MEET:
Joanna Buckley
"Joanna Buckley is brilliant, responsive, gracious and excellent to work with" "…a first-class barrister"
Chambers & Partners, 2026
Joanna has a leading practice spanning international, criminal, public, and civil law, specialising in the crossovers between those fields. She is ranked in six areas in Chambers & Partners: International Human Rights Law, International Criminal Law, Administrative & Public Law, Civil Liberties & Human Rights, Criminal Law, and Group Litigation; as well as International Human Rights Law and Criminal Law, Group Litigation and Crime in Legal 500 and Criminal Fraud by Who’s Who Legal. Joanna was nominated for International Pro Bono Barrister of the Year in 2024, and International Law Junior of the Year (Legal 500) in both 2025 and 2026.
Joanna is the Chair of Matrix’s International Law Steering Group. She is a member of the International Sub-Committee of the Criminal Bar Association, a member of the International Law Association (ILA), and a member of the Attorney General’s B panel of counsel for Public International Law.
Joanna regularly speaks at conferences and seminars on issues of international law, recently on Reproductive Violence in International Criminal Law in The Hague; on justice and accountability for the crime of Genocide at Westminster Palace; and on reparations for victims of Conflict Related Sexual Violence in London. She was invited to be a member of the ILA’s Study Group on Sexual and Reproductive Violence in Conflict and Post-Conflict Settings.
Joanna has extensive experience in the areas of public international law, international human rights law and international criminal law, before a range of different international tribunals and fora. Recent cases include:
- Application to the UN Committee against Torture: Leading and managing an international team of human rights lawyers, instructed by Hogan Lovells International LLP, in a ground-breaking application to the UN Committee against Torture against the Australian State, on behalf of five Yazidi women who were kidnapped from Iraq, forcibly transferred to Syria, enslaved and subjected to torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.
- Obligations of States in Respect of Climate Change: Representing the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) International, instructed by Squires Patton Boggs LLP, in the landmark proceedings before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for an Advisory Opinion concerning the obligations of States in respect of Climate Change.
- Application to the Inter-American Human Rights Commission: Advising the claimants on an application relating to the use of disproportionate force by police forces in the United States.
- Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans Bill): Advising a NGO on the legal issues, specifically as related to the crime of torture, raised by the Ministry of Defence’s proposals to introduce legal protections for armed forces personnel.
Joanna also has substantial experience of bringing claims and third-party interventions before the European Court of Human Rights and the Privy Council, including:
- Intervention to the European Court of Human Rights: Representing Liberty in a third-party intervention concerning the complicity of Contracting States for extra-territorial torture.
- R v Jugnauth: Representing the Respondent, the then Prime Minister of Mauritius, in proceedings before the Privy Council and successfully resisting an appeal by the Director of Public Prosecutions against the quashing of the Respondent’s conviction for the offence of “conflict of interests”.
- R v Vasyli: Representing the Appellant in an appeal to the Privy Council against an order for a re-trial after her conviction for murder was quashed.
- Chandler v The State (Trinidad and Tobago): Representing the Appellant in an appeal to the Privy Council against his conviction for murder and death penalty sentence.
Joanna has a unique insight into the institutional workings of international organizations. Prior to her career at the Bar, Joanna worked for the UN, the EU and a leading NGO in Afghanistan, as well as the World Bank in the USA. From 2016, Joanna was part of the team working with Professor Sean Murphy, a member of the International Law Commission and Special Rapporteur on Crimes against Humanity, with responsibility for proposing draft articles for a Convention on Crimes against Humanity. The International Law Commission approved the draft articles and accompanying commentaries in July 2019.
Other relevant experience includes:
- Participating as a Delegate with the International Bar Association’s (IBA) fact-finding mission to Azerbaijan examining the right to a fair trial in freedom of expression cases.
- Acting as the Rapporteur for the IBA’s scoping mission to Egypt concerning the use of torture in detention.
- Working on the criminal defence of Al-Amin Kimathi, a Kenyan human rights activist detained in Uganda.
- Conducting legal research in Phnom Penh on behalf of the victims of the Khmer Rouge’s policy of forced marriage, admitted as civil parties to the war crimes tribunal in Cambodia.
- Conducting research for the IBA on international war crimes tribunals and UK counter-terrorism legislation.
