Felicity Gerry

Felicity Gerry is an Australian barrister, academic, and media commentator.[1][2][3][4] She is a professor of Legal Practice at Deakin Universityand practices at Libertas Chambers in London and Crockett Chambers in Melbourne.[2][5][6]

Education

Gerry studied undergraduate law at the University of Kingston Upon Thames, earning a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) degree.[7][8] She attained postgraduate qualification as a barrister at the Inns of Court School of Law, London (Middle Temple) in 1994.[7] She later went onto complete her Masters of Law (LLM) and PhD at Charles Darwin University.[1]

Career

Gerry has appeared in the UK Supreme Court on joint enterprise law and the Australian High Court on rights to second appeal.[9][6] She contributed to the International Bar Association's report on human trafficking, and is a senior anti-human trafficking consultant for Lawyers Without Borders.[2][10][11] She has conducted research and handled cases involving human trafficking and modern slavery.[12][13] In 2015, she assisted in reprieving human trafficking survivor Mary Jane Veloso from execution in Indonesia.[14]

She co-wrote a legal memorandum on due diligence and compliance issues under international law (including modern slavery considerations) regarding the Singapore stock exchange listed Golden City scheme in Myanmar.[15] This memo led to divestment from the scheme.[16]

She is a professor of Legal Practice at Deakin University, where she teaches courses on contemporary international legal challenges, including sanctions law, war crimes, modern slavery, and digital law.[2][17] Gerry has also been appointed Honorary Professor at the University of Salford.[17]

She is a commentator on international legal issues, particularly relating to international crimes, terrorism, and human rights abuses.[18][12][19] She has appeared in a number of documentaries and news stories, including BAFTA nominated, The Cruel Cut, the Foreign Correspondent produced, Mary Jane: The woman who escaped a firing squad, the Logie Award nominated, The Queen & Zak Grieve, and BBC Three's Sex on the Edge.[20][21][22][23] She is also the Editor-in-Chief of ANZSIL Perspective.[24]

Key cases

Law reform

In 2014 Gerry was part of the Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales team drafting a report to the Parliamentary Inquiry into Female Genital Mutilation ('FGM'), which contributed to legislative change on FGM law in the United Kingdom.[34][35][36] She is the co-author of the Sexual Offences Handbook: Law, Practice and Procedure, published by Wildy, Simmonds and Hill Publishing in the United Kingdom and has written two reports for LexisNexis on women in prison.[37][38]

She is also leading the campaign for posthumous exoneration of Christine Keeler, who was jailed for nine months in 1963 for a perjury, associated with the Profumo scandal.[39]

In addition to her work in R v Jogee, she has contributed research and advocacy to changing the law on joint enterprise in the United Kingdom, and was a co-drafter of the Joint Enterprise (Significant Contribution) Bill tabled in UK Parliament by Kim Johnson MP in 2023.[40][41][42]

