Background
Daniel Carey is a partner who joined Deighton Pierce Glynn in 2013. He is based in our Bristol office. He is ranked as a leading solicitor for administrative and public law and civil liberties and human rights in the Chambers and Legal 500 directories. After several years of being ranked as a “star associate” for both administrative and public law and civil liberties and human rights work, he is now as a ranked partner in the Chambers directory in both areas. He has been recognised as “a fantastic and dedicated lawyer” and “one of the most innovative human rights lawyers out there” who “has a great range of expertise and is really very good at running a large legal team. He is really impressive”.
Previously, Daniel was a solicitor at another leading human rights firm, before which he worked in Guatemala for Peace Brigades International and on US death penalty cases as a volunteer with Reprieve. Daniel received the Law Society New Solicitor of the Year award in 2007 for his work in Guatemala. He also received the Peter Duffy Award from Liberty and JUSTICE in 2009.
Expertise
Human Rights
Daniel specialises in human rights claims, often involving an international law element. He also conducts civil claims against corporations in relation to human rights breaches. He has brought cases at all levels of the domestic courts and before the European Court of Human Rights and the Court of Justice of the EU.
Judicial Review and Public Law
Daniel has substantial experience in public law challenges to local and national government. His successful judicial reviews have included police retention of school children’s data under the Prevent counter-extremism programme; opposing library closures in Surrey, Gloucestershire and Somerset; national consultations on changes to legal aid funding, healthcare access for migrants; national legislation governing retention of the public’s telecommunications information; and numerous instances of unlawful immigration detention, failures to provide asylum support housing; failures to recognise victims of human trafficking and delays in asylum decision making for unaccompanied children, victims of human trafficking and others.
Civil Liberties
Daniel acts in civil claims for damages regarding arbitrary detention including military and immigration detention, torture and rendition. He also acts in claims for damages regarding data breaches and breaches of confidentiality by public authorities and others. He acts on behalf of affected individuals as well as non-governmental organisations in these areas. His cases have included seeking compensation for unlawful rendition from Iraq to Afghanistan; the unlawful detention of human rights defenders and investigative journalists in fast track immigration detention; the unlawful immigration detention of torture victims and persons with mental health problems; and the protection of former British auxiliaries in Afghanistan. He has also defended protesters from civil action, including members of the “Occupy” movement.
Data Protection, Information and Privacy Law
Daniel has a particular interest in data protection law under the EU General Data Protection Regulation, E-Privacy Directive and public access to information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. His cases often focus on the crossover between data protection and human rights law. He has brought successful public law challenges and civil claims for damages in areas as diverse as the unlawful sharing of asylum seekers’ confidential information with persecuting authorities in the country of origin; the mishandling of information under the UK’s Prevent Guidance; data breaches by public inquiries; inconsistent responses to subject access requests by public authorities; advising a member of parliament on government data practices; successful legal challenges to unlawful state surveillance and data retention legislation; and access to information regarding the UK’s use of armed drones, amongst others.
Discrimination
Daniel’s work also tackles issues of discrimination. For example, in public law cases regarding the Public Sector Equality Duty, which requires public authorities to take positive steps to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between different groups.
Sample Cases
Significant cases in which Daniel has acted include:
Big Brother Watch & others v UK (European Court of Human Rights (Grand Chamber)) (2020) – challenge to mass internet surveillance by British Government, based on Art 8 ECHR (judgment pending from the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights)
R (Watson) v Secretary of State for the Home Department (Court of Justice of the EU (Grand Chamber) (2017) – acted for the interveners, Open Rights Group and Privacy International, in a successful intervention before the Grand Chamber of the Court of Justice of the EU in this case that declared the UK’s legislative regime for retaining telecommunications users’ communications unlawful.
Rahmatullah v Ministry of Defence & others (High Court) (2019) – successful civil claim for damages regarding the UK’s role in detaining an individual in Iraq in 2004 and its subsequent failures in handing him over to mistreatment in US custody and failing to prevent his rendition to Afghanistan (where he was held incommunicado and without charge for many years, before being released in 2014)
Al-Skeini v United Kingdom (European Court of Human Rights (Grand Chamber)) (2011) – landmark case on extra-territorial jurisdiction of ECHR.
R (Al-Saadoon) v Secretary of State for Defence (Court of Appeal and European Court of Human Rights) (2010) – successful challenge to British army’s transfer of detainees to the death penalty, resulting in landmark finding that the death penalty in all forms was incompatible with the ECHR.
Confidential (High Court) (2018) – a successful claim for damages in relation to the unlawful disclosure of an asylum claimant’s sensitive information regarding state persecution in his country of origin with the authorities in that country.
Confidential (2019) – a successful claim for damages for the unauthorised sharing of a victim’s details by a national public inquiry.
R (Marfo & Ali) v Secretary of State for Health (High Court) (2016) – successful challenge to consultation failures regarding changes to regulations governing migrant access to healthcare.
R (Cushnie) v Secretary of State for Health (High Court) (2015) – challenge to regulations preventing access to funded healthcare for disabled former asylum seekers, which found that they breached statutory equality duty.
R (MK) v Secretary of State for Home Department (High Court) (2020) – challenge to systemic delays in the determination of asylum claims by unaccompanied children.
Confidential (2019) – a claim for damages and correction/deletion of data regarding information shared by public authorities concerning a primary school age child mistakenly referred under the UK Government’s ‘Prevent’ Guidance.
R (Evans) v Secretary of State for Justice (High Court) (2011) – successful challenge to changes to legal aid provision on basis of unlawful undisclosed interference by the Ministry of Defence.
R (Green) v Gloucestershire County Council & R (Rowe & Hird) v Somerset County Council (High Court) (2011) – successful challenges to library closures, relying on the Public Sector Equality Duty.
R (Evans) v Secretary of State for Defence (High Court) (2010) – partially successful judicial review challenge to the British military’s practice of handing over detainees to torture in Afghanistan.
R (Ali Zaki Mousa (No.2) v Secretary of State for Defence (High Court) (2013) – successful challenge to MoD arrangements for investigating deaths in custody and mistreatment.
Kingston Council v Moss (High Court) (2019) – successful declaration that Kingston Council was liable to social housing tenants in relation to historic overcharging for water.
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