Raj Desai

Raj is a former solicitor. He joined Matrix as a full member in 2011.

Raj specialises in public and human rights law and has a mixed judicial review and civil actions practice. His practice encompasses prison law, civil actions against the police, equality law, asylum and immigration law, information law, education law, community care law and inquests and inquiries work. He also undertakes international law work, in particular applications to the European Court of Human Rights.

Raj’s clients are predominantly individuals, but he is also instructed by NGOs, charities, public authorities, regulatory bodies, and companies. Raj believes in the importance of high quality representation and advice for all regardless of their means, and is pleased to accept instructions from legally aided clients. Where funding is not available, he will accept instructions on a pro bono basis if able to do so.

Raj is on the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s Panel of Preferred Counsel.

He is also security cleared by the Home Office.

Notable cases:

Raj’s notable cases include:

• Grenfell Tower public inquiry – Raj is currently instructed by 277 bereaved, survivors and residents in this on-going Inquiry.
• R(DA and DS) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2019] UKSC 21, [2019] 1 WLR 3289 – challenge to human rights compatibility of revised benefit cap.
• Langford v Secretary of State for Defence [2019] EWCA Civ 1271 – successful human rights challenge to exclusion of unmarried partners from armed forced death in service benefits on grounds of marriage to a third party.
• R(SC and ors) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2019] EWCA Civ 615 – challenge to two child restriction on receipt of child tax credit.
• R (Carmichael and Rourke and ors) (formerly MA and ors) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2016] UKSC 58, [2016] 1 WLR 4550 – challenge to human rights compatibility of the bedroom tax by persons with disabilities and victims of domestic violence.
• R(Tigere) v Secretary of State for Business Innovation and Skills[2015] UKSC 57, [2015] 1 WLR 3820 –challenge to exclusion of non-nationals with time-limited leave to remain from eligibility for student loans.
• Mohidin and Khan v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis[2015] EWHC 2740 QB – High Court civil action for racially motivated assault and false imprisonment of two teenagers by TSG officers in which the Commissioner took the highly unusual step of joining the individual officers as Part 20 Defendants.
• R(Catt) v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis[2015] UKSC 9, [2015] AC 1065 – challenge to compatibility of retention of personal data of a peaceful protestor on a domestic extremist police database with Article 8.
• R(Khatib) v Secretary of State for Justice[2015] EWHC 606 Admin –judicial review of the review procedure for assignment to High Escape risk status of a Category A terrorist prisoner.
• R(Miranda) v Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and ors[2014] EWHC 255 Admin, [2014] WLR 3140 – judicial review of detention (and seizure of Snowden files) of partner of Guardian journalist, Glen Greenwald, under Schedule 7 Terrorism Act 2000.
• Daniel v State of Trinidad and Tobago[2014] AC 1290, [2014] 2 WLR 1154 – appeal to Privy Council against conviction for murder and death penalty, considering availability of provocation defence to felony murder; and challenging Constitutionality of application of mandatory death penalty for felony-murder.
• Masatafa v HM Treasury[2012] EWHC 3578 (Admin), [2013] 1 WLR 1621 – application of Article 6 and common law fairness requirements of disclosure to special advocate appellate regime to challenge terrorist asset freezing orders.

Previous career and academic work

Raj holds a first class undergraduate law degree and postgraduate law degree from Oxford University. Before joining the Bar, Raj qualified as a solicitor at Sharpe Pritchard solicitors. He subsequently worked as judicial assistant to the then Lord Chief Justice and Lord Justice (now Lord) Carnwath at the Court of Appeal. He has also worked for the Human Rights Department of the Victorian Government Solicitor’s Office in Melbourne, Australia.

Raj has taught public law, and human rights law on both undergraduate and postgraduate courses, at Oxford University. He is a co-author of the Blackstone’s Guide to the Human Rights Act (7th Ed.,OUP) and ‘Judicial Review: A Practical Guide’ (Jordans). He is also a contributing author to Criminal Justice and Human Rights (3rd Ed, Sweet & Maxwell) and Prison Law (5th Ed., OUP).

Raj accepts instructions under the Bar Council Standard Contractual Terms, details of which can be found here.

Privacy Notice

Raj is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. In order to provide legal services to his clients, including advice and representation services, Raj 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 read Raj’s privacy notice in full, please see here.

Articles and Downloads

• Article 14 ECHR discrimination challenges to social welfare measures: the second benefit cap case in the Supreme Court (ALBA Summer Conference Paper 2019)
• ‘Miller and the Flexibility of the UK Constitution’, U.K. Const. L. Blog (17th Jan 2016)
• ‘The Evolution of Fundamental Rights Charters and Case Law: A Comparison of the United Nations, Council of Europe and European Union systems of human rights protection‘, Study for the European Parliament Policy Department: Citizen’s Rights and Constitutional Affairs, European Parliament, February 2011.
• ‘The relationship between rights and responsibilities’, Ministry of Justice Research series, December 2009