Melanie Plimmer

---

Year of Call: 1996

Melanie's practice is strongly focused on Public and Administrative Law with a particular emphasis on judicial review litigation in these areas: human rights, immigration, prison, community care, asylum support, social welfare, local authority, healthcare, disciplinary and regulatory, equality and discrimination and national security.

Overview of Practice

Judicial review

Melanie is a judicial review specialist and has been involved in a number of important judicial review cases, particularly since the opening of the Administrative Court in Manchester and Leeds, where applications and hearings are being listed far more quickly than in London. Many of Melanie's reported cases have been in the fields of prison and immigration law and related areas but Melanie also conducts extensive work in the areas set out above (which tend to settle more).   Melanie also have extensive advisory experience, with a track record of obtaining successful outcomes without the need for litigation.

Melanie has trained extensively in this area on behalf of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (‘EHRC’), the Public Law Project, the Association of Prison Lawyers (‘APL’), the Northern Administrative Law Association (‘NALA’) and the Immigration Law Practitioners Association (‘ILPA’). 

Melanie also regularly provides bespoke in-house training, upon request.

Immigration, Asylum and Nationality law

With the benefit of 16 years extensive experience in immigration, asylum and nationality law (which began at the Refugee Legal Centre), Melanie's practice now concentrates on cases in the Upper Tribunal, Court of Appeal and Administrative Court, complex advisory work and national security.

Melanie also undertakes a wide range of advisory work for local authorities, family, personal injury, employment and sports law solicitors on specific immigration issues. 

Fee-paid Deputy Judge of the Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber).

Contributor to the 5^th and 6^th Edition of Macdonald's Immigration Law and Practice. Author of the Immigration Chapter in the 17^th Edition of Bullen & Leake & Jacobs Precedents and Pleadings.

Prison

Melanie has substantial experience of Parole Board hearings and judicial review applications on behalf of prisoners and continues to represent prisoners in more complex Parole Board hearings.

National Security

Member of the Attorney General’s panel of Special Advocates.  Melanie is a very experienced Special Advocate and since 2007 has appeared regularly in SIAC, the High Court and the Court of Appeal in numerous cases including the Libyan control orders, the Bank Mellat litigation and lengthy SIAC appeals.

Equality, Discrimination, Employment and Disciplinary

Melanie is a member of the approved panel of Counsel for the EHRC and has recently provided advice on sensitive complex issues including the government’s proposals on Article 8 of the ECHR. 

Melanie's practice focuses upon broader equality issues and employment / discrimination issues with a public law overlap.  Particular experience in employment / disciplinary disputes with a public law overlap, between local authorities and their employees.

Melanie has recent and increasing experience in disciplinary work involving a wide range of professionals, including those involved in sport, social care, teaching, medicine and healthcare.

Court of Protection, healthcare and community care

Melanie has increasing experience in this field where she is able to put to good use her extensive knowledge of public law principles, the ECHR and other human rights instruments.

Recommendations

Chambers and Partners 2012: Admin and Public Law The Regions Band 1,Immigration (Northern) Band 1

‘Melanie Plimmer who is felt to be one of the most respected regional practitioners in her field. Sources claim that she is "always on the ball." She focuses on claims emanating from human rights, asylum, immigration and national security issues. Plimmer also sits as a part-time immigration judge and is felt to possess "fantastic knowledge of overlapping immigration and prison law concerns." She was recently successful in a watershed case regarding a breach of Article 5 and the just level of damages awarded for such an infraction…’

 

‘described by peers as fearsome in her passion and impressive in her breadth of experience." Her areas of expertise include judicial review, unlawful detention and national security immigration issues. Sources praise her written submissions and add: "She is extremely good at identifying the arguments that have a real prospect of winning and then running with them."’

 

Legal 500 2011

‘Melanie Plimmer falls within the “exceptional category” she ‘combines an acute analytical intelligence with formidable forensic skills”, and is a “supremely effective advocate"’.

 

Chambers and Partners 2011

‘Approachable and committed, she is ‘quite outstanding at immigration work” and “one of the most frequent users of the Administrative Court" Renowned for her expert knowledge on matters where prison law and immigration cross over, she is "extremely hard-working,very detailed in her advice and creative in her thinking."'

 

Chambers and Partners 2009

‘Imaginative, creative and clearly at the forefront of the law’

 

Chambers and Partners 2008

‘her work...”sets her apart from the norm and she has set the standards for others to follow”...’

 

Notable Cases 

R (E1) v SSHD [2012] (judgment awaited) The Court of Appeal have quashed the SSHD’s notice of appeal as invalid such that a new notice must be issued and the appeal process re-started.

