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Edward Craven
MEET:

Edward Craven

“He is extremely hard working and has a brain the size of the planet. Impossible to say a bad word about him. He is a star.”

Legal 500 2021
Called: 2007

Eddie has a broad practice in all areas public, media, commercial and international law.

He is recommended by Legal 500 as a leading junior in nine areas: (1) administrative law and human rights; (2) business and regulatory crime; (3) civil fraud; (4) data protection; (5) defamation and privacy; (6) environmental law; (7) group litigation; (8) proceeds of crime and asset forfeiture; (9) public international law.

He is also recommended by Chambers & Partners as a leading junior in nine areas: (1) administrative and public law; (2) civil liberties & human rights; (3) data protection; (4) defamation & privacy; (5) environment; (6) group litigation (7) international human rights law; (8) POCA work and asset forfeiture; and (9) public international law.

Eddie was recently named by Chambers & Partners as one of 16 “Stars of the Bar 2024” (the only junior to be listed).

Eddie has a wide public law and human rights practice. He was named by Legal 500 as Junior of the Year for Civil Liberties and Human Rights in 2020 and as Public Law Junior of the Year in 2023. He has acted in a number of high profile Human Rights Act claims and judicial reviews including:

  • Elgizouli v Home Secretary (Supreme Court appeal concerning lawfulness of Government’s facilitation of the death penalty in the United States)
  • Abu Zubaydah v Foreign & Commonwealth Office ­– Representing a Guantanamo Bay detainee in claim for damages for UK complicity in unlawful rendition and torture (including in an appeal to the Supreme Court on the issue of applicable law).
  • USA v Julian Assange (Representing Julian Assange in extradition proceedings brought by the United States)
  • Belhaj v Straw; Rahmatullah v Ministry of Defence (Supreme Court appeals concerning state immunity and Foreign Act of State doctrine in claims concerning unlawful rendition, detention and torture by foreign states)
  • Beghal v Director of Public Prosecutions (Supreme Court appeal concerning ECHR compatibility of Schedule 7 to the Terrorism Act 2000)
  • Serdar Mohammed and Rahmatullah v Ministry of Defence (Supreme Court appeals concerning Crown Act of State doctrine in tort claims for unlawful detention by UK forces during overseas military operations)
  • SXH v Crown Prosecution Service (Supreme Court appeal concerning application of Article 8 to prosecution of vulnerable refugees)
  • B v H.M Advocate (Supreme Court appeal concerning ECHR compatibility of Scottish sexual offences legislation)
  • R (Bashir) v Home Secretary (Supreme Court appeal concerning applicability of the UN Refugee Convention to the United Kingdom’s Sovereign Base Areas in Cyprus)
  • Smith v Ministry of Defence (Supreme Court appeal concerning extra-territorial application of the ECHR)
  • Liberty v GCHQ and Security and Intelligence Services (challenge before the Investigatory Powers Tribunal concerning the legality of mass interception and intelligence sharing regimes under RIPA)
  • R (David Miranda) v Secretary of State for the Home Department (challenge to lawfulness of detention and seizure of journalistic material under Schedule 7 to the Terrorism Act 2000)
  • Alseran and Al-Waheed v Ministry of Defence (representing a number of Iraqi civilians in human rights claims concerning assault and unlawful imprisonment in Iraq)
  • R (Help Refugees) v Home Secretary (judicial review challenging the lawfulness of the Government’s implementation of the ‘Dubs amendment’ (relocation of specified number of unaccompanied refugee children to the UK))
  • R (Saifullah) v Secretary of State for Defence and R (Noorzai) v Secretary of State for Defence – Representing bereaved family members challenging failure to conduct an Article 2 compliant investigation into the killing of their relatives by British special forces in Afghanistan.
  • Independent Inquiry relating to Afghanistan – Representing bereaved families in a public inquiry concerning allegations that members of UK Special Forces murdered Afghan civilians.

Eddie has a significant practice in public and private international law. He represented Croatia in proceedings before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) under the Genocide Convention (Croatia v Serbia). He is currently representing the Republic of Somalia in an international maritime boundary dispute before the ICJ (Somalia v Kenya) and is representing the Co-Operative Republic of Guyana in proceedings before the ICJ concerning the validity of an 1899 arbitral award (Guyana v Venezuela). He recently served as the assistant to an ICSID arbitral tribunal and is a member of the Attorney-General’s Public International Law Panel.

Eddie has also acted in a number of complex international group claims before the English courts. These include:

  • Lungowe v Vedanta Resources Plc and Konkola Copper Mines – Representing almost two thousand rural Zambians in proceedings (including a landmark appeal before the Supreme Court) concerning environmental damage and personal injury caused by the discharge of toxic pollution from the world’s largest open cast copper mine.
  • HRH Okpabi v Royal Dutch Shell – Representing a Nigerian community of approximately 40,000 villagers in proceedings (including a landmark appeal before the Supreme Court) concerning extensive environmental damage caused by oil spills in Rivers State, Nigeria.
  • Various Claimants v British American Tobacco and Imperial Tobacco – Representing more than 7,000 Malawian tenant farmers in claims for unjust enrichment, negligence and conversion against two of the world’s largest tobacco groups.
  • Various Claimants v Peugeot/Citröen, Jaguar Land Rover, Ford and BMW – Representing tens of thousands of claimants in claims against manufacturers and retailers of diesel vehicles arising from the alleged presence of unlawful emissions ‘defeat devices’.
  • Bereaved, survivors and other victims of the Grenfell Tower fire – Representing more than 800 victims of the Grenfell Tower fire in civil claims against the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea and other defendants for loss and damage arising from the tragedy.
  • Kenyan Emergency Group Litigation – Representing several thousand claimants in a group action against the Foreign and Commonwealth Office concerning human rights violations in Kenya during the 1950s.
  • Kalma & Others v African Minerals Ltd – Representing more than 40 claimants in personal injury claims concerning alleged corporate complicity in the assault of protestors in Sierra Leone.
  • AAA v Unilever Plc – Representing more than 200 claimants in negligence claims concerning failure to protect against the foreseeable risk of post-election ethnic violence at a tea plantation in Kenya.
  • Bodo Community v Shell Petroleum Development Co of Nigeria – Representing more than 15,000 claimants in proceedings concerning extensive pollution in Rivers State, Nigeria.