Joanna undertakes a variety of public law, civil liberties and human rights work, including judicial review and civil claims. She is a member of the Attorney General’s B panel of counsel and has been appointed to the panel of counsel for the Independent Office of Police Complaints.
Joanna has wide-ranging experience in cases involving criminal justice and national security matters. She was instructed in the first three challenges to the use and enforcement of the counter-terrorism measure, Temporary Exclusion Orders (TEOs), representing the claimants in both civil statutory reviews and related criminal proceedings.
Joanna also has particular expertise in cases concerning sexual violence against women, both as a matter of domestic and international law, and represented Core Participants in the Under Cover Policing Inquiry.
Recent cases include:
- R (MCML Ltd & Ors) v Southwark Crown Court & HMRC: Successfully representing HMRC in a challenge to the legality of search warrants which had been obtained and executed by HMRC following requests for mutual legal assistance from Denmark and Germany in connection with a substantial cross-border investigation into suspected Cum-Ex fraud totalling £500 million.
- R (FNM) v DPP: Representing the claimant in the context of her request for a review under the Victims’ Right to Review (VRR) Scheme, in relation to the Crown Prosecution Service’s (CPS) decision not to prosecute a suspect for the offences of rape, sexual assault against a child and/or any other offence.
- R (Monica) v DPP: Representing the claimant in the context of her request for a review under the VRR Scheme to a challenge to the decision of the CPS not to prosecute a former undercover police officer for forming sexual relationships with members of the public and, in particular, women who were members of an organisation he was tasked to infiltrate.
- Ahmed v Director General of the Security Services (MI5) & Ors: Representing the claimant in a claim for damages and declaratory relief against the Government for complicity in his unlawful detention and torture.
- QX v Secretary of State for the Home Department: Representing the claimant in an application for review, under the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 s.11(2)(d), of “permitted obligations” imposed on a British citizen under a TEO after his return to the UK from Turkey.
- LF v Secretary of State for the Home Department: Representing the claimant in an application for review of the Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures (TPIM) Notices imposed pursuant to s.9 of the Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures Act 2011.
Joanna has developed particular expertise in group litigation. Joanna is currently instructed in the NOx Emissions Group Litigation, representing the claimants in high-profile and extensive group litigation before the courts, arising out of the “Dieselgate scandal”. She also represented the Claimants in the Bodo litigation arising out of two massive oil spills from a pipeline in Nigeria.
Joanna has undertaken a wide range of criminal work in the Magistrates’ and Crown court, and has extensive experience in witness handling and managing document-heavy, complex cases.
She has advised and represented clients in a wide range of proceedings including general crime, terrorism offences, business and corporate offences. Recent cases include:
- ICO v Gill: Representing the Information Commissioner’s Officer in the first ever prosecution for unlawfully obtaining data under s.170 of the Data Protection Act 2018.
- R v McClelland: Representing a vulnerable Defendant in criminal proceedings requiring extensive expert evidence.
- R v LF: Representing the Defendant in two separate trials for breaches of obligations imposed pursuant to a Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures (TPIM) Notice.
- R v R: Representing the Defendant in trial proceedings concerning the first ever prosecution of a breach of notification requirements under the Counter-Terrorism Act 2008, as amended by the Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Act 2019.
- R v Simpkins: Representing the Defendant in a trial for conspiracy to blackmail.
- R v Dodgson: Representing the Defendant in a trial for conspiracy to insider deal following the Financial Conduct Authority’s largest investigation, Operation Tabernula.
- R v Coulson: Representing the Defendant, former editor of the News of the World, during his trial at the Old Bailey and subsequent criminal proceedings against him in Scotland.
Joanna also has extensive expertise in criminal appellate work. She has unique experience in cases before the Privy Council and is regularly instructed in death penalty appeals. Notable cases include:
- Carter-Brown & Ors v Crown Prosecution Service: Representing the Appellants in a successful appeal to the Divisional Court, by way of case stated, against the convictions of five protesters opposed to the use of nuclear weapons.
- R v Jugnauth: Representing the Respondent, then Prime Minister of Mauritius, in proceedings before the Privy Council and successfully resisting an appeal by the Director of Public Prosecutions against the quashing of the Respondent’s conviction for the offence of “conflict of interests”.
