John Bethell

1. Ministry of Defence v Global Media and Others

   [2025] EWHC 1806 (Admin), [2024] EWCA Civ 838, [2024] EWHC 1220 (KB), [2024] EWHC 312 (KB), [2023] EWHC 2999 (KB))

   the MOD super-injunction proceedings, arising from a large-scale data incident and related CLOSED judicial review claims including R (CX1 and MP1) v Secretary of State for Defence and Another [2024] EWHC 892 (Admin).

2. R (Middle Level Commissioners) v Environment Agency

   Acting for the Claimant flood risk management authority in a high-value dispute concerning capital grant eligibility (with Jospeh Barrett KC)

3. R (RA and AA v SSFCDA, MZZ v Secretary of State for Defence and Secretary of State for the Home Department & In the Matter of the Secretary of State for Defence 

   [2026] EWCA Civ 3

   Appeals concerning the scope of judicial powers to make directions over cases being heard by other judges and in future litigation not yet commenced. The Court also considered the respective roles of the Executive and the Judiciary and the responsibilities of Special Advocates and the Special Advocates’ Support Office

4. R (TPL1) v Secretary of State for Defence

   [2025] EWHC 1729 (Admin)

   Defending alleged failures to publish relevant information for the ‘Triples Review’ into the eligibility of former Aghan Special Forces for relocation to the UK under the ARAP scheme (with Cathryn McGahey KC and Anisa Kassamali).

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1. R (VT and Others) v Commissioner for the British Indian Ocean Territory

   BIOT SC Case Nos. 3 and 4 of 2023)

   Lead counsel for the Commissioner in a challenge to the availability of legal aid under the constitution of the BIOT.

2. R v TRA

   [2019] UKSC 51

   Junior counsel for the Intervener, REDRESS, in the Supreme Court, in a case concerning the definition of “torture” in s.134 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 and Article 1 of the UN Convention Against Torture – arising from the prosecution of alleged offences during the Liberian civil war (led by Sudhanshu Swaroop KC).

3. Local Authority v X and Others

   [2018] EWHC 874 (Fam)

   Submissions in Care Order proceedings in the Family Division of the High Court, on the nature and extent of a particular form of diplomatic immunity, on behalf of the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (led by Guglielmo Verdirame KC)

4. CEZ v Bulgaria

   ICSID Arbitration ARB/16/24

   Junior counsel for CEZ in an Energy Charter Treaty dispute (with Guglielmo Verdirame KC).

5. Iskander Safa and Akram Safa v Hellenic Republic

   ICSID Arbitration ARB 16/20

   Junior counsel for Greece in a Bilateral Investment Treaty arbitration (with Guglielmo Verdirame KC and Jonathan Ketcheson).

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1. Steele v Information Commissioner

   [2025] UKFTT 1203 (GRC)

   Acting for Transport for London (TfL) in an FTT claim, challenging TfL’s reliance upon the exemption in Reg.12(4)(a) (the public authority does not hold the information) to a request for information on the London Ultra Low Emission Zone scheme.

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1. SAS Institute Inc v World Programming Limited

   [2019] EWHC 2496 (Comm) and [2019] EWHC 2481 (Comm)

   Junior counsel for the Defendant / Applicant, WPL, resisting enforcement of a US judgment for multiple damages in a multi-jurisdictional intellectual property dispute and seeking anti-suit relief (with Paul Lowenstein KC, Thomas Raphael KC and Josephine Davies).

2. Paylor & Ors v Bowers and Ors

   [2018] EWHC 2244 (Ch)

   Civil fraud proceedings against the former directors of insolvent companies, suspected of involvement in a complex multi-jurisdictional fraud. Ex parte applications for freezing and search orders, inter partes return dates and applications to discharge, ancillary applications and substantive claims (both unled and as junior to Marcia Shekerdemian KC and Philip Riches, instructed by MHS Sprecher Grier)

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