Biography
Year of Call: 2009
An experienced international human rights lawyer, Sangeetha practises in all areas of international law, immigration and asylum, human rights, and crime. She joined Mansfield Chambers in August 2016 after having previously practised at 1 Gray’s Inn Square.
Drawn to the Law by a motivation to impact public policy and uphold human rights, both Sangeetha’s domestic and international practices reflect this drive. When working in the UK, Sangeetha is used to having a very busy mixed practice, with regular court and written advisory work. Notable criminal defence instructions have included a three-handed s.18 trial, a five-handed youth robbery, and a complex fraud matter. On immigration matters, Sangeetha is experienced in all manner of asylum, tier system and EEA application appeals. She accepts instructions in all types of immigration cases. She has particular experience of working with vulnerable clients, and draws on her many language skills in doing so.
Her passion for improving migration issues took Sangeetha to Brussels for two years to work with an NGO at a European public policy level on improving the access to fundamental rights for undocumented children and families. In this role she published a lengthy ‘toolkit’, a publication which analysed the legal framework protecting the rights of undocumented children at national, EU and international level, and then presented legal, policy and practical strategies to improve the rights of undocumented children and families. This was instrumental in broadening the discourse on irregular migration within the European institutions.
In terms of an international practice, Sangeetha has carved a niche for herself in advising on rule of law and public international issues, specifically in post-conflict states. She has spent several years dedicated to overseas missions, working in various capacities with both local NGOs and international organisations, such as: the British Council, the Ministry of Justice for Sierra Leone, Open Society Foundations, the World Bank, the Ministry of Justice of Somaliland, the Presidential Affairs Committee of Sierra Leone, TIMAP for Justice, AMICUS, Save the Children International, Death Penalty Project, the Foreign Office and the Department for International Development in many different country-contexts. This has involved advising on improving access to justice for vulnerable communities, proposing structural improvements to formal criminal justice systems, advising on capital punishment cases, implementing community-based justice solutions and developing human rights-based development programming. All of these interventions have focused on improving access to justice and improving access to legal rights for vulnerable communities.
An advocate known for her persuasive oral style and astute analytic writing skills, Sangeetha has published policy papers and reports on a broad range of human rights, rule of law and migration issues. She is also accustomed to speaking on rule of law and migration matters, and has conducted many trainings and lectures on a variety of access to justice and human rights issues.
Areas of Practice
Immigration, Asylum, Public Law and Human Rights
- Asylum
- Deportation and removal
- Judicial review
- Detention
- Tier system appeals
- EEA appeals
- Business immigration
- Human Rights appeals
Notable Publications
December 2015 ‘Explaining how to use a problem-driven iterative adaptation approach in restructuring pre-existing institutional reform programmes’ Produced for DFID through the LASER (Legal Assistance for Economic Reform) programme
April 2015 ‘An Assessment of Rigorous Impact Evaluations in Commercial Law and Justice Reforms’ Commissioned by DFID
February 2015 ‘The impact of the ebola crisis on Sierra Leone's commercial law and justice priorities’ (co-author) Commissioned by the Justice Sector Coordination Office of Sierra Leone
December 2014 ‘Access to Legal Aid in Somaliland: Considering the Role of the Public Defender’s Office in Somaliland Against a Demand-Side Analysis of Legal Aid Needs’ Commissioned by DFID, presented to the Ministry of Justice of Somaliland
December 2014 ‘Accessing Legal Aid in Somaliland: Considering the Role of Paralegals’ Commissioned by DFID, presented to the Ministry of Justice of Somaliland
November 2014 ‘The Importance of Associations: Developing a Bar Association for Somaliland' Commissioned by DFID, presented to the Somaliland Women Lawyers Association and the Somaliland Lawyers Association
January 2013 ‘Children First and Foremost: A guide to the realising the rights of children and families in an irregular migration situation’ Published by PICUM, commissioned by the European Commission
August 2012 ‘The Rights of All Children in the Context of International Migration’ (contributing author) Published by OHCHR, Committee on the Rights of the Child
Qualifications
Oxford University – BA(Hons) English Literature (2007)
Oxford University – MA English Literature (2011)
Harvard University – International Law, summer fellowship (summer 2007)
City University – Graduate Diploma in Law (2008)
BPP Professional Education – Bar Vocational Course (2009)
Middle Temple – Diplock Scholar (2009)
Professional Memberships
International Bar Association (Member of the Access to Justice and Legal Aid Committee and Member of the Asia Pacific Regional Forum)
Bar Human Rights Committee
Languages
- English (native)
- Tamil (fluent)
- French (fluent)
- Hindi (conversational)
- Spanish (conversational)
- Arabic (written only)