MEET:
Raza Husain KC
"An absolute star of the Bar in this area." "Absolutely exceptional, a pre-eminent silk in immigration."
Chambers & Partners 2017
Raza specialises in public law, with an emphasis on immigration and human rights. Raza was appointed silk in 2010, and nominated in 2013 year as Human Rights Silk of the Year, having previously been awarded Human Rights and Public Law Junior of the Year by Chambers Bar Awards in 2007. In 2013 Raza was listed among the top 100 silks practising in all fields at the UK bar. Raza won Silk of the Year at Legal 500 Bar Awards 2023.
Raza has appeared in over 30 cases in the Supreme Court or House of Lords. In the last 14, he has appeared as leading advocate, on each occasion successfully save once. Raza has a significant international practice. He regularly appears before the Court of Justice in Luxembourg and the Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. He regularly advises and is instructed by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Raza was instructed in the successful extradition defence of David Kezerashivili, former Defence Minister for Georgia, before the French Courts. He appeared in the first successful judicial review challenge in the British Virgin Islands to the refusal of a work permit (Citco and Gillespie). He successfully challenged a refusal of permanent residence in the Cayman Islands by the owner of the largest hotel chain in Europe.
Raza regularly acts for high profile individuals and has a particular expertise in the interface between extradition, the political motivation bar, and asylum. He has successfully appeared in a number of such cases brought by Russian nationals.
He is also regularly instructed and NGOs such as Amnesty International and the AIRE Centre, as well as premiership footballers.
Raza retains a deep commitment to and heavy involvement in publicly funded work.
Raza has given lectures in refugee and immigration law at the University of Oxford (All Souls’ College and the Refugee Studies Centre), the University of London (Institute of Advanced Legal Studies) and Georgetown University, Washington DC, USA.
Raza is presently instructed in pending two Supreme Court cases, concerning religious persecution under the Refugee Convention and administrative detention. Last year, Raza appeared in four Supreme Court cases: Ali (Article 8 and deportation); MP (EU Qualification Directive and subsidiary protection); FV (Italy) (EU Citizen’s Directive and enhanced protection); SXH (UNHCR intervention in challenge to prosecutorial discretion and Article 31 Refugee Convention). Raza also successfully acted in 2016 in CS, where the Grand Chamber of the Court of Justice of the EU strengthened the Zambrano principle.
In 2014, Raza successfully appeared before the Supreme Court in EM (Eritrea) (February 2014), a case concerning the relationship between fundamental rights and the Dublin II Regulation. He successfully appeared in Tarrakhel v Switzerland (November 2014), where the Grand Chamber of the ECHR reduced the presumption of compliance with legal obligations amongst EU and CoE member states to zero and held that a return without specific assurances of an Afghan family to Italy under the Dublin II Regulation would violate Article 3 ECHR. In 2013, Raza successfully appeared before the Court of Justice of the EU on behalf of the AIRE Centre in MA and BT, where the Court ruled that the Dublin II Regulation had to be read subject to the best interests of the child.
In 2012, Raza successfully appeared in the seven-member Supreme Court decision in RT (Zimbabwe) (July 2012) where the Supreme Court affirmed that the right not to hold a political opinion was protected by both international human rights law and the Refugee Convention. Raza also successfully appeared before the Grand Chamber of the Court of Justice in Luxembourg in NS v UK on behalf of the UNHCR, a case concerning the Dublin II Regulation and the right to asylum (December 2011). He successfully appeared in JD and Others (March 2012), a test case on the second appeals test in the Court of Appeal which refined to the point of effectively overruling the previous Court of Appeal authority of PR (Sri Lanka). He successfully appeared before the Court of Appeal in KA and Others (July 2012), a test case on the tracing duty owed in EU law to unaccompanied minors. He successfully appeared before the Court of Appeal in AH (Algeria) (April 2012), the first case to consider the meaning of “serious” in Article 1F(b) Refugee Convention.
