Jennifer Robinson (lawyer)

Last updated

Jennifer Robinson
Jennifer-Robinson-2018-2.jpg
Robinson in 2018
Born
Jennifer Robinson

1981 (age 4243)
Alma mater
Occupations
Employer Doughty Street Chambers
Known for Julian Assange case (2019–present)
Awards University Medal

Jennifer Robinson (born 1981) is an Australian human rights lawyer and barrister with Doughty Street Chambers in London.

Contents

Robinson is best known for her role as a long-standing member of the legal team defending Julian Assange and WikiLeaks. She has also provided legal assistance to activists from West Papua. [2]

Education

Robinson grew up in Berry, New South Wales, and attended Bomaderry High School. She then attended the Australian National University, where she graduated with a double degree in Law and Asian Studies, specialising in international law, Indonesia and South East Asia. She was awarded the University Medal in Law and was a Distinguished Scholar in Asian Studies. [3]

She was a Rhodes Scholar at the University of Oxford, where she attended Balliol College and graduated with a Bachelor of Civil Law with Distinction and a Master of Philosophy in Public International Law. [4] [ better source needed ]

Career

Robinson was called to the Bar in 2016 and joined Geoffrey Robertson KC's Doughty Street Chambers, having known Robertson since her period at Oxford University in the mid-2000s. They outlined the case for an Australian Bill of Rights, as well as a legal opinion on crimes against humanity in Iran. [5]

From 2009, she worked at the London law firm of Finers Stephens Innocent, where she describes her practice as largely media defence, freedom of information and free speech litigation, acting for clients such as The New York Times , CNN, Associated Press and Bloomberg News. She also provided international human rights advice, including on humanitarian issues in post-conflict Iraq, extraordinary rendition and international criminal law. According to Robinson, she has engaged in strategic free speech litigation before the UK Supreme Court, the European Court of Human Rights. She has challenged obscenity convictions in Indonesia. [6] [ better source needed ]

With Geoffrey Robertson KC, she acted in the first application before the UK Supreme Court, popularly known as the "alphabet soup" case, where they were successful in overturning reporting restrictions in anti-terrorist asset freezing cases in Mohammed Jabar and Others v HM Treasury [2010] UK SC 1. [7] She also acted in the first application, before the UK Supreme Court intervened on behalf of media defence organisations in the Max Mosley case before the European Court of Human Rights. [4] [ better source needed ]

She worked with Robertson when he was hired by Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens and Sam Harris in 2009 on establishing the legal case that the Pope and the Vatican were responsible for a crime against humanity, as a result of widespread child sex abuse within the Catholic Church. [8] This case was later submitted to the ICC Prosecutor by the Centre for Constitutional Rights. [9]

According to Robinson, she advised The New York Times during its phone-hacking investigations in London, including its story about the extent of involvement of Andy Coulson, who became the press adviser to the UK Prime Minister, David Cameron. [7] [ better source needed ]

In May 2013, Robinson spoke at TEDx Sydney. Entitled "Courage is Contagious", her speech informed about human rights issues and the political situation in West Papua through the lens of exiled leader Benny Wenda. [10]

More recent cases include acting for the BBC World Service to take action against Iran for the persecution of BBC Persian staff and their families, the first time in BBC history that BBC journalists have appealed to the UN for their protection, [11] and acting with French counsel for a group of NGOs challenging the cross-jurisdictional impact of the right to be forgotten in Google v CNIL before the Conseil d'État and the European Court of Justice. [12]

Defending Wikileaks and Assange

Robinson began acting as legal counsel to Julian Assange and WikiLeaks in October 2010. [4] [ better source needed ]

The treatment Robinson has faced as Assange's lawyer has raised the concern of lawyers' rights groups. [13] The United States Department of State released correspondence with Robinson and Assange to the press, [14] which Robinson said resulted in her receiving death threats. [15] Lawyers' Rights Watch Canada issued a statement that it was 'alarmed by actions of US State Department Legal Advisor Harold Hongju Koh that put British barrister Jennifer Robinson in jeopardy and interfere with the right of her client Julian Assange, to be represented.' [13]

