Raphael practises in asylum, immigration and nationality law. He appears regularly in the Upper Tribunal, the Administrative Court and the Court of Appeal.

Raphael accepts instructions from law firms and members of the public (“direct access”).

Raphael’s main interest is strategic litigation: working in partnership with solicitors to identify new legal points, training caseworkers to spot them, and advising early in order to test the issues on appeal. The aim is to build cases with overwhelmingly strong evidence, and develop arguments to test and change the law.

Before coming to the bar, Raphael was a successful broadcaster and foreign correspondent, working for the BBC and other international news outlets. He reported on the genocide in Rwanda in 1994, the Albanian uprising in 1997 and separatist violence in Macedonia.

Raphael delivers bespoke training in person and by video.

Key cases

Devani v SSHD [2020] 1 WLR 2613 (CA) – whether UT slip rule can reverse disposal – Article 3 – weight to be given to assurances as to prison conditions;

R (Gurung) v SSHD [2013] 1 WLR 2546 (CA) – Gurkhas – historic injustice based on causation not the weight to be given to egregious state conduct;

Ghising and others (Ghurkhas/ BOCs- historic wrong- weight) [2013] UKUT 567 (IAC) – whether immigration control relevant to proportionality – historic injustice normally dispositive;

Pun v SSHD [2018] 4 WLR 80 (CA) – extent to which historic injustice applies to private life;

Jitendra Rai v ECO [2017] EWCA Civ 320, [2017] All ER (D) 23 (May) – Article 8 – family life between adults made out by support which is “real”, “effective” or “committed”;

Further information

Public Law in a Hostile Environment – Fairness In Judicial Review and Statutory Appeals

National Refusal Mechanism? – A review of the National Referral Mechanism

Sea Crossings and Asylum Law

Inadmissibility of Asylum Claims

Appointments & Memberships

Judge of the First-Tier Tribunal
Administrative Law Bar Association (ALBA)
Immigration Law Practioners Association (ILPA)

Italian (native)
French (basic)