Joshua Swirsky is leaving chambers following his appointment as a full-time circuit judge. He takes up his role this month sitting at Lewes Crown Court.
About Joshua
Joshua was called to the Bar in 1987. He joined Field Court Chambers in 1988. In 2009, he was appointed a Recorder.
During his time in practice, he has been involved in many high profile legally significant cases.
He defended the local authority in the leading human rights case of Anufrijeva v London Borough of Southwark – [2004] QB1124 about recoverability of damages for breaches of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. As well as establishing principles on the award of damages, the local authority succeeded on the facts.
- R(Campbell) v London Borough of Ealing [2023] EWHC 10 Admin. This case established that an adult could not be provided with ordinary accommodation under the Care Act 2014 when he had no needs that could not be met by a local authority performing its ordinary housing functions.
- R(W) v London Borough of Lambeth [2023] EWHC 702 Admin. A case concerning the lawfulness of a local authority’s practice regarding homeless 16-17 year olds who do not want to be accommodated under the Children Act 1989.
- R (HAM) v London Borough of Brent – [2022] PTSR 1779. This challenge to a ‘short-form’ age assessment established that Merton compliance could not be demonstrated by the fulfilment of checklists alone. Each case was fact sensitive and what amounted to a fair procedure would depend on its own facts. The case also established that it was not necessary for there to be a ‘minded-to’ process in every case, nor was it always necessary for an appropriate adult to be present or 2 social workers conducting the age assessment.
- R(Birmingham City Council) v London Borough of Croydon [2021] EWHC 1990 Admin. A case concerning the point when a local authority became responsible for putative children in respect of whom an age assessment was necessary. The court determined that responsibility did not arise merely because Home Office premises where asylum was claimed were situated within a local authority’s area.
- CGM v Luton Borough Council [2021] EWHC 709 (Admin) This established that in an appropriate case a writ of habeas corpus was an appropriate remedy to ensure that a child was not wrongfully deprived of their liberty.
- R(Idolo) v London Borough of Bromley [2020] EWHC 860 Admin. This established that s23 of the Care Act 2014 prevented a disabled person from using the provisions of the Care Act 2014 to obtain an additional preference as regards housing allocations.
In 2024, Joshua was shortlisted for Court of Protection and community care 'junior of the year' in the Legal 500 Bar Awards.