JUSTICE
Former Executive Committee of Immigration Law
Practitioners’ Association
Advisory Board of Refugee Studies Centre, University of Oxford
Administrative Law Bar Association
Co-author, with Nicholas Blake QC, Immigration, Asylum and Human Rights (Oxford University Press, 2003)
University of Oxford, LSE, UCL, Georgetown University, Washington DC
Philosophy, Politics and Economics Exeter College, Oxford (1987-90)
2 Garden Court 1994-2000
Founder member of Matrix, 2000
Raza is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. In order to provide legal services to his clients, including advice and representation services, Raza 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 Raza’ privacy notice in full, please see here.
"Raza is a really outstanding advocate, who is incredibly charming and engaging."" ""He's got that ability to really capture an audience and a moment." "Raza was cool as a cucumber under unbelievable pressure - presenting the most complex and lengthy arguments in a short time span."
"Raza is an articulate and powerful advocate."
"The leading silk in the UK for refugee rights."
"An absolute phenomenon in this field. He is incredibly experienced and has been in all the major litigation in the last 30 or so years." "He can be inspiring when he is in full flow as an advocate. He is one of those barristers who stops and listens." "When it comes to human rights and immigration cases, Raza is one of the top barristers at the Bar. No one knows the field of immigration law better than him."
"Raza is an articulate and powerful oral advocate. He has a wide knowledge of precedent which he calls on for his analysis."
"He is an excellent advocate who is in total command of the law and facts of his cases." "Raza is a claimant-focused barrister who is very realistic and fair. He doesn't take bad points." "He is both thoughtful on complex issues and comprehensive in his research and drafting. He is clearly bright but also creative in his legal arguments."
"Raza is an attractive, heavyweight advocate." "He is the best silk-level advocate for difficult cases involving Article 8 issues."
"Clearly bright but also creative in legal arguments. He is articulate and learned, and puts extensive research and care into his drafting." "A top silk for immigration and asylum. He's internationally respected." "Raza is an absolute superstar. He is the best KC advocate in difficult cases involving Article 8."
"A superstar silk in the immigration and civil liberties arena. Go to silk in any case with cross-over between these areas. A shining light in the Supreme Court who has the respect and ear of the Court."
"A superstar silk in the immigration and civil liberties arena so a go-to to silk in any case with cross-over between these areas. A shining light in the Supreme Court, with the respect and ear of the court."
"He has an encyclopedic knowledge of immigration law and is enthusiastic and determined in his approach." "An incredibly impressive advocate who is more often than not on the winning side."
"He has a huge amount of knowledge, he is an amazing advocate and is a real delight to be led by." "Raza is the expert on refugee law in the UK."
"A super brain who is a go-to for anything technical and complicated. He has encyclopedic knowledge of case law. He is very good at isolating and identifying issues, and seems to be in the Supreme Court every other week." "One of the most outstanding barristers. He is a very clever and committed lawyer who is very impressive."
"A powerful advocate for refugees - in my view, the pre-eminent human rights QC." "He is really brilliant to work with; he always checks in with solicitors on strategy and is very reliable."
"He is really brilliant to work with; he works with the team, he's very reliable and he's on top of the case."
"One of the leading lights in public law, and has experience going back decades in immigration detention." "Everyone recognises him as a very experienced and very knowledgeable immigration silk. He also works at a frenetic pace."
"Superb lawyer with vast experience in all aspects on UK immigration law, asylum, ECHR, European law, and nationality law."
"A walking encyclopaedia on human rights, migrants, and trafficking cases. There really is no-one else like him."
"He's charming to be against and is very, very knowledgeable on immigration law - a great advocate."
"He's extremely easy to work with, very good with clients and has a relaxed advocacy style." "He's really enthusiastic and knows his stuff. He can take a creative approach; he definitely thinks outside of the box."
"Top-notch: he's constantly in the Supreme Court doing ground-breaking immigration and asylum cases." "Excellent in immigration, human rights and public law."
"He has an excellent breadth of knowledge of public law principles in the immigration context."
"Excellent human rights QC. Tenacious, highly skilled, committed and persuasive."
+44 (0)20 7404 3447
"An absolute star of the Bar in this area." "Absolutely exceptional, a pre-eminent silk in immigration."
