Rosalind Comyn

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

Contact Rosalind's Practice Team (Team T): TeamT@matrixlaw.co.uk

Rosalind joined Matrix in 2022 following the successful completion of her traineeship. She is developing a practice in public law and human rights, equality law, criminal law and extradition, inquests and inquiries, and media and information law.

As a trainee, Rosalind was supervised by Dan Squires KC, Andrew Smith, Clare Montgomery KC, Nick Armstrong and Kirsten Sjovoll.

Public, Human Rights and Equality Law

Rosalind has experience in a wide range of public, human rights and equality law matters. During traineeship she assisted with:

• A successful judicial review establishing that the requirement under the British Nationality Act 1981 “give written notice” before an individual may be deprived of their citizenship cannot be satisfied by placing the notice on an internal Home Office file. Regulations permitting “service to file” were therefore ultra vires.
• An application for permission to apply for judicial review of the National Crime Agency’s decision not to permit the transfer of funds to an individual. The funds were paid in settlement of a human rights damages claim in respect of the individual’s capture, detention, torture and mistreatment by UK/US forces in Iraq and subsequent extraordinary rendition to Afghanistan.
• An application for review of the imposition of a temporary exclusion order and obligations imposed under it.
• Advising a public body on issues relating to trans rights.
• Advising on whether aspects of a school’s curriculum on anti-racism complied with statutory duties on political impartiality.

Rosalind also assisted with drafting a third party intervention on behalf of the whistleblowing charity Protect.

Criminal Law and Extradition

During traineeship Rosalind assisted across a range of criminal law and extradition matters, including:

• Responding to Attorney General’s Reference No. 1 of 2022 on behalf of one of the acquitted Colston statue topplers.
• An appeal to the Privy Council concerning the validity of the order giving effect to the extradition treaty between Trinidad and Tobago and the USA.
• The SFO and concurrent DoJ investigations into Glencore plc.
• Advising a company on whether breach of a statutory obligation gave rise to criminal liability.

Inquests and Inquiries

Rosalind accepts instructions in inquests and inquiries matters. During traineeship, she assisted Nick Armstrong in the conduct of an inquest in relation to the death of an 8-week old child, from catastrophic injuries inflicted on her by her father, on behalf of the family of the deceased.

Media and Information Law

Rosalind has a wide-ranging interest in media, privacy, and data protection law. During traineeship she assisted with:

• A libel claim brought by Arron Banks against Carole Cadwalladr.
• Advising on the retention of personal data by the police.
• An application for an interim injunction in a harassment claim.

Rosalind has also recently completed a placement with the legal team at The Times & The Sunday Times.

Background

Rosalind previously worked in the human rights sector for five years. Most recently, she was the Policy and Campaigns Manager at the non-governmental organisation Liberty, where she led work across policing, counterterrorism, and protest. Before joining Liberty, Rosalind worked for the human rights organisation Rights and Security International, where she was responsible for research, advocacy and strategic litigation on a range of matters relating to national security and human rights.

Rosalind was also a research assistant for a leading practitioners’ text on judicial review in Ireland.

Qualifications

Rosalind holds an LLB (Law and Political Science) from Trinity College Dublin and an LLM (International Law) from the University of Cambridge.

Scholarships and awards include:

• Gold Medal, Trinity College Dublin
• Law School Prize (First in Class), Trinity College Dublin
• Entrance Exhibition Award, Trinity College Dublin
• Desmond and Maud O’Connor Prize for best research dissertation
• Lord Denning Scholarship, Lincoln’s Inn

Rosalind 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 Rosalind’s privacy notice in full, please see here.