References

  1. ^ a b "Felicity Gerry KC - Victorian Bar". vicbar.com.au.
  2. ^ a b c d "Deakin University". experts.deakin.edu.au. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
  3. ^ Gerry, Felicity (4 May 2011). "Bar v Family: how to win both". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
  4. ^ "Felicity Gerry | HuffPost". www.huffingtonpost.co.uk. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
  5. ^ "Felicity Gerry - Libertas Chambers". libertaschambers.com. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
  6. ^ a b "Felicity Gerry KC". www.crockett.com.au. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
  7. ^ a b "Felicity Gerry QC: 25/25 vision". Counsel Magazine. Retrieved 25 November 2024.
  8. ^ "Kingston Law School graduates Felicity Gerry, Charles Hale and Leslie Thomas appointed QCs". www.kingston.ac.uk. Retrieved 25 November 2024.
  9. ^ "Felicity Gerry | Lowy Institute". www.lowyinstitute.org. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
  10. ^ "IBA and BIICL launch new report exploring the global implementation of non-punishment principle for human trafficking victims". www.ibanet.org. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
  11. ^ "DEVELOPING A POLICY OF NON - PROSECUTION FOR TRAFFICKED PERSONS WHO COMMIT CRIME: A VICTIM CENTRED APPROACH" (PDF). homeaffairs.gov.au.
  12. ^ a b Gerry, Felicity (13 November 2012). "Female genital mutilation: time for a prosecution". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
  13. ^ "Deakin University". experts.deakin.edu.au. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
  14. ^ "Legal case of Filipina spared from Bali Nine firing squad still in limbo". ABC News. 28 April 2016. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
  15. ^ "Joint Media Release: Singapore may be internationally liable and obliged to pay reparations for harm caused by SGX-listed company's payments to Myanmar army, leading international barrister says". Australian Centre for International Justice. 19 October 2021. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
  16. ^ "Funds For Myanmar Military Junta Cut | News | Libertas". libertaschambers.com. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
  17. ^ a b Salford, The University of. "Professor Felicity Gerry QC appointed Honorary Professor | University of Salford". www.salford.ac.uk. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
  18. ^ "Why the Doctor Was Acquitted in the UK's First FGM Trial". HuffPost UK. 6 February 2015. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
  19. ^ "Is the UK criminal justice system failing women?". Counsel Magazine. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
  20. ^ "The Cruel Cut | Female Genital Mutilation | Channel 4 Documentaries". YouTube. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
  21. ^ ABC News In-depth (13 September 2016). Mary Jane, The Woman Who Escaped A Firing Squad | Foreign Correspondent. Retrieved 18 November 2024 – via YouTube.
  22. ^ "The Queen & Zak Grieve". In Films. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
  23. ^ BBC Three (8 December 2016). Rape Play | Sex On The Edge. Retrieved 18 November 2024 – via YouTube.
  24. ^ Perspective, ANZSIL. "Editorial board | ANZSIL Perspective". Retrieved 18 November 2024.
  25. ^ "JUDGMENT - R v Jogee (Appellant)" (PDF). supremecourt.uk.
  26. ^ "Joint enterprise ruling: A moment of genuine legal history". BBC News. 18 February 2016. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
  27. ^ "Dr Felicity Gerry QC appointed to Defence team at ICC". www.libertaschambers.com. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
  28. ^ "Sabit Januzi, Ismet Bahtijari and Haxhi Shala". Kosovo Specialist Chambers. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
  29. ^ "Melbourne terrorism plot: defence argues accused an 'idiot' rather than a jihadi". The Guardian. Australian Associated Press. 15 October 2018. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
  30. ^ "'You dogs': Jury and police abused as arsonists found guilty of terror offences". ABC News. 9 May 2019. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
  31. ^ "Zak Grieve to be released early from NT prison after successful mercy plea". NITV. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
  32. ^ Davis, Ben (29 October 2020). "Begum v Secretary of State for the Home Department". JUSTICE. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
  33. ^ Submission to the Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of nonrecurrence by Rasmussen & Tangimama Lawyers (PDF), Cook Islands
  34. ^ "Written evidence submitted by the Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales". UK Parliament - Committees. 12 February 2014. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
  35. ^ "BHRC submits report to the Parliamentary Inquiry into Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) – Bar Human Rights Committee of England & Wales". barhumanrights.org.uk. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
  36. ^ Bowcott (4 June 2014). "FGM law expanded to cover foreign nationals habitually resident in UK". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
  37. ^ "Wildy & Sons Ltd — The World's Legal Bookshop Search Results for isbn: '9780854901227'". www.wildy.com. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
  38. ^ Gerry, Felicity; Harris, Lyndon (2016). "Women in prison: is the justice system fit for purpose?". Women in Prison: Is the Justice System Fit for Purpose?: 1–57.
  39. ^ Warburton, Dan (19 November 2023). "Christine Keeler's conviction branded 'a national disgrace' by lawyer". The Mirror. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
  40. ^ "Why race is an issue in joint enterprise murder – and what are the solutions? – The Justice Gap". Retrieved 18 November 2024.
  41. ^ "The women fighting for loved ones jailed for murder in joint enterprise". The Independent. 27 February 2024. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
  42. ^ "20: Joint Enterprise". The Innocence Podcast. 8 October 2024. Retrieved 18 November 2024.