IN THE COURTS:A LONDON law firm which has been appointed to advise Muammar Gadafy has defended taking the Libyan dictator as a client.
Shaun Murphy, senior partner at the firm, Edwards Duthie, which has its head office in Ilford, east London, confirmed he was the only solicitor in England and Wales acting for the Gadafy family. He stressed that anyone was entitled to legal representation.
Yesterday the high court in London released papers confirming that Edwards Duthie, on behalf of Gadafy, had issued a legal challenge with the aim of removing representatives of the National Transitional Council from Libya’s London embassy and consulate buildings.
The firm has lodged two cases with Mr Justice Edwards-Stuart, of the queen's bench, alleging that the rebel diplomats are trespassing. Court papers describe the cases as The Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya vs Persons Unknown.
Claims for possession orders have been adjourned until October.
Edwards Duthie offers legal advice on a range of issues, from accident claims to wills and probate. Mr Murphy has defended alleged murderers at the Old Bailey and in crown courts, and is a crown court recorder.
Asked how he came to be appointed by the regime, Mr Murphy said: “I don’t mean to boast, but if you look us up you will see we are very good.”
Responding to a request for details about the appointment, he added: “All I can do is respectfully decline to comment. When I can tell you more I will try to do so. I am sure you understand there are restrictions that lawyers sometimes operate under.
“I do represent the Gadafy regime and, more formally, the people’s socialist republic in this jurisdiction.”
Asked if he believed it right that Gadafy should be afforded legal representation, he said: “I normally get asked this when I am representing murderers and rapists. I think the rule of law is that anybody is entitled to legal representation. I think any lawyer would agree with that.”
The firm had been hired on “a general retainer” since the start of 2011, he said.
Libya’s National Transitional Council this month appointed its own lawyers, the international law firm Hogan Lovells, to fight the cases against its diplomats in the UK.
“Libyan embassies belong to Libyan people, and the NTC has full entitlement and authority to assume those embassies and conduct diplomatic functions in its capacity as sole legitimate representative of the Libyan people,” said a spokesman for the National Transitional Council executive committee, in a statement last week. – (Guardian service)