Rosalind Comyn

Contact Rosalind: rosalindcomyn@matrixlaw.co.uk | +44 (0)20 7404 3447

Contact Rosalind's Practice Team (Team T): TeamT@matrixlaw.co.uk

Rosalind practises in public law, human rights law, media and information law, crime and sanctions. Her cases often involve issues at the intersection of those areas.

Rosalind is ranked as “Up and Coming” in Protest Law by Chambers and Partners (2025) and as a “Rising Star” in Administrative Law and Human Rights, Inquests and Inquires, and Police Law (Claimant) and a “Leading Junior” in Crime by Legal 500 (2026). She was shortlisted for the Legal 500 Public Law Junior of the Year award in her second year of practice.

Public, Human Rights and Equality Law

Rosalind has a broad practice in public law and human rights, with a particular focus on matters relating to national security, protest, policing, and free speech. She has been instructed in a number of high-profile judicial reviews and systemic policy challenges.

Recent cases include:

• Acting for two non-governmental organisations intervening in a judicial review of a decision to proscribe a direct-action protest network (led by Tom Hickman KC and Jessica Jones).
• Acting for the Claimants in the first judicial review of the use of Live Facial Recognition technology by the Metropolitan Police (led by Dan Squires KC and Aidan Wills).
• Acting for the Claimant in a challenge to the fairness of a decision maintaining a prisoner at Category A without resolving disputed factual issues (led by Jesse Nicholls).
• Acting in a challenge to the National Crime Agency’s refusal to provide consent for the transfer of funds to the Claimant. The funds were paid in settlement of a human rights damages claim in respect of the individual’s torture and mistreatment by UK/US forces in Iraq and extraordinary rendition to Afghanistan (led by Dan Squires KC).
• Acting for the first individual to be subject to a deportation order following conviction for a protest-related offence (led by Nick Armstrong KC).
• Acting for a company in relation to a challenge to a refusal by the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation to provide a licence allowing activity prohibited by financial sanctions pursuant to the “prior obligations” ground (led by Tim James-Matthews)
• Acting for a human rights NGO in an intervention before the European Court of Human Rights in a case concerning the UK government’s complicity in unlawful detention and torture (led by Joanna Buckley, with Radha Bhatt)
• Acted for the Claimant in a successful judicial review challenge to the “Serious Disruption Regulations”, which expand police powers to restrict protest activity (led by Jude Bunting KC and Hollie Higgins).

• Acted for the successful Claimant in Supreme Court proceedings in the first substantive challenge to a Temporary Exclusion Order under the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 (with Dan Squires KC and Darryl Hutcheon).

• Represented a non-governmental organisation, intervening in application for a Persons Unknown precautionary injunction restricting protest at a university (led by Hollie Higgins).

• Acted for a successful Claimant in a challenge to a prison’s refusal to conduct an Article 3 compliant investigation into alleged ill-treatment in prison (unled).

• Part of the counsel team representing the Claimants in the lead Public Order Disqualification challenges related to exclusion of those who had committed criminal offences from human trafficking support. The Secretary of State conceded shortly before trial (led by Chris Buttler KC, with Katy Sheridan and Marlena Valles).

• Acted for the Claimant in a challenge to the Environment Agency’s decision to remove, and fail to replace, the target date for implementing its policy on the regulation of sludge (led by David Wolfe KC).

• Acted for the Applicant, who was held in solitary confinement for 55 days whilst detained in a young offenders’ institution as a child of 15 years old, in proceedings before the European Court of Human Rights. The government accepted that there was a breach of Article 3 ECHR in the circumstances of the case, and agreed to pay the Applicant compensation (led by Dan Squires KC and Ayesha Christie)
• Represented the Claimants on immigration bail in a successful judicial review of decisions to subject them to round-the clock GPS tagging (led by Chris Buttler KC and Aidan Wills)

Crime

Rosalind has experience across a range of criminal law matters relating to protest law, terrorism and financial crime. She is the author of the chapter on terrorist property in Smith and Owen on Asset Recovery: Criminal Confiscation, Civil Recovery, Money Laundering, and Sanctions (2025).

Recent cases include:

• Acting for an artist charged with a terrorism offence arising out of a performance (led by Brenda Campbell KC, Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh KC and Jude Bunting KC).
• Acting unled for defendants accused of committing serious offence in a protest context, including public nuisance, high-value criminal damage, burglary and other public order offences.
• Acting for two Appellants convicted of criminal damage for throwing soup on a painting in their appeals against sentence. This case concerns the correct approach to the conscientious motivation when sentencing offenders who engage in acts of civil disobedience (led by Brenda Campbell KC).
• Successfully defended ten doctors charged with breaching a police-imposed conditions on the basis the condition was not lawfully imposed.
• Successfully resisted an application for contempt of court made against an individual who displayed a sign outside Inner London Crown Court conveying the jury equity principle (led by Clare Montgomery KC)
• Acted for the Appellant in a successful appeal against conviction for causing criminal damage arising out of an environmental protest.
• Advised a company on whether breach of a statutory obligation gave rise to criminal liability.
• Advised a high-profile defendant in respect of national security charges (led by Tim Owen KC and Tim James-Matthews).