Eddie has extensive experience of bringing claims and third party interventions before the European Court of Human Rights. His cases include:

  • Bancoult & Jean Francois v United Kingdom – Representing former inhabitants of the Chagos Islands in an ongoing challenge to their continued prohibition from resettling in the Islands.
  • Ten Human Rights Organisations v United Kingdom – Representing a consortium of international human rights organisations in challenges to the ECHR compatibility of the UK’s mass telecommunications interception regime and international intelligence sharing regime.
  • Al-Waheed v United Kingdom – Representing an Iraqi civilian in a challenge to the legality of detention during the armed conflict in Iraq.
  • Beghal v United Kingdom – Representing the applicant in a successful challenge to the ECHR compatibility of UK “stop and search” terrorism legislation under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000.
  • Briggs-Price v United Kingdom – Representing an individual in an ongoing challenge to the compatibility of confiscation procedures under UK drug trafficking legislation with Article 6 of the ECHR.
  • Ahmet and Mehmut Altan v Turkey – Representing a coalition of NGOs (including PEN International, ARTICLE 19, Human Rights Watch and Index on Censorship) in a third party intervention concerning persecution of journalists in Turkey

Eddie practises in all aspects of media and information law, with particular expertise in defamation, privacy, data protection, breach of confidence and reporting restrictions. He is recommended as a leading junior in this field by Chambers & Partners, Legal 500, Spear’s and Who’s Who Legal. In 2022 he was shortlisted for Media and the Arts junior of the year by Legal 500.

Eddie has acted in some of the most significant media law cases in recent years. They include:

  • Donald Trump v Orbis Business Intelligence Limited – Representing Orbis Business Intelligence Limited in a data protection claim brought by former US President Donald Trump.
  • OPO (James Rhodes) v MLA – Representing the musician James Rhodes in a successful Supreme Court appeal against an injunction prohibiting the publication of his autobiography.
  • Lachaux v Independent Print Ltd – Representing the Media Lawyers Association in a landmark Supreme Court appeal concerning the meaning of the “serious harm” requirement in s. 1 of the Defamation Act 2013.
  • Lloyd v Google – Acting as sole junior for Google in its successful Supreme Court appeal against an attempt to establish a multibillion pound representative action for compensation under the Data Protection Act on behalf of several million iPhone users.
  • ZXC v Bloomberg LP – Acting for the successful respondent in an appeal before the Supreme Court concerning the privacy rights of individuals under criminal investigation.
  • Prismall v Google & DeepMind – Representing Google and DeepMind in a successful application to strike out an attempted representative action seeking damages for misuse of private information on behalf of more than one million individuals.
  • Gubarev v Orbis Business Intelligence Ltd & Christopher Steele – Representing the former Crown servant, Christopher Steele, in a successful defence of libel proceedings concerning the publication of the “Trump Russia” dossier.
  • Phone hacking litigation –Representing approximately 50 individuals in successful claims for misuse of private information against News Group Newspapers and MGN arising from Operations Weeting, Pinetree and Golding (unlawful voicemail interception) and Operation Elveden (payment of corrupt public officials).
  • Guardian News & Media v The Rubicon Project Inc –Representing GNM in a multimillion pound claim for deceit, misrepresentation and breach of contract arising from the alleged retention of secret commissions in the sale of GNM’s online advertising inventory through an online auction platform.
  • Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou v Telegraph Media Group Ltd– Representing the founder of easyJet, Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, in libel proceedings against the publisher of the Daily Telegraph.
  • Qatar Airways Group v Middle East News FZ LLC –Representing several UAE-based media organisations in claims for malicious falsehood and conspiracy arising from the publication of a news item concerning the blockade of Qatar.

Between 2013-17, Eddie provided regular pre-publication advice to The TimesSunday TimesObserver, the Guardian and BBC News.

Eddie has a broad criminal and regulatory practice with a particular focus on proceeds of crime, fraud and money laundering offences and cases with an international or corporate dimension. He has been instructed for the defence in international fraud and corruption prosecutions and advised a large investment bank on LIBOR fixing investigations. He has extensive experience of representing respondents to property freezing orders, unexplained wealth orders and civil recovery applications under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. He has advised and trained teams at global law firms on money laundering compliance and has produced AML risk assessments and policies for a range of regulated entities. He recently represented the defendant (led by Mark Summers KC) in R v BHQ [2023] Crim LR 788, concerning the Court of Appeal’s jurisdiction to hear appeals against rulings at preparatory hearings on the question of abuse of process. He has also recently acted for individuals under criminal investigation for suspected fraud and bribery offences in support of applications to maintain their anonymity prior to charging decisions being made.

Eddie is a contributing author to Human Rights and Criminal Justice (3rd Ed, Sweet & Maxwell); Smith, Bodnar and Owen on Asset Recovery, Criminal Confiscation and Civil Recovery (OUP, 2nd Ed); Montgomery and Ormerod on Fraud: Criminal Law and Procedure; and Livingstone, Owen and Macdonald on Prison Law (OUP, 5th Ed); and the GIR Guide to Global Investigations.

Eddie has acted as a clerk to the Basketball Arbitral Tribunal on more than 20 cases and as an ad hoc clerk at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in more than 40 cases including:

  • Caster Semenya v IAAF – Challenge to the lawfulness of the IAAF’s Eligibility Regulations for the Female Classification (Athletes with Differences of Sex Development).
  • Blake Leeper v IAAF – Appeal concerning regulations restricting the use of prosthetic running aids by amputee athletes who wish to compete against able-bodied athletes in international athletics competitions.
  • Dutee Chand v IAAF – Appeal concerning regulations restricting the eligibility of female athletes with hyperandrogenism to compete in international athletics competitions.
  • Alexander Legkov, Aleksander Zubkov & others v International Olympic Committee (IOC) – Appeals brought by more than 20 Russian athletes against findings they had engaged in systematic doping and covert sample swapping during the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi.
  • Harold Mayne-Nicholls v FIFA – Appeal brought by the former Chairman of the FIFA Bid Evaluation Group for the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups against findings that he breached the FIFA Ethics Code by making improper requests to an organisation linked to the Qatari World Cup bid.
  • Veronica Campbell Brown v IAAF– Appeal concerning irregularities in Jamaican anti-doping procedures.

