Tim Owen (barrister)

Tim Owen
KC
Born
England
NationalityWelsh
Alma materLondon School of Economics and Political Science
United World College of the Atlantic
OccupationBarrister
Spouses
​
​
(m. 1992; div. 2020)​
Wei Du
​
​
(m. 2020)​
Children2
FamilyOwen, Redgrave

Tim Owen KC is an English barrister at Matrix Chambers.[1] His practice spans the fields of fraud/regulatory, criminal, public, human rights, media and information, extradition/MLA, sports,[2] asset recovery, police and civil law.[3][4][5]

In addition to his practice at the Bar, he sits as a Deputy High Court Judge in the Administrative Court, is an Acting Judge to the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands and a Member of the Sports Resolutions Panel of Arbitrators and Mediators.  He is a founder member of Matrix Chambers and a Master of the Bench of Middle Temple.[6]

Education and career

Educated at United World College of the Atlantic and London School of Economics, Tim Owen was called to the Bar in 1983. He was appointed Queen's Counsel in 2000. He is currently a member of Matrix Chambers.

Cases

Rurik Jutting

In 2016, Tim Owen defended Rurik Jutting, a British banker who confessed to torturing and killing two Indonesian women in HK, arguing diminished responsibility.[7][8] The trial evidence included videos of torture Jutting recorded on his phone. They were deemed so traumatising that journalists and the public were prevented from seeing them.[9] Jutting was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison.[10][11]

Jimmy Lai

In late 2022, Jimmy Lai's request to instruct Owen as part of his defense team was appealed by Hong Kong Secretary for Justice Paul Lam and the Department of Justice multiple times.[12] On 30 December 2022, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress gave the Chief Executive of Hong Kong the power to bar foreign lawyers from cases related to national security.[13]

Personal life

Tim Owen was married to actress Jemma Redgrave, a member of the Redgrave family, between 1992 and 2020. They have two sons, Gabriel, born in 1994, and Alfie, born in 2000.

He married Singapore-based Hong Kong journalist Wei Du in 2020.

Publications

  • Prison Law, 5th edition (OUP, 2015)[14]
  • Asset Recovery: Criminal Confiscation and Civil Recovery (OUP, 2021) co-editor[15]
  • Blackstone's Criminal Practice 2021 (Advisory editor)[16]
  • Halsbury's Laws, vol 36(2), Prisons and Prisoners (Butterworths, 1999)
  • Criminal Proceedings, Police Powers and the Human Rights Act 1998 (OUP, 2000) contributing author[17]

References

  1. ^ Matrix Chambers. "Tim Owen QC". Matrix Chambers Members. Matrix Chambers. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 20 July 2011.
  2. ^ "Tim Owen QC - Sports Lawyer - LawInSport". www.lawinsport.com. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  3. ^ "Tim Owen QC, UK Bar | Chambers Rankings". chambers.com. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  4. ^ "Tim Owen > Matrix Chambers > London > England | Lawyer Profile". www.legal500.com. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
  5. ^ "Tim Owen QC". whoswholegal. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  6. ^ "Middle Temple". www.middletemple.org.uk. Retrieved 28 January 2021.
  7. ^ "Rurik Jutting: British banker 'had narcissistic disorder'". BBC News. 31 October 2016. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  8. ^ "Killings were manslaughter, not murder, banker's barrister tells Hong Kong jury". South China Morning Post. 4 November 2016. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  9. ^ "Hong Kong Jury to See 'Torture' Video as British Banker's Trial Begins". Jakarta Globe. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  10. ^ "British Banker Rurik Jutting Guilty of Hong Kong Murders". Time. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  11. ^ Haas, Benjamin (8 November 2016). "Rurik Jutting guilty of murder of two Indonesian women in Hong Kong". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  12. ^ Chau, Candice (22 November 2022). "Justice dep't applies to appeal to Hong Kong's top court to block Jimmy Lai from hiring UK lawyer". Hong Kong Free Press HKFP. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  13. ^ "Beijing gives Hong Kong leader power to bar foreign lawyers after loss at top court". AFP. 30 December 2022. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  14. ^ Livingstone, Owen, and Macdonald on Prison Law (Fifth ed.). Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press. 25 August 2015. ISBN 978-0-19-968843-2.
  15. ^ Smith, Ian; QC, Tim Owen; Bodnar, Andrew, eds. (19 April 2007). Smith, Owen and Bodnar on Asset Recovery, Criminal Confiscation, and Civil Recovery. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-929898-3.
  16. ^ Blackstone's Criminal Practice 2021. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press. 8 December 2020. ISBN 978-0-19-886724-1.
  17. ^ Starmer, Keir; Strange, Michelle; Whitaker, Quincy; Jennings, Anthony; Owen, Tim (1 May 2001). Criminal Justice, Police Powers and Human Rights. Blackstone's Human Rights. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-1-84174-138-3.