Ms Isabella Kirwan > Guernica 37 Chambers > London, England > Barrister Profile

Ms Isabella Kirwan

Position

Isabella is a Barrister specialised in public law, human rights and international law.

Isabella provides a highly-tailored service to her clients. Her breadth of expertise enables her to give strategic legal advice on a range of complex issues. 

She is known for her ability to work with particularly vulnerable clients, including survivors of torture and slavery. 

International instructions

Isabella has worked on cases before international courts and tribunals, including the International Criminal Court and the Kosovo Specialist Chambers. She has also worked on matters before the UN Human Rights Council and UN Special Mechanisms, including the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and the Committee Against Torture.

Isabella advises individuals and non-governmental organisations on international law issues, as well as engagement and advocacy before United Nations treaty bodies and mechanisms.

Domestic instructions
Isabella brings claims against public authorities on behalf of individuals including claims under the Human Rights Act 1998, the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the Equality Act 2010.

Immigration and asylum
Isabella also represents clients in immigration and asylum cases, including asylum and deportation appeals.

Crime and extradition
Isabella regularly represents clients in the Magistrates Court and Crown Court for both crime and extradition matters.

Career

Before transferring to the Bar, Isabella was a qualified Solicitor before the Senior Courts of England and Wales. Isabella also worked at the United Nations’ Migration Agency, the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR, Human Rights Council) in Geneva, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in London, and as a Trainee Lawyer at the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in Strasbourg. She has also worked for various non-governmental organisations, both as an employed lawyer and consultant. Notably, in 2022, the Equal Rights Trust appointed her to a team of specialist human rights lawyers to analyse the issues surrounding the realisation of the legal right to non-discrimination. In 2019, Isabella was on Amnesty International UK’s Children’s Human Rights Committee.

 During her studies, Isabella specialised in International Criminal Law and International Human Rights Law. She received the highest mark in her cohort for criminology of mass violence (war crimes, crimes against humanity, transitional justice) and was awarded an award for her distinguished contribution to international criminal law for her work on the effectiveness of late transitional justice measures in post-conflict states.

 Isabella studied part of her law degree in France, at the University of Lorraine in Nancy, where she received the highest grade in her cohort. She studied French law, European law and international law. Isabella was also awarded a scholarship to study at East China Normal University in Shanghai, China.

Isabella is an elected member of the prestigious Executive Committee of the ‘Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales’ (BHRC), where she serves as a specialist in international human rights law. 

She is also on a Fellowship at the Refugee Law Institute in London from February 2024-February 2025 where she is engaged in research and advisory work on current issues in domestic and international refugee and asylum law.

Languages

French (Advanced) Italian (Intermediate) German (Intermediate)

Memberships

The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple

The Law Society (Roll of Solicitors)

Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales (BHRC)

International Law Association (British Branch)

Human Rights Lawyers Association (HRLA)

Education

LLB Law (Hons.), The University of Manchester, with study abroad at the University of Lorraine, France; French Law & International Law
LLM Public International Law, The University of Manchester
LPC, BPP Law School