In 2011/2012 Eddie spent a year as judicial assistant to Lord Clarke at the United Kingdom Supreme Court. Prior to this, Eddie spent nine months as a judicial assistant to Lady Justice Arden at the Court of Appeal.

Eddie is a former Lecturer in Administrative Law and European Human Rights Law at Oxford University and has taught on surveillance and fair trial issues on the postgraduate BCL course. Before joining Matrix, he spent several months working as a Stagiaire at the European Court of Human Rights. He is also a former trial observer for the Human Rights Institute of the International Bar Association.

Eddie holds a first class undergraduate law degree from Trinity Hall, Cambridge University. He undertook the Bar Vocational Course at the Inns of Court School of Law where he was graded ‘Outstanding’ and received the Everard Ver Heyden Foundation Prize for finishing in the top 5 in his year. Eddie later read for the Bachelor of Civil Law at Brasenose College, Oxford University, specialising in criminal justice, unjust enrichment and comparative public law. He received Distinctions in all subjects and won the Ralph Chiles CBE Prize for comparative human rights law. Eddie was awarded a Sunley Scholarship, Eastham Scholarship, Hardwicke Award and Buchanan Prize by Lincoln’s Inn.

Eddie is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy in accordance with his legal obligation under UK law and the law of the European Union. In order to provide legal services to his clients, including advice and representation services, Eddie needs to collect and hold personal data. This includes his client’s personal data and the personal data of others who feature in the matter upon which he is instructed. To view Eddie’s privacy notice in full, please see here.

Edward is regulated by the Bar Standards Board and accepts instructions under Standard Contractual Terms. To find out more information on this and the way we work at Matrix, including our fee transparency statement, please see our see our service standards

DIRECTORY RECOMMENDATIONS

"Brilliant - Edward is a fabulous junior and his knowledge of public international law is unparalleled. He brings buckets of enthusiasm, wit and intelligence to every case he does."

Legal 500, 2024, Public International Law

"His written work is incredible." "He's very clever and very good."

Chambers & Partners, 2024, POCA

"Eddie is a polymath. He is fantastically knowledgeable over a wide range of areas and brings an incisive intelligence to bear on all his case work."

Legal 500, 2024, POCA

"Edward is a rare combination of being absolutely first class in terms of his legal analysis, but also being a delight to work with"His written advocacy is excellent. Edward is always full of outstanding ideas."

Chambers & Partners, 2024, Group Litigation

‘Eddie is a star at the Bar. A hugely talented lawyer with an endless capacity for hard work. He distills complex legal arguments into first class skeleton arguments and has a keen sense for strategy in complex group litigation."

Legal 500, 2024, Group Litigation

"Edward is a strong advocate and a good team player."

Legal 500, 2024, Fraud: Civil

"A near future silk. Has a wonderful way with words, a huge intellect and a wealth of strategic nous." "He's completely brilliant."

Chambers & Partners, 2024, Environment

"A junior with a brilliant and creative legal mind."

Legal 500, 2024, Environment

"Eddie is personable, bright, versatile and willing to get stuck in. He is good strategically." "He is incredibly bright." "He is just great. He is good in media but has a wide-ranging practice."

Chambers & Partners, 2024, Defamation & Privacy

"He's very personable, extremely bright, versatile, and willing to get stuck in even on less exciting tasks. He's also sound strategically."

Chambers & Partners, 2024, Data Protection

"A highly experienced junior with a formidable intellect."

Legal 500, 2024, Data Protection

"A formidable junior; he's a phenomenal drafter and researcher. He does the most incredible work for us."

Chambers & Partners, 2024, Civil Liberties & Human Rights

"Eddie is a polymath. He is fantastically knowledgeable over a wide range of areas and brings an incisive intelligence to bear on all his case work."

Legal 500, 2024, Business and Regulatory Crime (including Global Investigations)

"An extraordinary force of nature. He has an incredible eye for detail and is great on his feet."

Legal 500, 2024, Administrative Law and Human Rights

"Edward brings wide-ranging expertise that allows him to make unique points." "His written advocacy is excellent. He is always full of outstanding ideas."

Chambers & Partners, 2024, Administrative & Public Law

"He is a really really clever guy. He does incredible quality work. His written work is superb. He is excellent with clients and has a huge brain."

Legal 500, 2023, Business and Regulatory Crime (including Global Investigations)

"Superb lawyer, utterly unparalleled for his sheer breadth of knowledge and dedication to cases. An excellent advocate and a great team player."

Legal 500, 2023, Administrative & Human Rights

"He is incredibly knowledgeable. A total pleasure to work with. His knowledge of the workings of the Supreme Court is second-to-none."

Legal 500, 2023, Data Protection

"Edward is on the ball and adeptly navigates complex legal issues and brings great energy to cases."

Legal 500, 2023, Defamation & Privacy

"Edward is an outstanding public international law junior. He is able to assimilate huge amounts of information very quickly and provide incisive advice. Edward's oral advocacy is second to none."

Legal 500, 2023, Public International Law

"Brilliant and persuasive drafting, cutting-edge advice, totally reliable and ingenious with arguments."

Legal 500, 2023, Group Litigation

"Highly experienced, extremely hard-working, unfailingly helpful – a real star."

Legal 500, 2023, Media and Entertainment

"An excellent senior junior who is strategic, knowledgeable and an absolute pleasure to work with."

Legal 500, 2023, Fraud: Civil

"His assistance and contributions are always of highest quality, well-formulated and immediately usable."

