Alexander Dos Santos

e: ADS@charterchambers.com

Year of Call: 1999 LLB (Hons)

Affiliations: Administrative Law Bar Association, Human Rights Lawyers Association, Liberty

Specialist Areas: Serious Crime, Homicide, Serious Violent Offences, Firearms, Large Drugs Related Offences, Confiscation, Restraint & Asset Recovery Proceedings, Serious Fraud & White Collar Crime, MTIC Fraud , Commercial Crime, Money Laundering, DTI Offences, Local Government Crime & Enforcement, Regulatory & Compliance Work, Health & Safety, Environmental Law, Extradition

Alexander has a wide ranging practice. He undertakes instructions in criminal, regulatory, civil and public law matters. His main area of focus is on cases arising from financial disputes and allegations of wrongdoing, and where both civil and criminal law problems are present.

Alexander is frequently instructed to advise and act in cases that involve difficult or novel legal issues and those which are factually complex. He also provides pre-litigation and strategic advice to both companies and individuals caught up in regulatory and criminal investigations.

He has particular expertise in:

Fraud
Money Laundering
Confiscation
Asset Restraint and Forfeiture
Extradition
Bribery
Corruption and Misconduct in Public Office

Alexander also has experience in the following:

Regulatory – Prosecutions (Health and Safety, Environmental and Local Authority), Compliance, Disciplinary
Civil Law/Financial Disputes – Civil Fraud, Commercial Contracts, Insolvency
Public Law/Judicial Review – Human Rights, Criminal Causes, Planning, Prison Law, Local Government

In addition, he has experience in courts-martial and employment cases and previously worked as assistant to Senior Counsel at the European Centre for Law and Justice advising on issues under Convention law, EU and domestic law and drafting numerous applications to the European Court.

He has appeared twice before the European Court of Human Rights and has two further cases outstanding.

EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS
Collins, Thoburn, Hunt, Harman and Dove v UK [2003] (admissibility decision – Metric Martyrs – fair trial – freedom of expression – right to property – weights and measures)
Sawoniuk v UK [2001] (Application no. 63716/00 – admissibility decision – War Crimes)
Metropolitan of Bessarabia v Moldova [2001] (Application no. 45701/99 – Judgement of 13 December 2001 – rights of an organisation to incorporate, access to a Court and the right to hold property)

COURT OF APPEAL
R v Sellick and Sellick [2005] (EWCA Crim 651 – intimidation of witnesses – right to examine witnesses - key evidence read out at trial – Article 6 ECHR)
R v Nicholas van Hoogstraten [2003] (Sentence and appellate proceedings)
R v John Palmer [2002] (EWCA Crim 2202 - £33m Confiscation order quashed on appeal for lack of jurisdiction)

ADMINISTRATIVE COURT
Re L [2005] (EWHC 2325 [Admin] – application to High Court by HMC&E for certificate of increase of assets in relation to a confiscation order – successfully resisted)
James Hewitson v Government of France [2005] (EWHC 135 [Admin])

HABEAS CORPUS – EXTRADITION – HUMAN RIGHTS
R (On the application of Palmer) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2004] (EWHC 1817 [Admin]
Prison law – challenge to categorisation)
R (On the application of Davies) v Secretary of State for the Home Department (Decision of 16th June 2004
Prison law – challenge to licence conditions, Article 8 ECHR)

CROWN COURT
R v Nicholas Thompson – Southwark Crown Court [2005] (Junior Counsel in successful defence at trial of a police officer prosecuted under the Official Secrets Act)