Ben Emmerson

Early life and career

Born in Kent, his father Brian Emmerson was finance director of the Stock Exchange in London. He attended Douai School and Bristol University, and was called to the bar in 1986. Until 1999 Emmerson was a member of Doughty Street Chambers, but in February 2000 he left to join the new Matrix Chambers which specialises in human rights. In April 2000 he was appointed Queen's Counsel.

Gay rights

In the late 1990s, Emmerson represented the Bolton 7, a group of men who had engaged in consensual group sex but were prosecuted for gross indecency and buggery under the Sexual Offences Act 1967. At the time, it was illegal for men to have sex with each other if more than two men were present, since it was deemed to be a public act; however, group sex was legal for heterosexuals and lesbians. Emmerson argued that the prosecution violated the European Convention on Human Rights and that, although it had not been incorporated into English law at the time, the judge was obliged to consider it.

In 1999 he successfully represented at the ECHR two of four homosexual members of the British Armed Forces who had been dismissed for their sexual orientation. The UK government was ordered to pay compensation and decided to put on hold all other investigations into homosexuals that it was conducting. The Guardian called it an "historic decision", while David Pannick QC called it "a welcome victory for reason over pure prejudice".

Freedom of speech

In 2012, Emmerson represented a man at appeal after he was convicted of sending "a message of a menacing character" under the Communications Act 2003, for posting a joke on Twitter which was interpreted as a threat to blow up an airport. Emmerson argued that the response had been disproportionate, that common sense was required "to avoid the law ending up looking silly" and that the man lacked the mens rea (intent) to be menacing.

International Courts

Emmerson is currently the British judge on the Residual Mechanism of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia.

He has previously acted as Special Adviser to the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court and Special Adviser to the international judges of the UN backed Khmer Rouge Tribunal in Cambodia.

In June 2011 he was elected by the UN Human Rights Council as UN Special Rapporteur on Counter Terrorism and Human Rights. In this capacity he reports annually to the UN General Assembly, the UN Human Rights Council and relevant entities established by the Security Council. He also conducts country visits and reports, and provides technical and other advice to states.

Israeli Killer Robots

In May 2013 Emmerson was involved in a special investigation for the UN General Assembly on drone warfare and targeted killings. According to Emmerson' report, Israel, as well as US, have developed various types of fully or semi-autonomous weapons. In the report they are called “lethal autonomous robotics” or LARs for short. The report states: “Decisions over life and death in armed conflict may require compassion and intuition. Humans — while they are fallible — at least might possess these qualities, whereas robots definitely do not.” In his report, Emmerson notes the arguments of robot proponents that death-dealing autonomous weapons “will not be susceptible to some of the human shortcomings that may undermine the protection of life and typically they would not act out of revenge, panic, anger, spite, prejudice or fear." However, he report also states that robots could cause intentional suffering on civilian populations, for example through torture.”

Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse

In 2014, Emmerson was appointed Counsel for the Independent Panel Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse in England and Wales. On 28 September 2016, he was suspended from duty. The inquiry said it had "become very concerned about aspects" of his leadership of his team. The following day, Emmerson resigned from the position, saying that "it is now time for someone else to take the helm" and denying that his resignation was due to differences of opinion with the Inquiry's chair, Alexis Jay.

United Nations

In July 2017 Emmerson visited Sri Lanka, a country that was being criticised by the United Nations for slow progress in addressing war crimes and past human rights abuses. Emmerson commented that the international community was running out of patience.

Writing

Emmerson has written and lectured widely on the European Convention on Human Rights and the Human Rights Act 1998. He was formerly the editor of the European Human Rights Law Review and is co-author, with Professor Andrew Ashworth QC of the leading text on the application of the Convention in criminal cases. Since 1995 he has been human rights editor of Archbold Criminal Pleading, Evidence and Practice, the criminal practitioner's bible.

Recognition

In 1999, The Lawyer listed Emmerson as one of the top five criminal barristers in the UK. He was described as "a goliath in the area of human rights law" and "knowing the law, not just silver-tongued" The same year he was a winner at the Liberty Human Rights awards. In 2002, The Observer described Emmerson as one of the "most dynamic group of lawyers working in Britain today". Edward Fitzgerald said that he was "an intense and extremely forceful advocate".

Marina Litvinenko

In 2015 Emmerson represented Marina Litvinenko, wife of Russian ex-KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko, at the inquiry into his death. Alexander Litvinenko is a former Russian spy who's political fallout and subsequent poisoning death unfolded in October 2000 when he fled to the UK in breach of Russian court order preventing him from leaving the country. Upon arrival, Litvinenko told police at Heathrow airport “I am a KGB officer and I am asking for political asylum”, the inquiry into his murder heard. He arranged for his family’s escape after the Russian security service threatened to kill his wife and child. At the completion of inquiry Emmerson commented that Russian state responsibility for Litvinenko's death had been proven "beyond reasonable doubt".

Abu Qatada

In 2003, Emmerson represented Islamist cleric Abu Qatada, In 2003, along with a number of other Belmarsh inmates, at a hearing of the Special Immigration Appeals Commission, arguing that they should not be detained without charge or trial. Emmerson stated that this has been routinely affirmed by the last UN special rapporteur on human rights while countering terrorism, amid claims that only emergency, derogations, suspension, or permanent restrictions could help the fight against terrorism. Qatada was arrested in 1993 over false documents while applying for asylum in United Kingdom.

Moazzam Begg

Starting in 2013 Emmerson represented former Guantanamo Bay detainee Moazzam Begg, who was imprisoned for 6 months after a string of terrorist charges linked to the civil war in Syria were brought against him. Begg, 45-year-old British citizen from Birmingham, had been in custody for seven months awaiting trial on charges connected to the civil war in Syria, including an allegation he attended a terrorism training camp there. He was subsequently released from prison in 2014 after CPS dropped the case just five days before his trial.

Awards

In 2016 Emmerson received Barrister of the Year award for his work at the heart of two high-profile cases involving foreign governments. He represented ex-Russian spy Alexander Litvenenko’s family in one of the most high-profile court cases in British history and acted for the Ministry of Justice in Georgia before the European Court of Human Rights in connection with the second inter-state case brought by Georgia against the Russian Federation in relation to the alleged attacks against civilians and the property in Abkhazia and South Ossetia.