Mariyam Kamil

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

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

Mariyam has recently been instructed in a range of complex and high-profile media law disputes, acting for both claimants and defendants. She has appeared as sole counsel —including in the High Court on several occasions — as well as part of larger counsel teams.

Mariyam appeared (unled) in the High Court for a leading London University, successfully striking out a defamation claim against it. She acted (unled) for a telecommunications business which was awarded libel damages and costs of £120,000 by the High Court. Mariyam represented Times Media Limited (unled) at a return date in the widely-reported High Court proceedings involving the grant of a privacy super-injunction. She also acted for News Group Newspapers in the Mobile Telephone Voicemail Interception Litigation (led by Clare Montgomery KC and Anthony Hudson KC).

Mariyam regularly provides pre-publication advice to print and broadcast media organisations, including The Times, The Sunday Times, The Observer and ITV.

Before coming to the bar, Mariyam read for the BCL, MPhil and DPhil at the University of Oxford. Her research, which examines the constitutional right to privacy in India, has been cited with approval by the Supreme Court of India. She is a contributor to the chapter on ‘Harassment’ in the forthcoming edition of Bullen & Leake & Jacob’s Precedents of Pleadings and a co-author (with Sara Mansoori KC) of the chapter on ‘Remedies’ in the Online Publication Claims: A Practical Guide (2025).

Defamation and Harassment

• [2024] EWHC 544 (KB): Appeared (unled) in the High Court for a Defendant, a leading London University, which was successful in striking out a defamation claim against it.
• Monty Mobile Ltd v Leone (KB-2023-003767): Appeared (unled) in the High Court for the Claimants, a telecommunications business and its chairman, who were awarded libel damages and costs of £120,000.
• Messaoud v Adarabioyo (K19ZA467): Appeared in the County Court at Manchester for the Defendant at a disposal hearing in a civil harassment claim.
• Walters v Nina (L00WI625): Appeared in the County Court at Willesden for the Claimant in a hearing involving an injunction in a civil harassment claim.
• Advised a real estate entrepreneur on a potential defamation claim against a regional newspaper (with Anthony Hudson KC).
• Advised a well-known entrepreneur in relation to a potential defamation claim against a regional newspaper (with Guy Vassall-Adams KC).
• Assisted (during traineeship) Catrin Evans KC and Ben Silverstone with the appeal in Wright v McCormack [2023] EWCA Civ 892, which considered the relevance of litigation misconduct in assessing damages for defamation.

Privacy and Confidentiality

• Acted for News Group Newspapers in the Mobile Telephone Voicemail Interception Litigation (led by Clare Montgomery KC and Anthony Hudson KC). Mariyam was involved in a number of interim applications and other hearings in this litigation: e.g. [2024] 7 WLUK 596 (disclosure application); [2024] EWHC 1210 (Ch) (permission to amend statement of case).
• Ministry of Defence v Global Media and Entertainment Ltd [2024] EWHC 312 (KB): appeared (unled) in the High Court for Times Media Limited at a return date in the widely-reported proceedings involving the grant of a privacy super-injunction.
• Drafted advice for an infant settlement approval hearing under a Part 8 misuse of private information and data protection claim.
• Assisted (during traineeship) Guy Vassall-Adams KC in Canary Riverside Estate Management Limited v Coates, a 12-day trial in the Central London County Court raising issues relating to privileged/confidential documents, specific performance of a disclosure agreement and the defence of ‘unclean hands’.

Data Protection

• KB-2023-002000: Appeared (unled) in the High Court in an infant settlement approval hearing arising from a data protection claim in the context of child adoption.
• M1QZ63W2: Drafted the Defence for a leading law firm in a data breach claim.
• M5QZ000A: Drafted the Defence for a utilities company in a claim alleging breach of data protection regulation arising from the reporting of credit scores.
• M11ZA841: Drafted the Defence for an independent charity in a data breach claim.
• Advised and drafted the Particulars of Claim for a Claimant against a county council in a data breach, misuse of private information and confidentiality claim.
• K03CL357: Appeared in the County Court at Central London in an infant settlement approval hearing arising from a claim relating to data protection, misuse of private information and confidentiality.

Others

• Dayal v Jugnauth (JCPC 2023/0006): Drafted written submissions on costs for one of the respondents before the Privy Council following an appeal from the Supreme Court of Mauritius.
• KB-2025-001535: Advised the Respondent to a Norwich Pharmacal Order in making an application to vary the Order.
• Advised an education trust in relation to a potential Norwich Pharmacal Order.

Background

Mariyam has previously worked as a judicial assistant to the Chief Justice of India and interned at the office of the Attorney General of India. She was a Laureate Visiting Fellow in comparative constitutional law at the University of Melbourne and has served as visiting faculty at the NALSAR University of Law, India.

Mariyam was the General Editor of the Oxford University Commonwealth Law Journal and the Convenor of the South Asian Law Discussion Group at Oxford.

Qualifications and Memberships

Qualifications

• BA, LLB, Osmania University, India (Distinction; Top 1% of University)
• BCL, University of Oxford (Felix Scholarship)
• MPhil, University of Oxford (Ambriti Salve Scholarship for Graduate Studies)
• DPhil, University of Oxford (Ambriti Salve Scholarship for Graduate Studies)
• Bar Transfer Test, BPP University

Professional Memberships

• The Honourable Society of Gray’s Inn
• Admitted to the Bar in India

Selected Publications and Conferences

• Contributor to the chapter on ‘Harassment’ in the forthcoming edition of Bullen & Leake & Jacob’s Precedents of Pleadings.
• Co-author (with Sara Mansoori KC) of the chapter on ‘Remedies’ in the Online Publication Claims: A Practical Guide (2025).
• ‘Prismall v Google UK Ltd: Representative Action for Misuse of Private Information dismissed’ (2023) 34 Entertainment Law Review 229 and Inforrm Blog (26 May 2023).
• ‘Horizontal Application of Privacy: The Indian Experience’, paper presented at the Third Public Law Conference, University of Melbourne (2018).
• ‘The Aadhaar Judgment and the Constitution: On Proportionality’ Indian Constitutional Law and Philosophy Blog (30 September 2018).
• ‘Puttaswamy: Jury still out on some privacy concerns?’ (2017) 2 Indian Law Review 190.

Mariyam 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 matters in respect of which she is instructed. To view Mariyam’s privacy notice in full, please see here.