- R v Vasyli: Representing the Appellant in an appeal to the Privy Council against an order for a re-trial after her conviction for murder was quashed.
- Chandler v The State (Trinidad and Tobago): Representing the Appellant in an appeal to the Privy Council against his conviction for murder and death penalty sentence.
Joanna has broad experience in sanctions related work. She has successfully represented designated persons in delisting applications, as well as applications for, and challenges to refusals for, licences from the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation. Recent cases include:
- Delisting application: Representing an individual designated under the Russia Regulations in a successful delisting application.
- Delisting application: Representing a company designated under the Russia Regulations in a delisting application.
- Licence application: Representing an individual designated under the Belarus Regulations in an application for a licence.
- Licence application: Representing a company in an application for a licence in order to divest an individual who is designated under the Russian Regulations.
Prior to joining the Bar, Joanna worked as an information analyst with the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan and as a political adviser to the Special Representative of the European Union in Afghanistan. Based in Afghanistan from 2005 to 2009, Joanna provided policy advice and analysis in the areas of good governance and the rule of law, specifically on the reform of the Afghan security services. She has conducted research for the Brookings Institution and the World Bank. Joanna continues to be involved in policy issues concerning the rule of law in the international arena, and regularly speaks at seminars and conferences on issues of international law and policy.
The tail of limitation should not wag the dog of tort: getting redress for historic human rights abuses, The Law of Nations, February 2018
Suing in England for oil pollution in Nigeria, The Law of Nations, February 2017
Individual Criminal Liability: The Cartel Offence, Kellaway, Thompson and Brown on UK Competition Law: The New Framework, Contributing author
Livingstone, Owen and Macdonald on Prison Law, Contributing author
NS v Secretary of State for the Home Department (C-411/10), The European Human Rights Law Review, Issue 2, 2012
Debunking Afghan myths, The Political Quarterly, August 2012
Building the Police through the Focused District Development Programme, Snapshots of an Intervention: The Unlearned Lessons of Afghanistan’s Decade of Assistance, Afghanistan Analysts Network, July 2012
Al-Sirri and DD (Afghanistan) Case Preview, UKSC Blog, May 2012
All about Sovereignty? The UK and EU Asylum Directives, Eutopia Law, December 2011
Opt-in, opt-out, shake it all about: the future of the European Arrest Warrant, Eutopia Law, November 2011
Can the EU be more effective in Afghanistan?, Centre for European Reform, April 2010
Bar European Group (BEG)
British Institute of International Comparative Law (BIICL)
Constitutional & Administrative Law Bar Association (ALBA)
Criminal Bar Association (CBA)
International Law Association (ILA)
London Irish Lawyers Association (LILA)
Bar Professional Training Course, City University.
Graduate Diploma in Law, City University (Distinction).
Master of Arts, International Relations, School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University (Honours).
Bachelor of Arts, Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE), Oxford University.
Open Exhibition, Brasenose College, Oxford University, 2003.
Denise Pannick Award, Honourable Society of Gray’s Inn, 2010.
Churchill Scholarship. Honourable Society of Gray’s Inn, 2011.
Phoenicia Scholarship, Bar European Group, 2012.
Pegasus Scholarship, Pegasus Scholarship Trust, 2016.
International Continuous Professional Development and Legal Practice Development Grant, General Council of the Bar, 2016.
English (native) and French (proficient).
Joanna is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. In order to provide legal services to their clients, including advice and representation services, Joanna needs to collect and hold personal data. This includes their client’s personal data and the personal data of others who feature in the matter upon which they are instructed. To read Joanna’s privacy notice in full, please see here.
"Joanna is a thoughtful and meticulous barrister. She has the ability to be flexible in her approach and be practical in her advice. She is a joy to work with. Her subject knowledge expertise is well recognised and impressive."
"Joanna has impeccable attention to detail and makes for an incredible senior junior. She is able to get into the complexities of a case and provide expert, technical advice and opinion on a range of matters with a view to the bigger picture, something that is incredibly important in group litigation. She works well as part of a team and on her own, exhibiting excellent initiative to progress matters diligently and thoroughly. "
"Smart, commercial, responsive, easy to work with."
"Joanna was very good at taking charge in various work streams." "Fantastic."
