The Supreme Court

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has helped secure a landmark Supreme Court ruling today (March 6), in a long-running torture case against the UK Government.

The magic circle firm, acting pro bono, successfully intervened in a case between a Sri Lankan torture victim and the Home Office, acting alongside charities the Helen Bamber Foundation, Freedom From Torture and Medical Justice, with City disputes partner Craig Montgomery leading for the firm.

The Sri Lankan national at the heart of the matter, known only as 'KV' and represented by civil rights outfit Birnberg Peirce, had claimed he was tortured at the hands of the Sri Lankan Government in 2011. He then made a claim for asylum in the U.K., only for the Home Office to reject his bid on the basis that he had inflicted the apparent torture wounds himself using hot iron rods.

The matter then played out in the First-Tier Tribunal and the Upper Tribunal following an appeal, with both courts allying with the government and rejecting his claim, despite expert evidence that indicated the wounds were not self-inflicted.

The tribunals argued the possibility that an anaesthetic was used and that the wounds could possibly have been inflicted 'by proxy' – that is, by another person at his request.

The magic circle firm stepped in after the matter then went to the Court of Appeal – the second highest court in England and Wales – which subsequently agreed with the tribunals' decision to reject the appeal.

Freshfields – instructing Stephanie Harrison QC, Ali Bandegani and Mark Symes of Garden Court Chambers – on the interveners' behalf successfully appealed the decision at the Supreme Court, with the court today overturning the Court of Appeal's judgment. It ruled that the lower courts were wrong to override the conclusions of medical experts when considering evidence of torture in an asylum claim.

In allowing the appeal, the Supreme Court has returned the case to the Upper Tribunal, which will now reconsider KV's application.

Freshfields' Montgomery said: "Today's result is testament to the work by all of the teams involved," adding: "This judgment is an incredibly important development for asylum cases where there is evidence of torture. The Supreme Court has provided an authoritative ruling on the value of medical evidence in torture cases, which will impact medical professionals and decision makers dealing with future evidence of torture, both in the UK and elsewhere."