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Called: 2022

Qualified to accept Public Access Instructions

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Introduction

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Isabella is a barrister specialised in public law, human rights and international law.

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International Law

 

Isabella works on cases before international courts and tribunals. She is currently instructed as an associate to represent Mr Shala, in the case of The Specialist Prosecutor v. Sabit Januzi, Ismet Bahtijari and Haxhi Shala, in ongoing proceedings before the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague.

 

Isabella has extensive experience working on matters before the UN Human Rights Council and UN Special Mechanisms, including the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and the Committee Against Torture. She regularly advises individuals and organisations on international legal issues, including engagement and advocacy before United Nations treaty bodies and mechanisms.

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Isabella is engaged in work on niche areas of international law, including being at the forefront of the representation of groups advocating for the repatriation of cultural heritage, the protection of indigenous and minority groups, reparations for slavery, and accountability for violations of international humanitarian law. She has a particular interest in transitional justice and peacebuilding in post-conflict states.

 

Examples of Isabella’s recent cases include:

 

  • Syria, Chechnya, Ukraine: instructed by an NGO to draft a detailed legal report on accountability and transitional justice in Syria, Chechnya and Ukraine, analysing violations of international criminal, humanitarian and human rights law across the three conflicts.

 

  • Sudan: part of a team instructed to draft a submission regarding violations of ICL in Sudan.

 

  • Libya: part of a team instructed to draft a submission to the ICC regarding violations of ICL in Libya.

 

  • Syria: assisted on project relating to accountability for use of chemical weapons against the civilian population.

 

  • Ukraine: part of a team instructed to make a submission on the crime of pillage.

 

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Administrative & Public Law

 

Isabella represents clients in claims against public authorities on behalf of individuals in the UK, including claims under the Human Rights Act 1998, the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the Equality Act 2010.

 

Some examples of Isabella’s recent cases include:

 

SSHD v. N – challenge to negative ‘Conclusive Grounds’ decision in National Referral Mechanism (‘NRM’) trafficking claim involving an alleged failure to properly conduct investigation or enquiry, amounting to a breach of Article 4 ECHR & Article 10 ECAT.

 

SSHD v. KAAK – advising on potential judicial review against failure to transfer individuals to the UK under UK Resettlement Scheme.

 

SSHD v. PXD – judicial review of unsuitable accommodation conditions in asylum accommodation for vulnerable asylum-seeker, survivor of trafficking and torture.

 

SSHD v. KP – judicial review of Article 8 ECHR deport/urgent removal to Poland.

 

SSHD v. J – judicial review of SSHD’s failure to follow published Appendix EU AR policy.

 

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Immigration & Asylum

 

Isabella has a thriving immigration and asylum law practice. She represents individuals in both private and public cases, including:

 

  • International protection claims, including asylum, political asylum and humanitarian protection.

  • Nationality and citizenship law.

  • Appeals against refusals of visa applications, including family applications and applications for Indefinite Leave to Remain.

  • High Net Worth Individual (HNWI) cases.

  • Human trafficking and modern slavery claims.

  • Immigration bail.

 

Some examples of Isabella’s recent cases include:

 

SSHD v. R – Saudi female asylum-seeker fleeing male guardianship system.

 

SSHD v. AF – refugee family reunion - Iranian lone female refugee.

 

SSHD v. MA – Kurdish Iraqi asylum case.

 

SSHD v. AO – Article 8 ECHR deport in complex domestic violence family context.

 

SSHD v. NG – Article 8 ECHR deport for vulnerable client with complex mental health issues.

 

SSHD v. BS – complex Article 8 family life application for HNW individual.

 

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Crime & Regulatory

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Isabella also represents individuals and the CPS in the Magistrates and Crown Court in criminal cases. She also has a strong regulatory law practice, regularly appearing in professional disciplinary proceedings. Isabella has recently been instructed in several cases of serious professional misconduct by professionals against vulnerable patients and/or colleagues.

 

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Background

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Before transferring to the Bar, Isabella was a qualified Solicitor before the Senior Courts of England and Wales. She worked for several years in private legal practice and in a non-governmental organisation (‘NGO’) in the area of immigration, asylum and public law. She represented asylum-seekers, survivors of torture, and survivors of human trafficking and slavery.

 

Isabella has been involved in several groundbreaking cases, including representing a legal challenge to the UK government’s funding and support to an EU development project in Eritrea which was using enslaved conscripts from the Eritrean National Service, a legal challenge against the Secretaries of State for International Development and for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs regarding the provision of overseas aid and support to the Libyan Coastguard and Detention Centres in Libya for potentially contributing to violations of International Human Rights Law and International Humanitarian Law, and R (On The Application Of CSM) v SSHD [2021] EWHC 2175 (Admin) in which the Home Secretary was found to be in breach of the “systems duty” under Article 3 ECHR to put in place appropriate legal and administrative systems to protect detainees with HIV from harm.

 

Isabella was interviewed and featured in the news about her work on several occasions. See here, here and here, for example.

 

Isabella also worked at the United Nations’ Migration Agency (‘IOM’), the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR, Human Rights Council) in Geneva, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in London, and as a Trainee Lawyer at the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in Strasbourg.

 

She has also worked for various NGOs, both as an employed lawyer and consultant. Notably, in 2022, the Equal Rights Trust appointed her to a team of specialist human rights lawyers to analyse the issues surrounding the realisation of the legal right to non-discrimination in the context of modern slavery and domestic servitude. In 2019, Isabella was appointed to the Committee of Amnesty International UK’s Children’s Rights Network.

 

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Mediation

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Isabella is also a practising Mediator. She qualified through the Society of Mediators in London and is able to mediate a wide range of disputes, from international legal disputes to disputes between trustees of charities, employment issues, disputes within families or communities of a sensitive nature.

 

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Appointments

 

Isabella is an elected member of the prestigious Executive Committee of the ‘Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales’ (BHRC).

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Memberships

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The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple

​List of Assistants to Counsel at the International Criminal Court (ICC)

The Law Society (Roll of Solicitors)

Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales (BHRC)

International Law Association (British Branch)

Human Rights Lawyers Association (HRLA)

Member of the Society of Mediators (MSoM)


Education

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LLB Law (Hons.), LLM Public International Law, LPC.

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Languages

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English (Mother Tongue)

French (C1)

Italian (B2)

German (B1)

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