Protestor Injunctions

Overview

Landmark is at the forefront of the developing law relating to protest injunctions against persons unknown.

Landmark’s barristers regularly appear in the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, High Court and County Court in proceedings involving protestors. They act in all sectors, including the healthcare sector, the education sector, the energy and renewables sector, the construction sector, the security sector and in cases involving public bodies.

In an area of practice that is highly time-critical, Landmark barristers have significant experience of achieving results within very tight timescales, and also of understanding what must be done procedurally in order to ensure that any Order is robust against challenge. Chambers has significant experience of bringing urgent claims both out of hours and as urgent business in the High Court vacation.

One reason for Landmark’s success is its breadth of specialisms given both the property expertise and human rights expertise that is essential in this area of the law. A further reason is that barristers at Landmark have significant practical experience of all aspects of this work, from inception to potential committal proceedings, and a track record in providing creative and practical results.

Recent clients have included major private landowners (including the owners of many of the country’s most famous landmarks and infrastructure), energy companies, government agencies, local government, NHS trusts, and universities.

A number of Landmark’s barristers have been recognised in Chambers & Partners and Legal 500 for their strength in this area, and regularly give talks which focus on this subject.

The following are examples of high-profile and key cases in which members have been involved:

• The Supreme Court case of Wolverhampton CC v London Gypsies & Travellers confirming that trespass injunctions could be granted against Persons Unknown
  
• Claims brought by energy companies against the campaign of disruption by environmental protestors (such as Just Stop Oil, Extinction Rebellion and Insulate Britain) in a series of cases from March 2022 and subsequent committal proceedings - Valero Energy Ltd v Persons Unknown; Esso Petroleum v Persons Unknown; Esso Petroleum v Breen; Exolum Pipeline Systems v Persons Unknown; Essar Oil v Persons Unknown; Shell v Persons Unknown; UK Oil Pipelines Ltd v Persons Unknown. To date, these cases have led to over 16 hearings since March 2022 involving multiple members of Landmark
• Challenges to environmental protestors obstructing the strategic road network and subsequent committal proceedings - National Highways Ltd v Persons Unknown [2023] EWCA Civ 182
• Supreme Court challenge to the Abortion Service (Safe Access Zones) Bill, which makes it a criminal offence to protest within 100m of an abortion clinic: [2022] UKSC 32
• Challenge to abortion clinic ‘Public Space Protection Order’ - Dulgheriu v Ealing LBC, QBD [2018] EWHC 1667; [2019] EWCA Civ 1490
• ‘Urban Explorers’ litigation involving trespassers at Chelsea FC, O2 and the Shard: Chelsea v. Brewer [2018] EWHC 1424; Ansco Arena v. Law [2019] EWHC 835;  Re King-Thompson [2019] EWHC 2962
• Sheffield tree protest litigation: this included successful injunction proceedings - Sheffield City Council v Fairhall [2017] EWHC 2121 (QB)) and later committal proceedings in 2018
• Matters of security relating to the London 2012 Olympics
• Numerous claims by universities in relation to student occupational protests, including Manchester, SOAS, Birmingham, Sussex and the University of the Arts. (eg University of Sussex v Protestors [2010] 16 E.G. 106 (C.S.)); University of Birmingham v Person Unknown [2015] EWHC 544 (Ch))
• Occupy London protests (on private land), relating to a bank building occupied as the “Bank of Ideas” - Sun Street Property Ltd v Persons Unknown [2011] EWHC 3432 (Ch)
• Occupy London protests (on private and public land), relating to the London Stock Exchange and St Paul’s Cathedral protests - City of London Corp v Samede [2012] EWHC 34 (QB)
• Parliament Square protest camp - Mayor of London v Hall [2010] EWCA Civ 817.