Awards and appointments

In 2008 she was one of thirty lawyers named by the UK Attorney General as a National Pro Bono Hero. [16] In 2013 she was named the inaugural Young Alumni of the Year by the Australian National University. [17] Robinson is on the executive committee of the Commonwealth Law Association. [18] [ better source needed ] In 2019, Robinson was joint winner of the International Pro Bono Barrister of the Year award from the UK legal charity, Advocate. [19]

Philanthropy

Robinson founded and developed the Bertha Justice Initiative, a programme for the Bertha Foundation which provides training and work opportunities to early-career lawyers in social justice and human rights. [20] The Initiative has trained hundreds of young lawyers in 17 different countries. [21] She also founded the Acacia Award in conjunction with the Public Education Foundation in Australia to support children in need and build a network of public school alumni to mentor public school students. [22]

Publications

In 2021, it was announced that Robinson had signed a three-book deal with Allen & Unwin in Australia. [23] Her first book, How Many More Women?, written with co-author Dr Keina Yoshida, was first published in Australia and New Zealand in 2022, [24] and by Hachette UK in the UK in 2023. [25] The UK paperback edition was published in 2024 under the title Silenced Women: Why The Law Fails Women and How to Fight Back. [26] The work is described by the Australian publisher as an examination 'of the laws around the world that silence women, and explore[s] the changes we need to make to ensure that women's freedoms are no longer threatened by the legal system that is supposed to protect them'. [24]

Related Research Articles

Mary Kostakidis is an Australian journalist and political commentator. She is the former prime time weeknight SBS World News Australia presenter and was the face of SBS over two decades. Her journalism spans geopolitical issues, democracy and press freedom. Her commentary covers areas including the Middle East, national security, AUKUS, China and the failings of mainstream media. Her work is published by independent media including public policy journal Pearls and Irritations and has used Twitter/X extensively to contemporaneously report court proceedings in great detail, including the four week UK evidentiary Extradition hearing of Julian Assange and subsequent appeals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WikiLeaks</span> News leak publishing organisation

WikiLeaks is a non-profit media organisation and publisher of leaked documents. It is funded by donations and media partnerships. It has published classified documents and other media provided by anonymous sources. It was founded in 2006 by Julian Assange, an Australian editor, publisher, and activist. Since September 2018, Kristinn Hrafnsson has served as its editor-in-chief. Its website states that it has released more than ten million documents and associated analyses. WikiLeaks' most recent publication of original documents was in 2019 and its most recent publication was in 2021. From November 2022, numerous documents on the organisation's website became inaccessible. In 2023, Assange said that WikiLeaks is no longer able to publish due to his imprisonment and the effect that US government surveillance and WikiLeaks' funding restrictions were having on potential whistleblowers.

The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention(WGAD) is a body of independent human rights experts that investigate cases of arbitrary arrest and detention. Arbitrary arrest and detention is the imprisonment or detainment of an individual, by a State, without respect for due process. These actions may be in violation of international human rights law.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doughty Street Chambers</span> British barristers located in Manchester and London

Doughty Street Chambers is a British set of barristers' chambers situated in Bristol, Manchester and London's Doughty Street, undertaking criminal justice, public law, immigration, employment, human rights and civil liberties work.

Gregory Joseph Barns SC is an Australian barrister, author, political commentator, mining company director and former political candidate based in Hobart, Tasmania. He is an advisor to Julian Assange and WikiLeaks and was the national campaign director for the WikiLeaks Party.

Dinah Gwen Lison Rose KC is a British barrister. She has been President of Magdalen College, Oxford since 2020. A member of Blackstone Chambers, she was named Barrister of the Year in The Lawyer Awards 2009. In 2016, she was appointed a Deputy Judge of the High Court.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julian Assange</span> Australian editor and founder of WikiLeaks (born 1971)

Julian Paul Assange is an Australian editor, publisher, and activist who founded WikiLeaks in 2006. He came to international attention in 2010 after WikiLeaks published a series of leaks from Chelsea Manning, a United States Army intelligence analyst: footage of a U.S. airstrike in Baghdad, U.S. military logs from the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, and U.S. diplomatic cables. Assange has won multiple awards for publishing and journalism.

