Nicholas Hearn

Nicholas is a criminal barrister who enjoys complementary practices in extradition and crime (with an emphasis on fraud and cases with an international dimension). Nicholas also advises individuals who are (or fear they may be) the subject of Interpol Red Notices. He is co-author of “David & Hearn - A Practical Guide to Interpol and Red Notices” (published by Bloomsbury 2018). Nicholas can provide comprehensive advice regarding the procedure for obtaining information held by Interpol and applications for the deletion of such material and the lifting of Red Notices.

Nicholas is appointed to the Crown Prosecution Service list of external counsel at level 4.

Serious Crime

Current caseload and recent cases:

R v X and Ors (Southwark Crown Court – 2019) – instructed by the SFO (with Sean Larkin QC) to prosecute three individuals accused of bribery and corruption offences. The case concerned one of the first prosecutions of human defendants following a Deferred Prosecution Agreement entered into between a corporate defendant and the SFO.

R v Brzezinski and Ors (Birmingham Crown Court - 2018-2020) – instructed by the CPS Special Crime Division (with Caroline Haughey QC) to prosecute 7 individuals in what was estimated to be the largest modern slavery investigation in Europe (over 250 victims of human trafficking for the purposes of labour exploitation were identified). The investigation was featured by the BBC’s Panorama programme in September 2019.

R v Daryl Rowe (Lewes Crown Court - 2018) – instructed by the CPS special Crime Division (with Caroline Carberry QC) to prosecute an individual accused of deliberately infecting 10 men with the HIV virus. The case resulted in the first conviction for a s18 offence in the context of transmission of the HIV virus.

Extradition

Nicholas has practiced in the field of extradition law for over ten years. He has been ranked as a “Tier One Junior” for International Crime and Extradition by the Legal 500 for several years.

Nicholas has been instructed as a leading junior in the Divisional Court on two occasions (Vasilev v Bulgaria [2016] EWHC 1401 (Admin) and GS v Hungary [2016] 4 W.L.R. 33. In 2016, Nicholas appeared in the Supreme Court led by Mark Summers QC (Goluchowski & Sas [2016] UKSC 36).

Current caseload and recent cases:

India v Nirav Modi – instructed by the CPS on behalf of the Government of India (with Helen Malcolm QC) in relation to an extradition request for a high profile Indian businessman alleged to have defrauded an Indian bank of in excess of $1bn. 

India v KS – Instructed by the CPS on behalf of the Government of India (leading Catherine Brown) in relation to an individual accused of terrosit offencesin the punjab region of India.

Germany v ND  – Instructed by the CPS on behalf of the Government of Germany in relation to forthcoming Divisional Court proceedings concerning the impact of Germany's decison to refuse to extradite its own nationals to the UK post-Brexit.

Nicholas also advises individuals who are (or fear they may be) the subject of Interpol Red Notices. Nicholas can provide comprehensive advice regarding the procedure for obtaining information held by Interpol and applications for the deletion of such material and the lifting of Red Notices.

Publications

Co-author of David & Hearn “A Practical Guide to Interpol and Red Notices” published by Bloomsbury (2018).

Nicholas accepts Public Direct Access instructions.