Chambers & Partners 2017
MAIN AREAS OF PRACTICE
- International Arbitration
- Discrimination and Equality
- EU Law
- Civil Liberties and Human Rights
- Immigration, Asylum and Free Movement
- Public International Law
- Public Law
- Commercial Public Law
- Competition and EU
Raza Husain KC
Contact Raza: +44 (0)20 7404 3447
Contact Raza's Practice Team (Team X): TeamX@matrixlaw.co.uk
Raza specialises in public law, with an emphasis on immigration and human rights. Raza was appointed silk in 2010, and nominated in 2013 year as Human Rights Silk of the Year, having previously been awarded Human Rights and Public Law Junior of the Year by Chambers Bar Awards in 2007. In 2013 Raza was listed among the top 100 silks practising in all fields at the UK bar. Raza won Silk of the Year at Legal 500 Bar Awards 2023.
Raza has appeared in over 30 cases in the Supreme Court or House of Lords. In the last 14, he has appeared as leading advocate, on each occasion successfully save once. Raza has a significant international practice. He regularly appears before the Court of Justice in Luxembourg and the Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. He regularly advises and is instructed by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Raza was instructed in the successful extradition defence of David Kezerashivili, former Defence Minister for Georgia, before the French Courts. He appeared in the first successful judicial review challenge in the British Virgin Islands to the refusal of a work permit (Citco and Gillespie). He successfully challenged a refusal of permanent residence in the Cayman Islands by the owner of the largest hotel chain in Europe.
Raza regularly acts for high profile individuals and has a particular expertise in the interface between extradition, the political motivation bar, and asylum. He has successfully appeared in a number of such cases brought by Russian nationals.
He is also regularly instructed and NGOs such as Amnesty International and the AIRE Centre, as well as premiership footballers.
Raza retains a deep commitment to and heavy involvement in publicly funded work.
Raza has given lectures in refugee and immigration law at the University of Oxford (All Souls’ College and the Refugee Studies Centre), the University of London (Institute of Advanced Legal Studies) and Georgetown University, Washington DC, USA.
Recent work
Raza is presently instructed in pending two Supreme Court cases, concerning religious persecution under the Refugee Convention and administrative detention. Last year, Raza appeared in four Supreme Court cases: Ali (Article 8 and deportation); MP (EU Qualification Directive and subsidiary protection); FV (Italy) (EU Citizen’s Directive and enhanced protection); SXH (UNHCR intervention in challenge to prosecutorial discretion and Article 31 Refugee Convention). Raza also successfully acted in 2016 in CS, where the Grand Chamber of the Court of Justice of the EU strengthened the Zambrano principle.
In 2014, Raza successfully appeared before the Supreme Court in EM (Eritrea) (February 2014), a case concerning the relationship between fundamental rights and the Dublin II Regulation. He successfully appeared in Tarrakhel v Switzerland (November 2014), where the Grand Chamber of the ECHR reduced the presumption of compliance with legal obligations amongst EU and CoE member states to zero and held that a return without specific assurances of an Afghan family to Italy under the Dublin II Regulation would violate Article 3 ECHR. In 2013, Raza successfully appeared before the Court of Justice of the EU on behalf of the AIRE Centre in MA and BT, where the Court ruled that the Dublin II Regulation had to be read subject to the best interests of the child.
In 2012, Raza successfully appeared in the seven-member Supreme Court decision in RT (Zimbabwe) (July 2012) where the Supreme Court affirmed that the right not to hold a political opinion was protected by both international human rights law and the Refugee Convention. Raza also successfully appeared before the Grand Chamber of the Court of Justice in Luxembourg in NS v UK on behalf of the UNHCR, a case concerning the Dublin II Regulation and the right to asylum (December 2011). He successfully appeared in JD and Others (March 2012), a test case on the second appeals test in the Court of Appeal which refined to the point of effectively overruling the previous Court of Appeal authority of PR (Sri Lanka). He successfully appeared before the Court of Appeal in KA and Others (July 2012), a test case on the tracing duty owed in EU law to unaccompanied minors. He successfully appeared before the Court of Appeal in AH (Algeria) (April 2012), the first case to consider the meaning of “serious” in Article 1F(b) Refugee Convention.
