Centre for Women’s Justice strongly oppose the unprecedented contempt proceedings faced by Rajiv Menon KC and the chilling impact this will have on fearless advocacy and the right to a fair trial.
Rajiv Menon KC faces possible contempt proceedings and up to two years’ imprisonment over his closing speech for a Palestine Action defendant. Such proceedings are unprecedented in British legal history. Never before has an advocate faced imprisonment for the contents of a closing speech.
Following Menon’s closing speech on behalf of Charlotte Head, one of several defendants charged with criminal damage after they broke into an Israeli weapons manufacturer in Filton, near Bristol, the prosecution objected to references said to concern “jury equity.” The principle of ‘jury equity’ is the right of a jury to acquit on the basis of conscience even where they find the evidence proves a crime has been committed beyond reasonable doubt
Although the judge did not interrupt the speech, discharge the jury, or initially offer more than muted criticism, days later, he ruled that the speech had breached legal directions. Menon denies wrongdoing and says he referred only to the historic principle of jury independence.
We agree with this statement from Doughty Street Chambers, “For the right to a fair trial to be meaningful, the state, through its politicians and judges, should not improperly restrict or punish advocates for discharging their professional duties. A system which exposes its advocates to criminal sanction and imprisonment through unpredictable judicial procedures, is a system which runs a grave risk of compromising that crucial right.”