Nils Joachim Melzer is a Swiss academic, author, and practitioner in the field of international law. From 2016 until 2022, Melzer was the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. He is a professor of international law at the University of Glasgow. From 2011-2013, he was Swiss Chair of International Humanitarian Law at the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights. Melzer has criticised the governments of the U.S., the U.K., Ecuador and Sweden over their treatment of Julian Assange.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Stephens (solicitor)</span> English solicitor

Mark Howard Stephens is an English solicitor specializing in media law, intellectual property rights, freedom of speech and human rights. He is known for representing James Hewitt when allegations of his affair with Diana, Princess of Wales first emerged. In 2010, he represented Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, defending him against an extradition request to Sweden based on suspicion of numerous sexual offences. He also founded the law firm Howard Kennedy LLP, which has represented several high-profile clients in media and entertainment law cases.

<i>Assange v Swedish Prosecution Authority</i> Legal proceedings over extraditing Julian Assange to Sweden

Assange v Swedish Prosecution Authority were the set of legal proceedings in the United Kingdom concerning the requested extradition of Julian Assange to Sweden for a "preliminary investigation" into accusations of sexual offences allegedly made in August 2010. Assange left Sweden for the UK in 27 September 2010 and a warrant for his arrest was issued in his absence the same day. He was suspected of rape of a lesser degree, unlawful coercion and multiple cases of sexual molestation. In June 2012, Assange breached bail and sought refuge at Ecuador's Embassy in London and was granted asylum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ramona Villagomez Manglona</span> American judge (born 1967)

Ramona Villagomez Manglona is the United States chief judge of the District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands.

Edward Hamilton Fitzgerald is a British barrister who specialises in criminal law, public law, and international human rights law. His work against the death penalty has led him to represent criminals such as: Myra Hindley, Mary Bell, Maxine Carr, various IRA prisoners, and Abu Hamza. Fitzgerald is currently the joint head of Doughty Street Chambers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarah Harrison (journalist)</span> WikiLeaks journalist

Sarah Harrison is a British former WikiLeaks section editor. She worked with the WikiLeaks' legal defence and has been described as Julian Assange's closest adviser. Harrison accompanied National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden on a high-profile flight from Hong Kong to Moscow while he was sought by the United States government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amal Clooney</span> British barrister (born 1978)

Amal Clooney is a British international human rights lawyer. Notable clients of hers include former Maldivian president Mohamed Nasheed, Australian WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, former Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko, Yazidi human rights activist Nadia Murad, Filipino-American journalist Maria Ressa, Azerbaijani journalist Khadija Ismayilova, and Egyptian-Canadian journalist Mohamed Fahmy. She has held various appointments with the Government of the United Kingdom and the United Nations, and is also an adjunct law professor at Columbia Law School. In 2016, she and her husband, the American actor George Clooney, co-founded the Clooney Foundation for Justice.

Gareth Peirce is a British solicitor and human rights activist. She has worked on a number of high-profile cases involving allegations of human rights injustices. Her work with Gerry Conlon and the Guildford Four – wrongly convicted of bombings carried out by the Provisional Irish Republican Army – was chronicled in the film In the Name of the Father (1993), in which she was portrayed by Emma Thompson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women in law</span> Involvement of women in the study and practice of law

Women in law describes the role played by women in the legal profession and related occupations, which includes lawyers, paralegals, prosecutors, judges, legal scholars, law professors and law school deans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indictment and arrest of Julian Assange</span>

In 2012, while on bail, Julian Assange was granted political asylum in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, where he sought to avoid extradition to Sweden, and what his supporters said was the possibility of subsequent extradition to the US. On 11 April 2019, Ecuador revoked his asylum, he was arrested for failing to appear in court, and carried out of the Embassy by members of the London Metropolitan Police. Following his arrest, he was charged and convicted, on 1 May 2019, of violating the Bail Act, and sentenced to fifty weeks in prison. While in prison the US revealed a previously sealed 2018 US indictment in which Assange was charged with conspiracy to commit computer intrusion related to his involvement with Chelsea Manning and WikiLeaks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emma Arbuthnot</span> British judge (born 1959)

Emma Louise Arbuthnot, Baroness Arbuthnot of Edrom,, known professionally as Mrs Justice Arbuthnot, serves as a High Court judge for England and Wales since 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stella Assange</span> Swedish-Spanish lawyer (born 1983)

Stella Assange is a Swedish-Spanish lawyer. Throughout her career, she has been an international advocate for human rights, most prominently in the case of her husband, Julian Assange. She changed her name first to Stella Moris in 2012 and later to Stella Moris-Smith Robertson.