"Joanna is an absolute pleasure to work with on a team. She is incredibly thorough, very insightful and has a really good cross-cutting knowledge of public and criminal law." "Joanna is a fountain of knowledge."
"She looks at every single piece of evidence and analyses it, seeing things others would miss." "She is able to communicate understandable advice. Her drafting is fantastic." "Joanna Buckley is fantastic. Her black-letter legal knowledge is great."
"Joanna Buckley is a first-class barrister." "Joanna Buckley is brilliant, responsive, gracious and excellent to work with." "Joanna Buckley is a terrific person to work with." "Joanna is incredibly thorough, very insightful and has a really good cross-cutting knowledge of public and criminal law." "Joanna's knowledge of human rights is superb."
"Joanna is hard-working and is very good at pulling together the facts into persuasive arguments." "Joanna is brilliant and analytical. She is a real team player and really committed to her cases."
"Joanna is unbelievably smart and she writes beautifully. She is a great team player and very creative as a lawyer." "Joanna is an outstanding junior who also has an incredible attention to detail. "Joanna is a very thorough drafter and she gets on top of the papers. She brings a different perspective."
"Joanna is incredibly thorough and has a really calm manner even in the most stressful situations. She is really knowledgeable."
"Joanna Buckley is really good in the crossover of public and criminal law. She is extremely efficient and has a great grasp on huge amounts of material."
"Her written work is excellent." "She is absolutely phenomenal."
"Jo is an expert in her field, responsive and thoughtful. She has an ability to be able to present arguments well and is open and flexible in her approach. She is also collaborative – very good working in large teams with diverse ideas."
‘Joanna is an absolute a pleasure to work with. She is very calm and considered in her approach. Joanna is highly intelligent and forensic in her analysis of evidence and emotionally intelligent and measured in her approach to the client."
"A junior with impressive knowledge of administrative law matters."
"Joanna is brilliant in cases involving criminal and public law crossover."
"A formidable advocate. She combines intellectual prowess and depth of knowledge in international human rights law with creative flair."
"Her end product is really, really impressive and she's very user-friendly. She knows when to push and when to compromise."
"Joanna is a terrific senior junior - she is incredibly knowledgeable, with meticulous research and drafting, measured and persuasive advocacy, and fantastic commitment to her clients."
"She is very thorough, well prepared and extremely clever."
"Able to apply complex law to novel and complex situations and to succinctly set out her argument in a comprehensive, readable way."
"An able barrister who is going to go far. She is a very good strategic thinker."
"Joanna is a wonderful colleague to work with - incredibly hard-working and dedicated, with brilliant legal knowledge and very sound judgment."
"She is collegiate with her clients and a good strategic thinker."
"She is measured, thoughtful and very effective."
"Joanna has particular experience in public law/judicial review and criminal work. This is a highly effective combination, particularly for some of our professional and high profile clients who have the resources available to challenge controversial decisions by authorities and public bodies. In instructing her, I have found her to be extremely thorough and persuasive."
"Thorough in her approach and highly intelligent."
"Highly intelligent and capable, and a very, very hard worker."
"An exceptional junior with skills across commercial, civil and public law."
"A perfectionist – she is incredibly hardworking and thorough."
"Super bright, so clever, efficient and fantastic to work with."
"She’s very bright and is going to be a complete star."
"Very intelligent, works extremely hard and has got very good judgement."
"An absolute superstar in the making."