Professional and Other Memberships
JUSTICE
Former Executive Committee of Immigration Law
Practitioners’ Association
Advisory Board of Refugee Studies Centre, University of Oxford
Administrative Law Bar Association
Articles and Books
Co-author, with Nicholas Blake QC, Immigration, Asylum and Human Rights (Oxford University Press, 2003)
Lectures
University of Oxford, LSE, UCL, Georgetown University, Washington DC
Education and Career
Philosophy, Politics and Economics Exeter College, Oxford (1987-90)
2 Garden Court 1994-2000
Founder member of Matrix, 2000
Articles and Downloads
Raza's Privacy Notice
Raza is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. In order to provide legal services to his clients, including advice and representation services, Raza 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 Raza’ privacy notice in full, please see here.
DIRECTORY RECOMMENDATIONS
"Raza is a really outstanding advocate, who is incredibly charming and engaging."" ""He's got that ability to really capture an audience and a moment." "Raza was cool as a cucumber under unbelievable pressure - presenting the most complex and lengthy arguments in a short time span."
"Raza is an articulate and powerful advocate."
"The leading silk in the UK for refugee rights."
"An absolute phenomenon in this field. He is incredibly experienced and has been in all the major litigation in the last 30 or so years." "He can be inspiring when he is in full flow as an advocate. He is one of those barristers who stops and listens." "When it comes to human rights and immigration cases, Raza is one of the top barristers at the Bar. No one knows the field of immigration law better than him."
"Raza is an articulate and powerful oral advocate. He has a wide knowledge of precedent which he calls on for his analysis."
"He is an excellent advocate who is in total command of the law and facts of his cases." "Raza is a claimant-focused barrister who is very realistic and fair. He doesn't take bad points." "He is both thoughtful on complex issues and comprehensive in his research and drafting. He is clearly bright but also creative in his legal arguments."
"Raza is an attractive, heavyweight advocate." "He is the best silk-level advocate for difficult cases involving Article 8 issues."
"Clearly bright but also creative in legal arguments. He is articulate and learned, and puts extensive research and care into his drafting." "A top silk for immigration and asylum. He's internationally respected." "Raza is an absolute superstar. He is the best KC advocate in difficult cases involving Article 8."
"A superstar silk in the immigration and civil liberties arena. Go to silk in any case with cross-over between these areas. A shining light in the Supreme Court who has the respect and ear of the Court."
"A superstar silk in the immigration and civil liberties arena so a go-to to silk in any case with cross-over between these areas. A shining light in the Supreme Court, with the respect and ear of the court."
"He has an encyclopedic knowledge of immigration law and is enthusiastic and determined in his approach." "An incredibly impressive advocate who is more often than not on the winning side."
"He has a huge amount of knowledge, he is an amazing advocate and is a real delight to be led by." "Raza is the expert on refugee law in the UK."
"A super brain who is a go-to for anything technical and complicated. He has encyclopedic knowledge of case law. He is very good at isolating and identifying issues, and seems to be in the Supreme Court every other week." "One of the most outstanding barristers. He is a very clever and committed lawyer who is very impressive."
"A powerful advocate for refugees - in my view, the pre-eminent human rights QC." "He is really brilliant to work with; he always checks in with solicitors on strategy and is very reliable."
"He is really brilliant to work with; he works with the team, he's very reliable and he's on top of the case."
"One of the leading lights in public law, and has experience going back decades in immigration detention." "Everyone recognises him as a very experienced and very knowledgeable immigration silk. He also works at a frenetic pace."
"Superb lawyer with vast experience in all aspects on UK immigration law, asylum, ECHR, European law, and nationality law."
"A walking encyclopaedia on human rights, migrants, and trafficking cases. There really is no-one else like him."
"He's charming to be against and is very, very knowledgeable on immigration law - a great advocate."
"He's extremely easy to work with, very good with clients and has a relaxed advocacy style." "He's really enthusiastic and knows his stuff. He can take a creative approach; he definitely thinks outside of the box."
"Top-notch: he's constantly in the Supreme Court doing ground-breaking immigration and asylum cases." "Excellent in immigration, human rights and public law."
"He has an excellent breadth of knowledge of public law principles in the immigration context."
"Excellent human rights QC. Tenacious, highly skilled, committed and persuasive."