Legal 500, 2023, Sport

"Edward is immensely bright."

Chambers & Partners, 2023, Defamation & Privacy

"His drafting is amazing, concise and pointed and he has an eye on the wider strategic issues at play." "Eddie is one of the most eloquent drafters you can get at the junior Bar."

Chambers & Partners, 2023, Group Litigation

"Excellent on POCA matters, he works his way through the key points in cases in a logical and efficient manner."

Chambers & Partners, 2023, POCA Work & Asset Forfeiture

"His delivery of complex legal arguments in a judicial review is punchy and hard-hitting." "He really is exceptional and also very approachable."" ""He is clearly very experienced and has a stellar reputation.""

Chambers & Partners, 2023, Administrative and Public Law

"One of the most eloquent drafters you can get at the junior Bar." "A super bright senior junior."

Chambers & Partners, 2023, Civil Liberties & Human Rights

"Edward has a good understanding of the law and of the interlinking elements." "He does really high-quality work at an exceptional rate. He's delightful and utterly brilliant as a lawyer. He's so nice to work with and such a team player too."

Chambers & Partners, 2023, Data Protection

"One of the most impressive barristers; incredibly intelligent, knows the law inside out and is incredibly clear in all his advice."

Chambers & Partners, 2023, Environment

"His advocacy is really superb, and he's incredibly committed and hard-working."

Chambers & Partners, 2023, Public International Law

"He is very responsive, thorough, organised and logical in how he presents things."

Chambers & Partners (2022), Defamation & Privacy

“He knows his stuff in this area and is good at drafting.” “He is fantastic.”

Chambers & Partners (2022), POCA Work & Asset

"A huge asset to any legal team. He is extremely capable, very hard-working and produces excellent drafting."

Chambers & Partners (2022), Group Litigation

"He is utterly brilliant and a genuine pleasure to work with. He is also really creative and strategic." "I would recommend him as a real standout junior barrister."

Chambers & Partners (2022), Administrative & Public Law

"He is very clever and on the ball." "Eddie's drafting skills are immaculate; he is my favourite junior. He has a very good legal brain and is a complete pleasure to work with." "He is supremely charming."

Chambers & Partners (2022), Civil Liberties & Human Rights

"An exceptionally bright junior and a rising star. He has unparalleled research skills and devotes himself wholeheartedly to a case." "He is phenomenal, his written work is lightning quick and he's really conscientious."

Chambers & Partners (2022), Environment

"An absolute workhorse and a scholarly junior who works on innovative claims and is unafraid of a challenge." "He's efficient and knowledgeable in international law." "He is strategic and on top of his cases."

Chambers & Partners (2022), Public International Law

"He is a very knowledgeable and smart barrister. He stands out because he is very client-friendly. Looks out for the interests of the client and is great on strategy." "He has an excellent spread of expertise, and is one of our first choices for complex matters." "A rare combination of fighting power whilst being a delightful opponent."

Chambers & Partners (2022), Data Protection

"He is very clever and on the ball." "Eddie's drafting skills are immaculate; he is my favourite junior. He has a very good legal brain and is a complete pleasure to work with." "He is supremely charming."

Chambers & Partners (2022), International Human Rights Law

"Real star qualities, particularly in the civil liberties and human rights arena. A much sought after junior."

Legal 500 (2022), Civil liberties and human rights (including actions against the police

"Pre-eminent in the junior end of this field and is a delight to work with."

Legal 500 (2022), Public International Law

"Very user-friendly. A star junior in the public law and civil liberties arena. An absolute pleasure to work with."

Legal 500 (2022), Administrative & Public Law (Including Elections)

"Has an excellent knowledge of data protection law and practice, combined with strong general litigation skills."

Legal 500 (2022), Data Protection

" Eddie is a extremely hard working and a very good strategist, who often comes up with clever procedural points as well as points of legal analysis. He has a very good manner with clients who have great confidence in him."

Legal 500 (2022), Media and Entertainment

"The foremost junior in representing claimants in major environmental claims for harms occurring overseas, he is exceptionally bright and strategically brilliant. "

Legal 500 (2022), Environment

"His assistance and contributions are always of highest quality, well-formulated and immediately usable."

Legal 500 (2022), Sport

"Extremely hard working, responsive and knowledgeable."

Legal 500 (2022), Fraud: Civil

"He is extremely hard working and has a brain the size of the planet. Impossible to say a bad word about him. He is a star."

Legal 500 (2021), Administrative and Public Law

"He is a polymath who brings his wide insights into criminal work. He is an intellectual giant who is also incredibly hard working and user friendly. Very good with the detail, rolls up his sleeves freely, and very knowledgeable on civil fraud and insolvency."

Legal 500, Civil Fraud

"Fantastic, exceptionally bright, and a really sought after junior."

Legal 500, Civil Liberties and Human Rights

"Hardworking, very knowledgeable about data protection law, and a creative thinker."

Legal 500, Data Protection

"Excellent grasp of the law, proactively comes up with ideas on a case."

Legal 500, Defamation and Privacy

"He is one of the brightest barristers of his generation and his ability to grasp complex points of law and voluminous case law is extraordinary."

Legal 500, Environment

"A rare mixture of top academic talent who is perfectly adept at client interaction."

Legal 500, Media and Entertainment including Art and Cultural Property

"Incredibly bright with an engaging court manner."

Legal 500, Proceeds of Crime Act and Asset Forfeiture

"A stellar practitioner with a brain the size of a planet."

Legal 500, Public International Law

"His work is impeccable in every respect: meticulous, thorough and demonstrated clear-cut thinking as well as a great deal of skill in the structuring of legal arguments and the formatting of legal documents."

Legal 500, Sport
Matrix Chambers
24 HOUR ASSISTANCE
+44 (0)20 7404 3447
Edward Craven
Called: 2007

“He is extremely hard working and has a brain the size of the planet. Impossible to say a bad word about him. He is a star.”