MAIN AREAS OF PRACTICE:
- Civil Liberties and Human Rights
- Commercial Public Law
- Corporate and Business Crime
- Court Orders affecting the Media
- Crime
- Data Protection
- ESG
- EU Law
- Environmental Law and Natural Resources
- Extradition and Mutual Assistance
- Fraud and Financial Crime
- International Arbitration
- International Environmental Law and Law of the Sea
- International Law
- International Refugee Law
- Investigatory Powers
- Local Government Law
- Police, Inquests and Prison
- Private International Law
- Public International Law
- Public Law
- Sanctions
- Serious Crime (including terrorism) and Trial Advocacy
LANGUAGES:
- French
+44 (0)20 7404 3447
"Joanna Buckley is brilliant, responsive, gracious and excellent to work with" "…a first-class barrister"
Chambers & Partners, 2026
MAIN AREAS OF PRACTICE
- International Arbitration
- Corporate and Business Crime
- Court Orders affecting the Media
- Crime
- EU Law
- Extradition and Mutual Assistance
- Fraud and Financial Crime
- Civil Liberties and Human Rights
- Data Protection
- Inquests and Inquiries
- Police Law
- Prison Law
- Public International Law
- Public Law
- Police, Inquests and Prison
- Commercial Public Law
- Private International Law
- Environmental Law and Natural Resources
- Investigatory Powers
- Local Government Law
- Sanctions
- Serious Crime (including terrorism) and Trial Advocacy
- International Law
- International Refugee Law
- ESG
- International Environmental Law and Law of the Sea
Joanna Buckley
Contact Joanna: joannabuckley@matrixlaw.co.uk | +44 (0)20 7404 3447
Contact Joanna's Practice Team (Team T): TeamT@matrixlaw.co.uk
Joanna has a leading practice spanning international, criminal, public, and civil law, specialising in the crossovers between those fields. She is ranked in six areas in Chambers & Partners: International Human Rights Law, International Criminal Law, Administrative & Public Law, Civil Liberties & Human Rights, Criminal Law, and Group Litigation; as well as International Human Rights Law and Criminal Law, Group Litigation and Crime in Legal 500 and Criminal Fraud by Who’s Who Legal. Joanna was nominated for International Pro Bono Barrister of the Year in 2024, and International Law Junior of the Year (Legal 500) in both 2025 and 2026.
International law
Joanna is the Chair of Matrix’s International Law Steering Group. She is a member of the International Sub-Committee of the Criminal Bar Association, a member of the International Law Association (ILA), and a member of the Attorney General’s B panel of counsel for Public International Law.
Joanna regularly speaks at conferences and seminars on issues of international law, recently on Reproductive Violence in International Criminal Law in The Hague; on justice and accountability for the crime of Genocide at Westminster Palace; and on reparations for victims of Conflict Related Sexual Violence in London. She was invited to be a member of the ILA’s Study Group on Sexual and Reproductive Violence in Conflict and Post-Conflict Settings.
Joanna has extensive experience in the areas of public international law, international human rights law and international criminal law, before a range of different international tribunals and fora. Recent cases include:
- Application to the UN Committee against Torture: Leading and managing an international team of human rights lawyers, instructed by Hogan Lovells International LLP, in a ground-breaking application to the UN Committee against Torture against the Australian State, on behalf of five Yazidi women who were kidnapped from Iraq, forcibly transferred to Syria, enslaved and subjected to torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.
- Obligations of States in Respect of Climate Change: Representing the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) International, instructed by Squires Patton Boggs LLP, in the landmark proceedings before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for an Advisory Opinion concerning the obligations of States in respect of Climate Change.
- Application to the Inter-American Human Rights Commission: Advising the claimants on an application relating to the use of disproportionate force by police forces in the United States.
- Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans Bill): Advising a NGO on the legal issues, specifically as related to the crime of torture, raised by the Ministry of Defence’s proposals to introduce legal protections for armed forces personnel.
Joanna also has substantial experience of bringing claims and third-party interventions before the European Court of Human Rights and the Privy Council, including:
- Intervention to the European Court of Human Rights: Representing Liberty in a third-party intervention concerning the complicity of Contracting States for extra-territorial torture.
- R v Jugnauth: Representing the Respondent, the then Prime Minister of Mauritius, in proceedings before the Privy Council and successfully resisting an appeal by the Director of Public Prosecutions against the quashing of the Respondent’s conviction for the offence of “conflict of interests”.
- R v Vasyli: Representing the Appellant in an appeal to the Privy Council against an order for a re-trial after her conviction for murder was quashed.
- Chandler v The State (Trinidad and Tobago): Representing the Appellant in an appeal to the Privy Council against his conviction for murder and death penalty sentence.
Joanna has a unique insight into the institutional workings of international organizations. Prior to her career at the Bar, Joanna worked for the UN, the EU and a leading NGO in Afghanistan, as well as the World Bank in the USA. From 2016, Joanna was part of the team working with Professor Sean Murphy, a member of the International Law Commission and Special Rapporteur on Crimes against Humanity, with responsibility for proposing draft articles for a Convention on Crimes against Humanity. The International Law Commission approved the draft articles and accompanying commentaries in July 2019.
