Jonathan Metzer

Public Law

Jonathan is frequently instructed by claimants in judicial reviews, and he has considerable experience in both the Administrative Court and the Upper Tribunal. He is a member of the Attorney General’s Panel of Special Advocates. He also practises in prison law, where he has undertaken work for long-sentence prisoners in relation to potential claims for judicial review, and represented families in a legal challenge to Coronavirus prison restrictions breaching right to family life.

He is appointed to the Attorney General’s B Panel of Civil Counsel and is a member of the Attorney General’s Panel of Special Advocates.

Jonathan is recommended as a leading junior by Chambers & Partners.

Selected Cases

• Successful judicial review claim in relation to refusal of an oral hearing to consider security categorization of prisoner serving life sentence for murder. Permission granted at oral hearing in High Court, following which claim was settled successfully. Instructed by the claimant.
• Judicial review on behalf of the charity Campaign Against Antisemitism after an interim medical practitioners’ tribunal decided not to suspend a doctor pending an investigation into her fitness to practise following alleged antisemitic activity on social media. The doctor was subsequently suspended. The case received substantial press coverage, e.g. on the BBC.
• Substantive judicial review hearing in the Upper Tribunal on behalf of a care worker whose visa was cancelled for unlawful work at a restaurant, after permission to proceed was granted.
• Successful claim for judicial review arising from refusal of visit visa. SSHD agreed to reconsider decision following service of written grounds.
• Successful claim for judicial review arising from unreasonable refusal of Article 8 claim without right of appeal. Decision withdrawn following grant of permission on the papers.
• Permission to apply for judicial review granted at oral hearing in relation to a claim that the SSHD erred in assessment of whether Section 3C Leave had been extinguished. Decision withdrawn following grant of permission.
• Successful judicial review of refusal of visit visas on the basis that the immigration interviews were conducted unfairly. Decision withdrawn and visit visas granted following consideration of written grounds.
• Out of hours telephone application to the Administrative Court for an urgent injunction against removal to the Philippines. Praised by the judge for arguing “with considerable determination and ingenuity”.
• Out of hours application to the Administrative Court for an urgent injunction against removal to Afghanistan. Prepared judicial review grounds and undertook telephone hearing.
• Upper Tribunal judicial review arising out of defective service of a decision notice. Prepared amended grounds and undertook hearing. Subsequently instructed to prepare application for First-tier Tribunal appeal out of time for which permission was granted.