Kunstler v. Central Intelligence Agency is a lawsuit against the Central Intelligence Agency, former CIA Director Mike Pompeo, Undercover Global S.L., and David Morales Guillen filed by a group of American lawyers and journalists associated with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. The lawsuit alleged that the CIA violated their constitutional rights by recording their conversations with Assange and copying their devices after suspicions were raised that Assange was working for the Russian intelligence services.

References

  1. "Jennifer Robinson". 14 October 2014.
  2. "Defending West Papuan activism", Australia Network, 18 December 2012.
  3. "Just cause - News & events - ANU". News.anu.edu.au. 20 May 2013. Archived from the original on 23 September 2013. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 "Julian Assange's homegrown hardnosed lawyer Jennifer Robinson". The Australian. 2 March 2012. Archived from the original on 1 March 2012.
  5. Ellis, Eric (6 September 2012). "From Bomaderry to the Old Bailey". The Global Mail. Archived from the original on 16 September 2013.
  6. "Oxford Law :: OPBP: past volunteers". Law.ox.ac.uk. 27 April 2011. Archived from the original on 27 November 2013. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
  7. 1 2 "Jennifer Robinson - Featurettes - Justinian: Australian legal magazine. News on lawyers and the law". Justinian. 21 October 2011. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
  8. "News Store". Newsstore.fairfax.com.au. Archived from the original on 29 July 2017. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
  9. "ICC Vatican Prosecution | Centre for Constitutional Rights". Ccrjustice.org. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
  10. "Jen Robinson TEDx speech". TEDx. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
  11. "BBC – BBC makes unprecedented human rights appeal to UN – Media Centre". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  12. "18 NGOs file an intervention before France's highest court on dangers of the 'right to be forgotten' | Doughty Street Chambers". www.doughtystreet.co.uk. Archived from the original on 27 June 2018. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  13. 1 2 "Statement linking lawyer Jennifer Robinson with her client Julian Assange violates advocacy rights". Lawyers' Rights Watch Canada. 10 December 2010. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
  14. "Text of State Department letter to Wikileaks". Uk.reuters.com. 28 November 2010. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
  15. "Silencing dissent: WikiLeaks and the violation of human rights". The Sydney Morning Herald. 6 December 2020. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
  16. "Oxford Pro Bono Publico". Denning.law.ox.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 25 September 2013. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
  17. Phillip Thomson (22 January 2013). "ANU honour for Assange lawyer". Canberra Times . Retrieved 21 September 2013.
  18. "PR Newswire UK: Statement Regarding Lawyer Jennifer Robinson's Interception - LONDON and SYDNEY, April 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/". Australia, England: Prnewswire.co.uk. 19 April 2012. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
  19. "Pro Bono Award Past Winners". Advocate. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
  20. "Introducing Bertha Justice Initiative Staff". The Bertha Foundation. 21 October 2014. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
  21. "The Bertha Justice Initiative". The Bertha Foundation. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
  22. "Raising the Bar". Australian Story . 18 March 2021. Australian Broadcasting Corporation . Retrieved 20 February 2024.
  23. "Jennifer Robinson, Human rights lawyer". Vogue Australia. 1 December 2021. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
  24. 1 2 "How Many More Women?". Allen & Unwin . Retrieved 20 February 2024.
  25. How Many More Women?. Hachette UK. 16 May 2022. ISBN   978-1-80419-019-7 . Retrieved 20 February 2024.
  26. Silenced Women. Hachette UK. 26 July 2023. ISBN   978-1-80419-021-0 . Retrieved 20 February 2024.