Legal 500 2021

MAIN AREAS OF PRACTICE

  • International Arbitration
  • Commercial Law
  • Competition
  • Investigations
  • Crime
  • Corporate and Business Crime
  • Proceeds of Crime and Asset Forfeiture
  • Sanctions
  • Serious Crime (including terrorism) and Trial Advocacy
  • Regulatory Offences
  • Environmental Law and Natural Resources
  • EU Law
  • Extradition and Mutual Assistance
  • Fraud and Financial Crime
  • Civil Liberties and Human Rights
  • Media and Information Law
  • Court Orders affecting the Media
  • Data Protection
  • Defamation and Privacy
  • Harassment 
  • Public International Law
  • Public Law
  • Sports Law
  • Tax Law
  • Commercial Public Law
  • Private International Law
  • Competition and EU

Edward Craven

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

Contact Edward's Practice Team (Team M): TeamM@matrixlaw.co.uk


Eddie has a broad practice in all areas public, media, commercial and international law.

He is recommended by Legal 500 as a leading junior in nine areas: (1) administrative law and human rights; (2) business and regulatory crime; (3) civil fraud; (4) data protection; (5) defamation and privacy; (6) environmental law; (7) group litigation; (8) proceeds of crime and asset forfeiture; (9) public international law.

He is also recommended by Chambers & Partners as a leading junior in nine areas: (1) administrative and public law; (2) civil liberties & human rights; (3) data protection; (4) defamation & privacy; (5) environment; (6) group litigation (7) international human rights law; (8) POCA work and asset forfeiture; and (9) public international law.

Eddie was recently named by Chambers & Partners as one of 16 “Stars of the Bar 2024” (the only junior to be listed).

Human Rights and Public Law

Eddie has a wide public law and human rights practice. He was named by Legal 500 as Junior of the Year for Civil Liberties and Human Rights in 2020 and as Public Law Junior of the Year in 2023. He has acted in a number of high profile Human Rights Act claims and judicial reviews including:

  • Elgizouli v Home Secretary (Supreme Court appeal concerning lawfulness of Government’s facilitation of the death penalty in the United States)
  • Abu Zubaydah v Foreign & Commonwealth Office ­– Representing a Guantanamo Bay detainee in claim for damages for UK complicity in unlawful rendition and torture (including in an appeal to the Supreme Court on the issue of applicable law).
  • USA v Julian Assange (Representing Julian Assange in extradition proceedings brought by the United States)
  • Belhaj v Straw; Rahmatullah v Ministry of Defence (Supreme Court appeals concerning state immunity and Foreign Act of State doctrine in claims concerning unlawful rendition, detention and torture by foreign states)
  • Beghal v Director of Public Prosecutions (Supreme Court appeal concerning ECHR compatibility of Schedule 7 to the Terrorism Act 2000)
  • Serdar Mohammed and Rahmatullah v Ministry of Defence (Supreme Court appeals concerning Crown Act of State doctrine in tort claims for unlawful detention by UK forces during overseas military operations)
  • SXH v Crown Prosecution Service (Supreme Court appeal concerning application of Article 8 to prosecution of vulnerable refugees)
  • B v H.M Advocate (Supreme Court appeal concerning ECHR compatibility of Scottish sexual offences legislation)
  • R (Bashir) v Home Secretary (Supreme Court appeal concerning applicability of the UN Refugee Convention to the United Kingdom’s Sovereign Base Areas in Cyprus)
  • Smith v Ministry of Defence (Supreme Court appeal concerning extra-territorial application of the ECHR)
  • Liberty v GCHQ and Security and Intelligence Services (challenge before the Investigatory Powers Tribunal concerning the legality of mass interception and intelligence sharing regimes under RIPA)
  • R (David Miranda) v Secretary of State for the Home Department (challenge to lawfulness of detention and seizure of journalistic material under Schedule 7 to the Terrorism Act 2000)
  • Alseran and Al-Waheed v Ministry of Defence (representing a number of Iraqi civilians in human rights claims concerning assault and unlawful imprisonment in Iraq)
  • R (Help Refugees) v Home Secretary (judicial review challenging the lawfulness of the Government’s implementation of the ‘Dubs amendment’ (relocation of specified number of unaccompanied refugee children to the UK))
  • R (Saifullah) v Secretary of State for Defence and R (Noorzai) v Secretary of State for Defence – Representing bereaved family members challenging failure to conduct an Article 2 compliant investigation into the killing of their relatives by British special forces in Afghanistan.
  • Independent Inquiry relating to Afghanistan – Representing bereaved families in a public inquiry concerning allegations that members of UK Special Forces murdered Afghan civilians.

International Law

Eddie has a significant practice in public and private international law. He represented Croatia in proceedings before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) under the Genocide Convention (Croatia v Serbia). He is currently representing the Republic of Somalia in an international maritime boundary dispute before the ICJ (Somalia v Kenya) and is representing the Co-Operative Republic of Guyana in proceedings before the ICJ concerning the validity of an 1899 arbitral award (Guyana v Venezuela). He recently served as the assistant to an ICSID arbitral tribunal and is a member of the Attorney-General’s Public International Law Panel.

Eddie has also acted in a number of complex international group claims before the English courts. These include:

  • Lungowe v Vedanta Resources Plc and Konkola Copper Mines – Representing almost two thousand rural Zambians in proceedings (including a landmark appeal before the Supreme Court) concerning environmental damage and personal injury caused by the discharge of toxic pollution from the world’s largest open cast copper mine.
  • HRH Okpabi v Royal Dutch Shell – Representing a Nigerian community of approximately 40,000 villagers in proceedings (including a landmark appeal before the Supreme Court) concerning extensive environmental damage caused by oil spills in Rivers State, Nigeria.
  • Various Claimants v British American Tobacco and Imperial Tobacco – Representing more than 7,000 Malawian tenant farmers in claims for unjust enrichment, negligence and conversion against two of the world’s largest tobacco groups.
  • Various Claimants v Peugeot/Citröen, Jaguar Land Rover, Ford and BMW – Representing tens of thousands of claimants in claims against manufacturers and retailers of diesel vehicles arising from the alleged presence of unlawful emissions ‘defeat devices’.
  • Bereaved, survivors and other victims of the Grenfell Tower fire – Representing more than 800 victims of the Grenfell Tower fire in civil claims against the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea and other defendants for loss and damage arising from the tragedy.
  • Kenyan Emergency Group Litigation – Representing several thousand claimants in a group action against the Foreign and Commonwealth Office concerning human rights violations in Kenya during the 1950s.
  • Kalma & Others v African Minerals Ltd – Representing more than 40 claimants in personal injury claims concerning alleged corporate complicity in the assault of protestors in Sierra Leone.
  • AAA v Unilever Plc – Representing more than 200 claimants in negligence claims concerning failure to protect against the foreseeable risk of post-election ethnic violence at a tea plantation in Kenya.
  • Bodo Community v Shell Petroleum Development Co of Nigeria – Representing more than 15,000 claimants in proceedings concerning extensive pollution in Rivers State, Nigeria.

Eddie has extensive experience of bringing claims and third party interventions before the European Court of Human Rights. His cases include:

  • Bancoult & Jean Francois v United Kingdom – Representing former inhabitants of the Chagos Islands in an ongoing challenge to their continued prohibition from resettling in the Islands.
  • Ten Human Rights Organisations v United Kingdom – Representing a consortium of international human rights organisations in challenges to the ECHR compatibility of the UK’s mass telecommunications interception regime and international intelligence sharing regime.
  • Al-Waheed v United Kingdom – Representing an Iraqi civilian in a challenge to the legality of detention during the armed conflict in Iraq.
  • Beghal v United Kingdom – Representing the applicant in a successful challenge to the ECHR compatibility of UK “stop and search” terrorism legislation under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000.
  • Briggs-Price v United Kingdom – Representing an individual in an ongoing challenge to the compatibility of confiscation procedures under UK drug trafficking legislation with Article 6 of the ECHR.
  • Ahmet and Mehmut Altan v Turkey – Representing a coalition of NGOs (including PEN International, ARTICLE 19, Human Rights Watch and Index on Censorship) in a third party intervention concerning persecution of journalists in Turkey

Media and Information Law

Eddie practises in all aspects of media and information law, with particular expertise in defamation, privacy, data protection, breach of confidence and reporting restrictions. He is recommended as a leading junior in this field by Chambers & Partners, Legal 500, Spear’s and Who’s Who Legal. In 2022 he was shortlisted for Media and the Arts junior of the year by Legal 500.

Eddie has acted in some of the most significant media law cases in recent years. They include:

  • Donald Trump v Orbis Business Intelligence Limited – Representing Orbis Business Intelligence Limited in a data protection claim brought by former US President Donald Trump.
  • OPO (James Rhodes) v MLA – Representing the musician James Rhodes in a successful Supreme Court appeal against an injunction prohibiting the publication of his autobiography.
  • Lachaux v Independent Print Ltd – Representing the Media Lawyers Association in a landmark Supreme Court appeal concerning the meaning of the “serious harm” requirement in s. 1 of the Defamation Act 2013.
  • Lloyd v Google – Acting as sole junior for Google in its successful Supreme Court appeal against an attempt to establish a multibillion pound representative action for compensation under the Data Protection Act on behalf of several million iPhone users.
  • ZXC v Bloomberg LP – Acting for the successful respondent in an appeal before the Supreme Court concerning the privacy rights of individuals under criminal investigation.
  • Prismall v Google & DeepMind – Representing Google and DeepMind in a successful application to strike out an attempted representative action seeking damages for misuse of private information on behalf of more than one million individuals.
  • Gubarev v Orbis Business Intelligence Ltd & Christopher Steele – Representing the former Crown servant, Christopher Steele, in a successful defence of libel proceedings concerning the publication of the “Trump Russia” dossier.
  • Phone hacking litigation –Representing approximately 50 individuals in successful claims for misuse of private information against News Group Newspapers and MGN arising from Operations Weeting, Pinetree and Golding (unlawful voicemail interception) and Operation Elveden (payment of corrupt public officials).
  • Guardian News & Media v The Rubicon Project Inc –Representing GNM in a multimillion pound claim for deceit, misrepresentation and breach of contract arising from the alleged retention of secret commissions in the sale of GNM’s online advertising inventory through an online auction platform.
  • Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou v Telegraph Media Group Ltd– Representing the founder of easyJet, Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, in libel proceedings against the publisher of the Daily Telegraph.
  • Qatar Airways Group v Middle East News FZ LLC –Representing several UAE-based media organisations in claims for malicious falsehood and conspiracy arising from the publication of a news item concerning the blockade of Qatar.

Between 2013-17, Eddie provided regular pre-publication advice to The TimesSunday TimesObserver, the Guardian and BBC News.

Crime and Regulatory Law

Eddie has a broad criminal and regulatory practice with a particular focus on proceeds of crime, fraud and money laundering offences and cases with an international or corporate dimension. He has been instructed for the defence in international fraud and corruption prosecutions and advised a large investment bank on LIBOR fixing investigations. He has extensive experience of representing respondents to property freezing orders, unexplained wealth orders and civil recovery applications under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. He has advised and trained teams at global law firms on money laundering compliance and has produced AML risk assessments and policies for a range of regulated entities. He recently represented the defendant (led by Mark Summers KC) in R v BHQ [2023] Crim LR 788, concerning the Court of Appeal’s jurisdiction to hear appeals against rulings at preparatory hearings on the question of abuse of process. He has also recently acted for individuals under criminal investigation for suspected fraud and bribery offences in support of applications to maintain their anonymity prior to charging decisions being made.

Eddie is a contributing author to Human Rights and Criminal Justice (3rd Ed, Sweet & Maxwell); Smith, Bodnar and Owen on Asset Recovery, Criminal Confiscation and Civil Recovery (OUP, 2nd Ed); Montgomery and Ormerod on Fraud: Criminal Law and Procedure; and Livingstone, Owen and Macdonald on Prison Law (OUP, 5th Ed); and the GIR Guide to Global Investigations.