Other relevant experience includes:
- Participating as a Delegate with the International Bar Association’s (IBA) fact-finding mission to Azerbaijan examining the right to a fair trial in freedom of expression cases.
- Acting as the Rapporteur for the IBA’s scoping mission to Egypt concerning the use of torture in detention.
- Working on the criminal defence of Al-Amin Kimathi, a Kenyan human rights activist detained in Uganda.
- Conducting legal research in Phnom Penh on behalf of the victims of the Khmer Rouge’s policy of forced marriage, admitted as civil parties to the war crimes tribunal in Cambodia.
- Conducting research for the IBA on international war crimes tribunals and UK counter-terrorism legislation.
Administrative Law, Human Rights & Civil Liberties
Joanna undertakes a variety of public law, civil liberties and human rights work, including judicial review and civil claims. She is a member of the Attorney General’s B panel of counsel and has been appointed to the panel of counsel for the Independent Office of Police Complaints.
Joanna has wide-ranging experience in cases involving criminal justice and national security matters. She was instructed in the first three challenges to the use and enforcement of the counter-terrorism measure, Temporary Exclusion Orders (TEOs), representing the claimants in both civil statutory reviews and related criminal proceedings.
Joanna also has particular expertise in cases concerning sexual violence against women, both as a matter of domestic and international law, and represented Core Participants in the Under Cover Policing Inquiry.
Recent cases include:
- R (MCML Ltd & Ors) v Southwark Crown Court & HMRC: Successfully representing HMRC in a challenge to the legality of search warrants which had been obtained and executed by HMRC following requests for mutual legal assistance from Denmark and Germany in connection with a substantial cross-border investigation into suspected Cum-Ex fraud totalling £500 million.
- R (FNM) v DPP: Representing the claimant in the context of her request for a review under the Victims’ Right to Review (VRR) Scheme, in relation to the Crown Prosecution Service’s (CPS) decision not to prosecute a suspect for the offences of rape, sexual assault against a child and/or any other offence.
- R (Monica) v DPP: Representing the claimant in the context of her request for a review under the VRR Scheme to a challenge to the decision of the CPS not to prosecute a former undercover police officer for forming sexual relationships with members of the public and, in particular, women who were members of an organisation he was tasked to infiltrate.
- Ahmed v Director General of the Security Services (MI5) & Ors: Representing the claimant in a claim for damages and declaratory relief against the Government for complicity in his unlawful detention and torture.
- QX v Secretary of State for the Home Department: Representing the claimant in an application for review, under the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 s.11(2)(d), of “permitted obligations” imposed on a British citizen under a TEO after his return to the UK from Turkey.
- LF v Secretary of State for the Home Department: Representing the claimant in an application for review of the Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures (TPIM) Notices imposed pursuant to s.9 of the Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures Act 2011.
Group Litigation & Environmental Law
Joanna has developed particular expertise in group litigation. Joanna is currently instructed in the NOx Emissions Group Litigation, representing the claimants in high-profile and extensive group litigation before the courts, arising out of the “Dieselgate scandal”. She also represented the Claimants in the Bodo litigation arising out of two massive oil spills from a pipeline in Nigeria.
Criminal law
Joanna has undertaken a wide range of criminal work in the Magistrates’ and Crown court, and has extensive experience in witness handling and managing document-heavy, complex cases.
She has advised and represented clients in a wide range of proceedings including general crime, terrorism offences, business and corporate offences. Recent cases include:
- ICO v Gill: Representing the Information Commissioner’s Officer in the first ever prosecution for unlawfully obtaining data under s.170 of the Data Protection Act 2018.
- R v McClelland: Representing a vulnerable Defendant in criminal proceedings requiring extensive expert evidence.
- R v LF: Representing the Defendant in two separate trials for breaches of obligations imposed pursuant to a Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures (TPIM) Notice.
- R v R: Representing the Defendant in trial proceedings concerning the first ever prosecution of a breach of notification requirements under the Counter-Terrorism Act 2008, as amended by the Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Act 2019.
- R v Simpkins: Representing the Defendant in a trial for conspiracy to blackmail.
