Arash Abzarian
Year of Call: 2007
Education:
BSc (Hons) Government and Economics, LSE
MSc Economics and Financial Economics, Nottingham University
Graduate Diploma in Law, College of Law
Bar Vocational Course, BPP Law School
Awards (all by Lincoln’s Inn)
Shelford Scholarship
Sir Thomas More Bursary
Hardwicke Scholarship
Practice Profile:
Arash's practice encompasses all aspects of criminal law and extradition. He also acts in public and civil law cases, in particular those with a criminal or quasi-criminal element.
Arash has been praised by the senior judiciary in several of his cases for the quality of his oral and written advocacy as well as his analytical skill (see below under notable cases for examples).
Criminal law and extradition
Arash primarily defends in criminal proceedings.
Arash has been instructed on his own in cases involving offences against the person (up to and including assault causing GBH), burglary, robbery, fraud and like offences, sexual offences, affray, drugs offences (up to and including trafficking of class A drugs) and weapons offences, amongst others.
Arash has recently been led in a five-week fraud trial in the Crown Court.
Arash prosecutes on behalf of various agencies, including the Crown Prosecution Service and local authorities. He is a category 1 prosecutor on the CPS London List of External Advocates.
Arash is well versed in presenting legal argument, including applications to stay proceedings for abuse of process, exclude evidence, rely on hearsay and bad character evidence and in relation to disclosure (see below under notable cases for examples).
Arash has advised on and acted in appeals to the Crown Court, the Court of Appeal and by way of case stated.
Arash also has experience of acting in extradition and confiscation proceedings.
Public law
Arash is regularly instructed in judicial review proceedings, often acting on his own against far more senior counsel. He has experience of making emergency and out-of-hours applications. He has amongst other things presented unlawfulness arguments relating to breach of the European Convention on Human Rights, lack of jurisdiction and procedural unfairness and sought damages under the Human Rights Act 1998 for unlawful detention.
Arash has also acted in habeas corpus proceedings and advised on petitioning the European Court of Human Rights.
Civil law
Arash is instructed by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs in appeals against the denial of VAT claims, where usually there is said to be a connection to MTIC fraud. In that capacity he has drafted statements of case and appeared before the First-tier Tribunal. Through this work Arash has gained experience not only of fraud and tax law but also of arguing public law, EC law and human rights points in a tax law context.
Arash has advised on and acted in civil actions against the police.
Arash also has experience of acting in other civil law cases, having previously practised at a set specialising in such work and, prior to that, worked as a county court advocate in possession, bankruptcy and small claims actions, amongst others.
Notable Cases:
Public law
R (Bromley) v Secretary of State for Justice [2010] EWHC 112 (Admin), [2010] All ER (D) 23 (Feb), DC
http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Admin/2010/112.html
In these conjoined judicial review claims Arash acted on his own (against counsel of 21 years' call on the Attorney General's A Panel who shortly afterward took silk) for a claimant seeking damages for unlawful detention in breach of Article 5 of the ECHR
In its judgment the Divisional Court (consisting of Aikens LJ and Openshaw J) said: "We are particularly grateful for the comprehensive and cogent written submissions of Mr Arash Abzarian as well as his very well argued and concise oral submissions at the hearing."
R (Arthurs) v Luton Magistrates' Court, 25 November 2009, DC
In this judicial review claim Arash acted alone (against counsel of 10 years' call) on behalf of a claimant arguing that the refusal to stay a prosecution against him for abuse of process had been procedurally unfair because of a lack of prosecution disclosure
In its judgment the Divisional Court declared that the CPS should have disclosed material which it had withheld
Criminal law and extradition
Naczmanski v Poland, 17 February 2010, DC
In this appeal against an extradition order Arash acted for a requested person advancing abuse of process (namely bad faith and improper purpose), warrant invalidity, double criminality, double jeopardy and human rights (namely risk of Article 3 ECHR breach at the hands of non-State agents) arguments against extradition
The Divisional Court (consisting of Elias LJ and Calvert-Smith J) noted Arash's "very able submissions" and that he had “analysed his client's case with conspicuous care" in its judgment
R v George [2009] EWCA Crim 1263
Arash acted for the appellant in this appeal against sentence for supply of steroid to a prisoner, where the Court of Appeal accepted his submission that his client may not have known that what she had done was illegal
R v RO
In this case Arash's client, who was subject to notification requirements under the Sexual Offences Act 2003 as a consequence of a rape conviction and was accused of providing false notification information, was acquitted on a submission of no case to answer, with the court finding that the police had fabricated documentary evidence against him and that the police evidence that he had confessed had not been credible
R v JLM
Arash's abuse of process application here on behalf of a client who faced charges of robbery and assault with intent to rob, arguing that it was unfair to prosecute when the client had he been promised by the police that he would not be, culminated in the CPS withdrawing the charges after accepting the argument as "sound"
R v GG
In this case Arash's abuse of process application on behalf of a client accused of theft, prompted by the police's failure to secure CCTV footage covering the alleged offence, culminated in the CPS offering no evidence
R v HS
Arash's abuse of process application here on behalf of a client who faced fraud charges, arguing that the prosecuting local authority had gone against government guidance in bringing such charges, resulted in the prosecution withdrawing the charges
R v SA
In this case Arash's application to exclude his client's confession was allowed under section 76 of PACE after the court found that the client, who was accused of racially-aggravated harassment, had been led to believe by the police that he would be cautioned if he confessed
Civil law
Mashate v Kaguta [2009] EWCA Civ 964
http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2009/964.html
Acting on his own on behalf of the President of Uganda, Arash successfully opposed this attempt to appeal against the striking out of a 6.85 million breach of contract claim
A Company v HMRC
Instructed alone, Arash successfully opposed this appeal against the denial of a 1.3 million VAT repayment claim for connection to MTIC fraud where public law, EC law and human rights arguments were pursued by the appellant, the appeal being abandoned after HMRC's statement of case responding to those points, which he had drafted, was served
Membership:
The Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn
Bar Pro Bono Unit
Free Representation Unit
Languages:
Persian (fluent)
Interests:
Tennis
Chess
Reading
Film
Practice Group(s):
Crime
Practice Areas:
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