team members regularly appear in cases which engage Article 2.

We also publish books and articles in this area, including the ‘Legal Action’ book and ‘Inquests: A Practitioner’s Guide’ co-written by Leslie Thomas. Team members regularly contribute to the ‘Inquest Law’ journal.

Civil Clerks

If you would like more information about our Inquests team email the clerks civilclerks@gclaw.co.uk
or call us on 020 7993 7600

The team

Members of the Inquests team are listed below - click on their names to go to their profiles.

Barrister	Year of Call	Email Address
Ian Peddie QC	1971	Send Email
Terry Munyard	1972	Send Email
Courtenay Griffiths QC	1980	Send Email
Nerida Harford-Bell	1984	Send Email
Leslie Thomas	1988	Send Email
Dexter Dias QC	1988	Send Email
Colin Hutchinson	1990	Send Email
Stephen Simblet	1991	Send Email
Helen Curtis	1992	Send Email
Stephen Knafler QC	1993	Send Email
Rajiv Menon	1993	Send Email
Sean Horstead	1996	Send Email
Maya Sikand	1997	Send Email
Emma Favata	1999	Send Email
Marina Sergides	2000	Send Email
Sadat Sayeed	2001	Send Email
Navtej Singh Ahluwalia	2001	Send Email
Brenda Campbell	2002	Send Email
Irena Sabic	2002	Send Email
Anna Morris	2006	Send Email
Sarah Hemingway	2006	Send Email
Jo Wilding	2007	Send Email
Kirsten Heaven	2007	Send Email