- R v Dodgson: Representing the Defendant in a trial for conspiracy to insider deal following the Financial Conduct Authority’s largest investigation, Operation Tabernula.
- R v Coulson: Representing the Defendant, former editor of the News of the World, during his trial at the Old Bailey and subsequent criminal proceedings against him in Scotland.
Joanna also has extensive expertise in criminal appellate work. She has unique experience in cases before the Privy Council and is regularly instructed in death penalty appeals. Notable cases include:
- Carter-Brown & Ors v Crown Prosecution Service: Representing the Appellants in a successful appeal to the Divisional Court, by way of case stated, against the convictions of five protesters opposed to the use of nuclear weapons.
- R v Jugnauth: Representing the Respondent, then Prime Minister of Mauritius, in proceedings before the Privy Council and successfully resisting an appeal by the Director of Public Prosecutions against the quashing of the Respondent’s conviction for the offence of “conflict of interests”.
- R v Vasyli: Representing the Appellant in an appeal to the Privy Council against an order for a re-trial after her conviction for murder was quashed.
- Chandler v The State (Trinidad and Tobago): Representing the Appellant in an appeal to the Privy Council against his conviction for murder and death penalty sentence.
Sanctions
Joanna has broad experience in sanctions related work. She has successfully represented designated persons in delisting applications, as well as applications for, and challenges to refusals for, licences from the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation. Recent cases include:
- Delisting application: Representing an individual designated under the Russia Regulations in a successful delisting application.
- Delisting application: Representing a company designated under the Russia Regulations in a delisting application.
- Licence application: Representing an individual designated under the Belarus Regulations in an application for a licence.
- Licence application: Representing a company in an application for a licence in order to divest an individual who is designated under the Russian Regulations.
Other experience
Prior to joining the Bar, Joanna worked as an information analyst with the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan and as a political adviser to the Special Representative of the European Union in Afghanistan. Based in Afghanistan from 2005 to 2009, Joanna provided policy advice and analysis in the areas of good governance and the rule of law, specifically on the reform of the Afghan security services. She has conducted research for the Brookings Institution and the World Bank. Joanna continues to be involved in policy issues concerning the rule of law in the international arena, and regularly speaks at seminars and conferences on issues of international law and policy.
Publications
The tail of limitation should not wag the dog of tort: getting redress for historic human rights abuses, The Law of Nations, February 2018
Suing in England for oil pollution in Nigeria, The Law of Nations, February 2017
Individual Criminal Liability: The Cartel Offence, Kellaway, Thompson and Brown on UK Competition Law: The New Framework, Contributing author
Livingstone, Owen and Macdonald on Prison Law, Contributing author
NS v Secretary of State for the Home Department (C-411/10), The European Human Rights Law Review, Issue 2, 2012
Debunking Afghan myths, The Political Quarterly, August 2012
Building the Police through the Focused District Development Programme, Snapshots of an Intervention: The Unlearned Lessons of Afghanistan’s Decade of Assistance, Afghanistan Analysts Network, July 2012
Al-Sirri and DD (Afghanistan) Case Preview, UKSC Blog, May 2012
All about Sovereignty? The UK and EU Asylum Directives, Eutopia Law, December 2011
Opt-in, opt-out, shake it all about: the future of the European Arrest Warrant, Eutopia Law, November 2011
Can the EU be more effective in Afghanistan?, Centre for European Reform, April 2010
Professional Memberships
Bar European Group (BEG)
British Institute of International Comparative Law (BIICL)
Constitutional & Administrative Law Bar Association (ALBA)
Criminal Bar Association (CBA)
International Law Association (ILA)
London Irish Lawyers Association (LILA)
Education and qualifications
Bar Professional Training Course, City University.
Graduate Diploma in Law, City University (Distinction).
Master of Arts, International Relations, School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University (Honours).
Bachelor of Arts, Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE), Oxford University.
Scholarships and awards
Open Exhibition, Brasenose College, Oxford University, 2003.
Denise Pannick Award, Honourable Society of Gray’s Inn, 2010.
Churchill Scholarship. Honourable Society of Gray’s Inn, 2011.
Phoenicia Scholarship, Bar European Group, 2012.
Pegasus Scholarship, Pegasus Scholarship Trust, 2016.
International Continuous Professional Development and Legal Practice Development Grant, General Council of the Bar, 2016.
