Ms Rosa Polaschek > Doughty Street Chambers > London, England > Barrister Profile

Ms Rosa Polaschek

View profile

Position

Prior to commencing pupillage, Rosa practised as a barrister and solicitor in New Zealand and as a foreign qualified associate in England. Her particular expertise is in public law and in business and human rights, across both litigation and advisory work. She has also worked in business and human rights policy at a large NGO.

Career

Rosa’s experience in business and human rights includes working as part of the litigation team on a leading case involving the prosecution of corporate executives accused of complicity in suspected war crimes. She has conducted Human Rights Impact Assessments and provided advice on compliance with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the OECD Multinational Guidelines for a range of organisations, including across the technology, electricity, and oil and gas sectors and in particular considering complex supply chains. She has also advised on compliance with international humanitarian law in the business context. Rosa has presented and conducted business and human rights training for NGO groups and government departments and been published in the Business and Human Rights Journal.

In New Zealand, Rosa appeared led and unled in the High Court, and led in the Court of Appeal. Her primary experience was in judicial review and public law-related proceedings across a wide range of areas including refugee and immigration, environmental, and national security matters. This included working as a junior on the first New Zealand case relating to passport cancellation on national security grounds; on the leading case on repeat refugee claims in New Zealand; and on challenges to the validity of subsidiary legislation. In England, as a foreign qualified lawyer, she has also worked on large-scale civil litigation involving professional negligence and equitable claims.

Rosa began her career as a Judges’ Clerk (Judicial Assistant) in the High Court of New Zealand.