An ‘expert set of barristers’, Cornerstone Barristers has an increasingly established administrative law practice, with members integrating expertise in wider public law areas to lead in prominent judicial reviews and human rights law cases. The set is known for its strong relationships with local authorities, but climate litigation is a burgeoning area of specific expertise: with ’incredible technical knowledge’ Estelle Dehon KC is a leading figure in the set and recently led Ruchi Parekh in the Supreme Court in Finch v Surrey County Council & ors, a high-profile case in which the Supreme Court found that, when considering emissions under planning regulations, downstream emissions were to be included. ‘A fearless advocate’, Philip Coppel KC has experience in a range of public law matters.
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Public law, local government, planning and environment, information, housing and licensing law.
Position
Ruchi has a broad public law practice specialising in local government, planning and environment, information, housing and licensing law. She is instructed by a wide range of private and public sector clients, including local and central government and other regulatory bodies. She can also be instructed directly as a public access barrister.
Recent and ongoing notable cases include:
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- Representing Sarah Finch and the Weald Action Group in the Finch Litigation at the Supreme Court. the first time it's ruled on "downstream" emissions.
- Representing the claimant group challenging the grant of development consent for the Sizewell C nuclear power station.
- Representing the community group challenging the ‘Jet Zero Strategy’, the Government’s plan to achieve net zero in the aviation industry.
- Armstrong v SSLUHC [2023] EWHC 176 (Admin): Leading authority on the scope of s.73 TCPA 1990 and whether it extends to a “fundamental variation” of the original planning permission.
Prior to coming to the bar, Ruchi worked as a legal officer at JUSTICE, where she led the civil justice program. Her previous experience also includes human rights litigation in domestic courts in eastern Europe and southern and eastern Africa, and the European Court of Human Rights, while working at Interights.
Education
Ruchi has an LLM from Harvard Law School, where she was awarded a Public Service Fellowship, and an LLB (First Class Honours) from the London School of Economics, where she won several prizes including two for best overall performance in the year. Ruchi was awarded the Stephen Chapman Scholarship from Inner Temple.
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