Jocelyn Cockburn

Jocelyn is a partner in the Civil Liberties & Human Rights team and has a wealth of experience representing bereaved families at inquests and in claims and other legal challenges against the state. Many of her cases arise under article 2 of the Human Rights Act, which relates to the ‘right to life’ and whether the State has failed to protect individuals.

She is currently involved in a ground breaking case which will examine the government’s actions in relation to unlawful levels of air pollution in urban areas. In 2019 she was successful in arguing that there should be a second inquest into the death of Ella Kissi-Debrah, a nine-year-old child who died of an asthma attack in 2013. The inquest should examine whether air pollution contributed to her death.

The inquest will also consider whether government bodies failed to protect Ella, who lived by the busy South Circular Road, from the risk of air pollution of which they were aware.

Jocelyn has conducted an array of difficult and often high profile cases, for example acting for Neville Lawrence in relation to the Undercover Police Inquiry and other ongoing investigations.

She is concerned about increasing deaths in police custody and in prison and has supported families through the very difficult inquest and claim processes.

She has represented families of UK soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan in a challenge to the Ministry of Defence’s use of poorly armoured ‘Snatch Land Rovers’. She argued that Snatch could not withstand the roadside bombs in use by Insurgents and the MoD was aware of this. This ruling by the Supreme Court established for the first time that the European Convention on Human Rights applies to soldiers on the battlefield and that the MoD potentially breached the human rights of UK soldiers.