Extradition, EU law and mutual legal assistance
Mark is a specialist in all areas of extradition and mutual assistance, international law and EU law. He is recommended as a leading extradition junior by both Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners. Mark is noted for his "knowledge of extradition case law" (Legal 500, 2012) and is "widely praised for his fantastic extradition practice... [he] has an encyclopaedic knowledge of extradition law at his fingertips and is a bold and confident advocate" (Chambers and Partners, 2011).
Mark is regularly instructed to advise and appear on behalf of individuals and foreign governments in proceedings in the United Kingdom and abroad. Mark is experienced in the drafting of European Arrest Warrants / non-EU requests. He is chair of the Extradition Lawyer’s Association.
In addition to the theft of a wardrobe door and possession of a sleeping pill, his cases have included ● the Madrid train bombings ● the 9/11 attacks ● the ‘fertiliser’ bomb plot ● the 2001 US anthrax bio-terrorism attacks ● the financial collapse of Enron (the “NatWest 3”) ● the murder of Theo van Gogh ● the creation of the 'Trojan Horse' commercial espionage computer virus ● the French Elf Oil Co. political corruption trial ● hacking into the Pentagon and Pearl Harbour and NASA computer networks ● $31million US 'Ponzi scheme' advance fee fraud ● $55million financial derivatives fraud ● $300million US ‘pump and dump’ stock fraud ● the sale of decommissioned radioactive metals ● KGB espionage in the former Soviet bloc ● treason ● impairing the battle-readiness of the US Atlantic fleet ● defendants on the FBI’s "10 most wanted" list ● Portugal v Garry Mann (on behalf of Fair Trials International) ● Basque nationalist terrorism allegations ● PKK terrorist murder allegations.
Mark's current extradition caseload includes ● Sweden v Julian Assange ● the attempted murder of the King of Spain ● bombings in the 1992 Gujarati race riots ● advising in proceedings in India, Switzerland, Portugal and the UAE ● France & Algeria v Khelifa (the first competing extradition requests under the 2003 Act) ● Edwards v UK and Woolley v UK pending before the European Court of Human Rights.
Crime and regulatory
Chambers and Partners and the Legal 500 also consistently rank Mark as a leading junior in crime and regulatory work. Noted as “attracting attention from colleagues and judges alike, due to the quality of his performances...Those who have led Summers consider him to be absolutely exceptional, a genuinely clever lawyer”. For the past 5 years, he has been ranked amongst the top 15 crime juniors in London and is noted as having “handled high-profile cases...a stunning addition to any team - with pep and industry to spare”. Legal 500 in 2011 comments that Mark is "very effective in court, with a mature manner beyond his years".
Mark has represented senior members of the Bar and senior members of the Judiciary in criminal proceedings, including proceedings before the Privy Council. He is particularly experienced in the conduct of abuse of process submissions in domestic cases concerning defendants brought before the jurisdiction by irregular means and in circumvention of extradition procedures.
The broad spectrum of Mark's criminal advisory work includes advising the Public Solicitor of St. Helena & Ascension on the operation of the fair trial provisions of the Islands' new Constitution.
Mark's current crime and regulatory caseload includes ● defending in the Pakistani cricket spot-fixing trial ● intervening before European Court of Human Rights in proceedings concerning the death of Jean Charles de Menezes ● death row litigation before the Privy Council ● civil proceedings concerning the policing of the Royal Wedding
Terrorism
Mark’s extradition, MLA and general criminal practices all have a particular focus on anti-terrorism and cases concerning complex cross-border and jurisdictional issues. His terrorism trial caseload before the UK courts has recently included ● “Operation Overt”; the 2006 Heathrow airline liquid bomb plot ● the 21/7 London bombing attempts ● R v Tsouli (aka "terrorist007" - reputed to be Al-Qa’eda's ”webmaster” and “cyber-Muhajid”) ● the 'ricin' conspiracy ● the murder of DC Oake ● the Stansted Airport Afghan Airlines hijacking ● offences under the Terrorism Acts of 2000 and 2006’ ● production of chemical weapons and explosives ● international economic sanctions freezing orders.
Mark's current terrorism caseload includes ● "operation Norbury"; the alleged plot to blow up the London Stock Exchange, Big Ben and Westminster Abbey ● "operation Examine"; alleged terrorist fundraising and plot to attack unknown targets in the UK
Publications
Mark is ● co-author of “Abuse of Process in Criminal Proceedings”, Young, Summers & Corker, 3rd. Ed. Bloomsbury, 2009 ● contributing editor to "Fraud: Criminal Law and Procedure", Montgomery & Ormerod, Looseleaf, OUP.