 

R (Asefa) v SSHD [2012] EWHC 56 (Admin) (claimant's application that to remove her and her children to Italy on the basis of Art 8 was properly certified bearing in mind the presumption that human rights will not be breached in EU states – an application for permission to appeal has been lodged with the CA)

 

R (ABC) (A Minor) (Afghanistan) [2011] EWHC 2937 (Admin) (claimant successfully argued that the SSHD had failed to place his best interests at the forefront ofher considerations when deciding whether to exclude him from HP and only grant him 6 month rolling periods of DL.  In deciding to exclude the claimant from HP the SSHD failed to take into account the broad tapestry of factors relevant to his alleged offending in Afghanistan as a child)

 

R (Krasniqi) vSSHD [2011] EWCA Civ 1549 (detention not unlawful)

 

AA (Art1F(a) - complicity- Arts 7 and 25 ICC Statute) Iran [2011] UKUT 339 (IAC) (application ofthe exclusion clause to crimes against humanity committed by the Basij – currently the subject of an appeal before the CA).

 

R (Arslan) v SSHD [2011] EWHC 9 (Admin) (unusual fresh claim in which it was accepted that the Claimant's mental state was such that interrogation on return at the Turkish airport would have a sufficiently grave impact upon him to give his contended Article 3 breach at the airport alone a realistic prospect of success.  This claim has now been heard by the Tribunal and his appeal was allowed)

 

Bank Mellat v HMTreasury [2011] 2 All ER 802 (Bank's appeal against the imposition of the financial restrictions upon it dismissed) On appeal to the Supreme Court.

 

MA (Pakistan) v SSHD [2011] EWCA Civ 322 (the original IJ's decision was a sound one which properly took into account N (Kenya) and was adequately reasoned, and the AITshould not have gone on to reconsider the appeal)

 

R (Anderson) v Independent Adjudicator [2010] EWHC 2260 (Admin) (in finding a prisoner guilty of a breach of the Prison Rules and awarding him extra days, the Adjudicator's decision was vitiated by procedural unfairness in that he failed to give sufficient reasons, and the prisoner therefore should be released)

 

R (Pennington (No2)) v Parole Board [2010] EWHC 78 (Admin) (Claimant awarded £1750 in damages arising out of some three months delay on the part ofthe PB)

 

Bank Mellat v HMTreasury [2010] EWHC 1332 (QB), [2010] EWCA Civ 483 (the principles in AF (no 3) apply to proceedings taken by theTreasury against the Bank).

 

R (Pennington) v Parole Board  [2010] HRLR 1 (Unexplained Parole Board delay in issuing directions and in reaching its decision, in respect of a prisoner the Parole Board ordered release, constitutes a breach of Article 5(4) entitling the Claimant to damages)

 

R (Gregson) v Parole Board [2009] EWHC 3639 (Admin) (Court accepted the claimant's argument that the Parole Board had not properly addressed the relevant triangulation of interests in particular fairness, in relation to a closed document before it decided not to release a prisoner)

 

R (Riley) v Governor of HMP Frankland [2009] EWHC 2146& 2147 (oral hearing must be held in light of prisoner's medical condition and reports)

 

R (Card) v SSHD [2009] EWHC 2128 (Admin) (refusal to accept fresh human rights claim based on changes in the case-law relating to Article 8 quashed)

 

R (AS) v SSJ [2009] All ER (D) 108 (Jun); [2009] EWHC 1315 (Admin) (insufficient reasons provided for refusal of compassionate release on grounds of ill-health)

 

James and Lee vSSJ [2009] 2 WLR 1149 (Key House of Lords case on the circumstances in which delay can lead to a breach of Art 5 in proceedings before the Parole Board); SSJ v Walker and James [2008]EWCA Civ 30 (Minister of Justice acted "unlawfully" - IPP sentences)

 

TF (Angola) v SSHD [2009] EWCA Civ 905 (fresh evidence insufficiently clear to render AIT decision unfair)

 

IA (Syria) and SA (Syria) v SSHD (CA Civ Div) [2007] All ER (D) 211 (Nov) (Amnesty International and expert evidence must be accorded greater weight)

 

K and Fornah v SSHD [2006] 3 WLR 733 (seminal HL case in which it was decided that women and family members can be a "particular social group" within the Refugee Convention)

 

R and others v SSHD [2005] INLR 633 (guidelines on the 'error of law' jurisdiction of theAIT)

Memberships

Member of the Northern Circuit Free Representation and Advice Service, ALA, NALA, APL

Member of the Trinidad and Tobago Bar.  Melanie has appeared in pro bono cases in Trinidad and trained local lawyers in judicial review.

Career & Education

Kings Chambers 2009 - Present, Garden Court North Chambers 1997-2009.

Bar Vocational Course 1995-1996, LLM in Employment law, London University 1993-1995, LLB (Honours) 2:1, Bristol University 1990-1993.

Non-legal interests / hobbies

Holidaying in Trinidad, distance running and family.