Sport

Eddie has acted as a clerk to the Basketball Arbitral Tribunal on more than 20 cases and as an ad hoc clerk at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in more than 40 cases including:

  • Caster Semenya v IAAF – Challenge to the lawfulness of the IAAF’s Eligibility Regulations for the Female Classification (Athletes with Differences of Sex Development).
  • Blake Leeper v IAAF – Appeal concerning regulations restricting the use of prosthetic running aids by amputee athletes who wish to compete against able-bodied athletes in international athletics competitions.
  • Dutee Chand v IAAF – Appeal concerning regulations restricting the eligibility of female athletes with hyperandrogenism to compete in international athletics competitions.
  • Alexander Legkov, Aleksander Zubkov & others v International Olympic Committee (IOC) – Appeals brought by more than 20 Russian athletes against findings they had engaged in systematic doping and covert sample swapping during the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi.
  • Harold Mayne-Nicholls v FIFA – Appeal brought by the former Chairman of the FIFA Bid Evaluation Group for the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups against findings that he breached the FIFA Ethics Code by making improper requests to an organisation linked to the Qatari World Cup bid.
  • Veronica Campbell Brown v IAAF– Appeal concerning irregularities in Jamaican anti-doping procedures.

Education and experience

In 2011/2012 Eddie spent a year as judicial assistant to Lord Clarke at the United Kingdom Supreme Court. Prior to this, Eddie spent nine months as a judicial assistant to Lady Justice Arden at the Court of Appeal.

Eddie is a former Lecturer in Administrative Law and European Human Rights Law at Oxford University and has taught on surveillance and fair trial issues on the postgraduate BCL course. Before joining Matrix, he spent several months working as a Stagiaire at the European Court of Human Rights. He is also a former trial observer for the Human Rights Institute of the International Bar Association.

Eddie holds a first class undergraduate law degree from Trinity Hall, Cambridge University. He undertook the Bar Vocational Course at the Inns of Court School of Law where he was graded ‘Outstanding’ and received the Everard Ver Heyden Foundation Prize for finishing in the top 5 in his year. Eddie later read for the Bachelor of Civil Law at Brasenose College, Oxford University, specialising in criminal justice, unjust enrichment and comparative public law. He received Distinctions in all subjects and won the Ralph Chiles CBE Prize for comparative human rights law. Eddie was awarded a Sunley Scholarship, Eastham Scholarship, Hardwicke Award and Buchanan Prize by Lincoln’s Inn.

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DIRECTORY RECOMMENDATIONS

"Brilliant - Edward is a fabulous junior and his knowledge of public international law is unparalleled. He brings buckets of enthusiasm, wit and intelligence to every case he does."

Legal 500, 2024, Public International Law

"His written work is incredible." "He's very clever and very good."

Chambers & Partners, 2024, POCA

"Eddie is a polymath. He is fantastically knowledgeable over a wide range of areas and brings an incisive intelligence to bear on all his case work."

Legal 500, 2024, POCA

"Edward is a rare combination of being absolutely first class in terms of his legal analysis, but also being a delight to work with"His written advocacy is excellent. Edward is always full of outstanding ideas."

Chambers & Partners, 2024, Group Litigation

‘Eddie is a star at the Bar. A hugely talented lawyer with an endless capacity for hard work. He distills complex legal arguments into first class skeleton arguments and has a keen sense for strategy in complex group litigation."

Legal 500, 2024, Group Litigation

"Edward is a strong advocate and a good team player."

Legal 500, 2024, Fraud: Civil

"A near future silk. Has a wonderful way with words, a huge intellect and a wealth of strategic nous." "He's completely brilliant."

Chambers & Partners, 2024, Environment

"A junior with a brilliant and creative legal mind."

Legal 500, 2024, Environment

"Eddie is personable, bright, versatile and willing to get stuck in. He is good strategically." "He is incredibly bright." "He is just great. He is good in media but has a wide-ranging practice."

Chambers & Partners, 2024, Defamation & Privacy

"He's very personable, extremely bright, versatile, and willing to get stuck in even on less exciting tasks. He's also sound strategically."

Chambers & Partners, 2024, Data Protection

"A highly experienced junior with a formidable intellect."

Legal 500, 2024, Data Protection

"A formidable junior; he's a phenomenal drafter and researcher. He does the most incredible work for us."

Chambers & Partners, 2024, Civil Liberties & Human Rights

"Eddie is a polymath. He is fantastically knowledgeable over a wide range of areas and brings an incisive intelligence to bear on all his case work."

Legal 500, 2024, Business and Regulatory Crime (including Global Investigations)

"An extraordinary force of nature. He has an incredible eye for detail and is great on his feet."

Legal 500, 2024, Administrative Law and Human Rights

"Edward brings wide-ranging expertise that allows him to make unique points." "His written advocacy is excellent. He is always full of outstanding ideas."

Chambers & Partners, 2024, Administrative & Public Law

"He is a really really clever guy. He does incredible quality work. His written work is superb. He is excellent with clients and has a huge brain."

Legal 500, 2023, Business and Regulatory Crime (including Global Investigations)

"Superb lawyer, utterly unparalleled for his sheer breadth of knowledge and dedication to cases. An excellent advocate and a great team player."

Legal 500, 2023, Administrative & Human Rights

"He is incredibly knowledgeable. A total pleasure to work with. His knowledge of the workings of the Supreme Court is second-to-none."

Legal 500, 2023, Data Protection

"Edward is on the ball and adeptly navigates complex legal issues and brings great energy to cases."

Legal 500, 2023, Defamation & Privacy

"Edward is an outstanding public international law junior. He is able to assimilate huge amounts of information very quickly and provide incisive advice. Edward's oral advocacy is second to none."

Legal 500, 2023, Public International Law

"Brilliant and persuasive drafting, cutting-edge advice, totally reliable and ingenious with arguments."

