Stefan’s practice comprises extradition, human rights, international criminal cooperation, and English criminal law. He is an expert in post-Brexit law enforcement and security cooperation. As a practitioner, he is well-liked by solicitors and clients who value his direct approach, easy manner, and pragmatic insight.
Extradition: Stefan represents requested persons (defendants) and requesting states at first instance and on appeal to the High Court and the UK Supreme Court. He is an expert on the fast-moving litigation on prison conditions in Europe and the US (Article 3 ECHR), the rule of law and judicial independence in central and eastern Europe (Article 6 ECHR) and the disproportionate impact of extradition on family/private life rights (Article 8 ECHR). He has particular experience of Belgian, Cypriot, Dutch, Greek, Irish, Lithuanian, Polish, North Macedonian, Romanian, Spanish, Swiss and US requests.
Stefan has written on the new criminal cooperation measures in Part III of the UK/EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement 2020, including surrender, mutual legal assistance, joint investigation teams, criminal record exchange and Prüm. He sits on the Bar Council’s European Committee where he provides input on criminal law and security cooperation with the EU following Brexit. He is a UK delegate to the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe’s (CCBE) Criminal Law Committee. He is also a member of the European Criminal Bar Association (ECBA) and the Bar European Group (BEG). Given these links, Stefan often works together with lawyers and other specialists across the continent.
Stefan advises on ancillary matters to extradition, including sentence transfer to/from the UK, instructing a lawyer in the requesting state and procuring alternatives to surrender (e.g., interview/participation in foreign proceedings over video-link), recognition of time spent on bail in the UK, and withdrawal of requests following a successful challenge in the UK. Stefan is a frequent contributor to Crimeline’s Extradition Hub (see links to articles, below).
Crime: Stefan maintains a busy practice in the Crown Court, where he both prosecutes and defends, with a specific focus on (dis)honesty, drugs, violence, fraud, and money laundering offences. Throughout 2019, Stefan was instructed as disclosure junior on a five-month multi-defendant missing trader intra-community fraud involving a VAT loss of £34m. He is particularly knowledgeable on the disclosure regime under the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996.
Public: Stefan has assisted the Government Legal Department (GLD) in sensitive disclosure work regarding applications for judicial review against the Ministry of Defence. Stefan has advised foreign governments about the English criminal process and provided external training on extradition law and practice.
Stefan is qualified to represent members of the public directly in accordance with the Bar Council’s Direct Access Scheme. He is on the CPS General Crime and Specialist Fraud Panels at Level 2 and the Extradition Panel at Level 3.
Prior to joining Chambers, Stefan worked for a law firm specialising in public law. In 2015, he was involved in litigation against the Iraq Inquiry in relation to the unreasonable delay in publication of the Inquiry’s report. Following periods living and working in South America, Stefan is fluent in written and oral Spanish.
Called 2015
CPS Panel (Grade 2)
CPS Fraud Panel (Grade 2)
CPS Serious Crime Panel (Grade 2)
CPS Extradition Panel (Grade 3)
European Committee, Bar Council
CCBE Criminal Law Committee (UK Delegation)
Criminal Bar Association
British-Spanish Law Association
Defence Extradition Lawyers' Forum
European Criminal Bar Association
Bar European Group
UK Association for European Law
The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn
City Law School (2015), Bar Professional Training Course, Outstanding.
City Law School (2015), Graduate Diploma in Law, Commendation.
King’s College London (2010), MA in War Studies, Distinction.
University of Edinburgh (2009), MA (Hons.) in European History and Spanish, First-class with Honours.