Media and Information Law, Data protection

Rosalind has a wide-ranging interest in media, privacy, and data protection law. She is a contributing author to the forthcoming edition of Online Publication Claims: A Practical Guide.

Recent cases include:

• Advising an individual in respect of claims against online platforms for their failure to comply with data protection law when processing children’s data (led by Lorna Skinner KC).
• Advised a national broadsheet on the publication of an investigative report alleging that a public figure had engaged in serious criminal conduct (led by Antony White KC).
• Advised a national broadsheet on source-protection issues in relation to a high-profile investigation.
• Acted for the Defendant, a Member of Parliament, in a libel claim, successfully opposing an application to set aside a strike-out order.
• Provided pre-publication advice to the publishers of a twelve-part podcast series investigating a murder connected to a powerful political family.
• Advised an individual acquitted of protest-related offences on sharing material disclosed in the course of criminal proceedings with journalists.
• Advised on privacy and data protection claims arising from the retention of information on police databases.

Rosalind also provides pre-publication legal and regulatory advice as a regular duty lawyer at a national broadsheet, as well as for a reality television series during live broadcast.

Public inquiries, inquests and actions against public authorities

Rosalind has acted in a number of public inquiries, inquests, and civil claims relating to State failings.

Recent cases include:

• Representing bereaved families in a public inquiry concerning allegations that members of UK Special Forces murdered Afghan civilians (led by Eddie Craven KC and Helen Law, with Jessica Jones, Emma Foubister and Jack Boswell).
• Acting for Fujitsu Services Limited in the public inquiry following the wrongful convictions of sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses (led by Richard Whittam KC and Samantha Knights KC, with Tim James-Matthews).
• Acting for bereaved families and one survivor in the public inquiry regarding the UK’s worst small boats disaster, when at least 27 migrants lost their lives crossing the English Channel in a small boat in November 2021 (led by Phillippa Kaufmann KC and Jim Robottom).
• Representing various claimants following their arrests and detention during the Coronation (led by Jude Bunting KC).
• Acted for the bereaved family of an MP who was murdered while carrying out duties in his constituency (led by Jesse Nichols).
• Acted for a victim of rape in a civil claim against the police for the breach of their duty to investigate. A high-value settlement was secured shortly after the pleadings and expert evidence was served.
• Acting for a bereaved mother in relation to a claim against the police, arising from the death of her 8-week old child from catastrophic injuries inflicted by her father (led by Nick Armstrong KC).

Rosalind frequently acts, unled, in evidence-heavy and contentious Article 2 inquests touching on deaths in custody and in inquests which raise concerns about failures on the part of State agencies.

Sanctions

Rosalind is building a practice in sanctions. She is a contributing author to Smith and Owen on Asset Recovery: Criminal Confiscation, Civil Recovery, Money Laundering, and Sanctions (2025).

Recent instructions include:

• Acting in relation to a challenge to an OFSI decision to refuse to provide a licence pursuant to the “prior obligations” licencing ground (led by Tim James-Matthews)
• Acting for a Claimant in a judicial review of a refusal to provide consent for transfer of settlement monies to individual sanctioned by US (led by Dan Squires KC).
• Advised a company on compliance with trade sanctions imposed under the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019.

Background

Rosalind previously worked in the human rights sector for five years. Most recently, she was the Policy and Campaigns Manager at the non-governmental organisation Liberty, where she led work across policing, counterterrorism, and protest. Before joining Liberty, Rosalind worked for the human rights organisation Rights and Security International, where she was responsible for research, advocacy and strategic litigation on a range of matters relating to national security and human rights.

Rosalind was also a research assistant for a leading practitioners’ text on judicial review in Ireland.

Qualifications

Rosalind holds an LLB (Law and Political Science) from Trinity College Dublin and an LLM (International Law) from the University of Cambridge.

Scholarships and awards include:

• Gold Medal, Trinity College Dublin
• Law School Prize (First in Class), Trinity College Dublin
• Entrance Exhibition Award, Trinity College Dublin
• Desmond and Maud O’Connor Prize for best research dissertation
• Lord Denning Scholarship, Lincoln’s Inn

Rosalind is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. In order to provide legal services to her clients, including advice and representation services, she needs to collect and hold personal data. This includes her client’s personal data and the personal data of others who feature in the matter upon which she is instructed. To read Rosalind’s privacy notice in full, please see here.

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