Legal 500, 2023, Group Litigation

"Highly experienced, extremely hard-working, unfailingly helpful – a real star."

Legal 500, 2023, Media and Entertainment

"An excellent senior junior who is strategic, knowledgeable and an absolute pleasure to work with."

Legal 500, 2023, Fraud: Civil

"His assistance and contributions are always of highest quality, well-formulated and immediately usable."

Legal 500, 2023, Sport

"Edward is immensely bright."

Chambers & Partners, 2023, Defamation & Privacy

"His drafting is amazing, concise and pointed and he has an eye on the wider strategic issues at play." "Eddie is one of the most eloquent drafters you can get at the junior Bar."

Chambers & Partners, 2023, Group Litigation

"Excellent on POCA matters, he works his way through the key points in cases in a logical and efficient manner."

Chambers & Partners, 2023, POCA Work & Asset Forfeiture

"His delivery of complex legal arguments in a judicial review is punchy and hard-hitting." "He really is exceptional and also very approachable."" ""He is clearly very experienced and has a stellar reputation.""

Chambers & Partners, 2023, Administrative and Public Law

"One of the most eloquent drafters you can get at the junior Bar." "A super bright senior junior."

Chambers & Partners, 2023, Civil Liberties & Human Rights

"Edward has a good understanding of the law and of the interlinking elements." "He does really high-quality work at an exceptional rate. He's delightful and utterly brilliant as a lawyer. He's so nice to work with and such a team player too."

Chambers & Partners, 2023, Data Protection

"One of the most impressive barristers; incredibly intelligent, knows the law inside out and is incredibly clear in all his advice."

Chambers & Partners, 2023, Environment

"His advocacy is really superb, and he's incredibly committed and hard-working."

Chambers & Partners, 2023, Public International Law

"He is very responsive, thorough, organised and logical in how he presents things."

Chambers & Partners (2022), Defamation & Privacy

“He knows his stuff in this area and is good at drafting.” “He is fantastic.”

Chambers & Partners (2022), POCA Work & Asset

"A huge asset to any legal team. He is extremely capable, very hard-working and produces excellent drafting."

Chambers & Partners (2022), Group Litigation

"He is utterly brilliant and a genuine pleasure to work with. He is also really creative and strategic." "I would recommend him as a real standout junior barrister."

Chambers & Partners (2022), Administrative & Public Law

"He is very clever and on the ball." "Eddie's drafting skills are immaculate; he is my favourite junior. He has a very good legal brain and is a complete pleasure to work with." "He is supremely charming."

Chambers & Partners (2022), Civil Liberties & Human Rights

"An exceptionally bright junior and a rising star. He has unparalleled research skills and devotes himself wholeheartedly to a case." "He is phenomenal, his written work is lightning quick and he's really conscientious."

Chambers & Partners (2022), Environment

"An absolute workhorse and a scholarly junior who works on innovative claims and is unafraid of a challenge." "He's efficient and knowledgeable in international law." "He is strategic and on top of his cases."

Chambers & Partners (2022), Public International Law

"He is a very knowledgeable and smart barrister. He stands out because he is very client-friendly. Looks out for the interests of the client and is great on strategy." "He has an excellent spread of expertise, and is one of our first choices for complex matters." "A rare combination of fighting power whilst being a delightful opponent."

Chambers & Partners (2022), Data Protection

"He is very clever and on the ball." "Eddie's drafting skills are immaculate; he is my favourite junior. He has a very good legal brain and is a complete pleasure to work with." "He is supremely charming."

Chambers & Partners (2022), International Human Rights Law

"Real star qualities, particularly in the civil liberties and human rights arena. A much sought after junior."

Legal 500 (2022), Civil liberties and human rights (including actions against the police

"Pre-eminent in the junior end of this field and is a delight to work with."

Legal 500 (2022), Public International Law

"Very user-friendly. A star junior in the public law and civil liberties arena. An absolute pleasure to work with."

Legal 500 (2022), Administrative & Public Law (Including Elections)

"Has an excellent knowledge of data protection law and practice, combined with strong general litigation skills."

Legal 500 (2022), Data Protection

" Eddie is a extremely hard working and a very good strategist, who often comes up with clever procedural points as well as points of legal analysis. He has a very good manner with clients who have great confidence in him."

Legal 500 (2022), Media and Entertainment

"The foremost junior in representing claimants in major environmental claims for harms occurring overseas, he is exceptionally bright and strategically brilliant. "

Legal 500 (2022), Environment

"His assistance and contributions are always of highest quality, well-formulated and immediately usable."

Legal 500 (2022), Sport

"Extremely hard working, responsive and knowledgeable."

Legal 500 (2022), Fraud: Civil

"He is extremely hard working and has a brain the size of the planet. Impossible to say a bad word about him. He is a star."

Legal 500 (2021), Administrative and Public Law

"He is a polymath who brings his wide insights into criminal work. He is an intellectual giant who is also incredibly hard working and user friendly. Very good with the detail, rolls up his sleeves freely, and very knowledgeable on civil fraud and insolvency."

Legal 500, Civil Fraud

"Fantastic, exceptionally bright, and a really sought after junior."

Legal 500, Civil Liberties and Human Rights

"Hardworking, very knowledgeable about data protection law, and a creative thinker."

Legal 500, Data Protection

"Excellent grasp of the law, proactively comes up with ideas on a case."

Legal 500, Defamation and Privacy

"He is one of the brightest barristers of his generation and his ability to grasp complex points of law and voluminous case law is extraordinary."

Legal 500, Environment

"A rare mixture of top academic talent who is perfectly adept at client interaction."

Legal 500, Media and Entertainment including Art and Cultural Property

"Incredibly bright with an engaging court manner."

Legal 500, Proceeds of Crime Act and Asset Forfeiture

"A stellar practitioner with a brain the size of a planet."

Legal 500, Public International Law

"His work is impeccable in every respect: meticulous, thorough and demonstrated clear-cut thinking as well as a great deal of skill in the structuring of legal arguments and the formatting of legal documents."

Legal 500, Sport