Languages
English (native) and French (proficient).
Joanna's Privacy Notice
Joanna 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 Joanna’s privacy notice in full, please see here.
DIRECTORY RECOMMENDATIONS
"Joanna is a thoughtful and meticulous barrister. She has the ability to be flexible in her approach and be practical in her advice. She is a joy to work with. Her subject knowledge expertise is well recognised and impressive."
"Joanna has impeccable attention to detail and makes for an incredible senior junior. She is able to get into the complexities of a case and provide expert, technical advice and opinion on a range of matters with a view to the bigger picture, something that is incredibly important in group litigation. She works well as part of a team and on her own, exhibiting excellent initiative to progress matters diligently and thoroughly. "
"Smart, commercial, responsive, easy to work with."
"Joanna was very good at taking charge in various work streams." "Fantastic."
"Joanna is an absolute pleasure to work with on a team. She is incredibly thorough, very insightful and has a really good cross-cutting knowledge of public and criminal law." "Joanna is a fountain of knowledge."
"She looks at every single piece of evidence and analyses it, seeing things others would miss." "She is able to communicate understandable advice. Her drafting is fantastic." "Joanna Buckley is fantastic. Her black-letter legal knowledge is great."
"Joanna Buckley is a first-class barrister." "Joanna Buckley is brilliant, responsive, gracious and excellent to work with." "Joanna Buckley is a terrific person to work with." "Joanna is incredibly thorough, very insightful and has a really good cross-cutting knowledge of public and criminal law." "Joanna's knowledge of human rights is superb."
"Joanna is hard-working and is very good at pulling together the facts into persuasive arguments." "Joanna is brilliant and analytical. She is a real team player and really committed to her cases."
"Joanna is unbelievably smart and she writes beautifully. She is a great team player and very creative as a lawyer." "Joanna is an outstanding junior who also has an incredible attention to detail. "Joanna is a very thorough drafter and she gets on top of the papers. She brings a different perspective."
"Joanna is incredibly thorough and has a really calm manner even in the most stressful situations. She is really knowledgeable."
"Joanna Buckley is really good in the crossover of public and criminal law. She is extremely efficient and has a great grasp on huge amounts of material."
"Her written work is excellent." "She is absolutely phenomenal."
"Jo is an expert in her field, responsive and thoughtful. She has an ability to be able to present arguments well and is open and flexible in her approach. She is also collaborative – very good working in large teams with diverse ideas."
‘Joanna is an absolute a pleasure to work with. She is very calm and considered in her approach. Joanna is highly intelligent and forensic in her analysis of evidence and emotionally intelligent and measured in her approach to the client."
"A junior with impressive knowledge of administrative law matters."
"Joanna is brilliant in cases involving criminal and public law crossover."
"A formidable advocate. She combines intellectual prowess and depth of knowledge in international human rights law with creative flair."
"Her end product is really, really impressive and she's very user-friendly. She knows when to push and when to compromise."
"Joanna is a terrific senior junior - she is incredibly knowledgeable, with meticulous research and drafting, measured and persuasive advocacy, and fantastic commitment to her clients."
"She is very thorough, well prepared and extremely clever."
"Able to apply complex law to novel and complex situations and to succinctly set out her argument in a comprehensive, readable way."
"An able barrister who is going to go far. She is a very good strategic thinker."
"Joanna is a wonderful colleague to work with - incredibly hard-working and dedicated, with brilliant legal knowledge and very sound judgment."
"She is collegiate with her clients and a good strategic thinker."
"She is measured, thoughtful and very effective."
"Joanna has particular experience in public law/judicial review and criminal work. This is a highly effective combination, particularly for some of our professional and high profile clients who have the resources available to challenge controversial decisions by authorities and public bodies. In instructing her, I have found her to be extremely thorough and persuasive."
"Thorough in her approach and highly intelligent."
"Highly intelligent and capable, and a very, very hard worker."
"An exceptional junior with skills across commercial, civil and public law."
"A perfectionist – she is incredibly hardworking and thorough."
"Super bright, so clever, efficient and fantastic to work with."
"She’s very bright and is going to be a complete star."
"Very intelligent, works extremely hard and has got very good judgement."
"An absolute superstar in the making."