Dharsha Jegatheeswaran

Crime
Dharsha is experienced at representing clients across the Magistrate’s Court and Crown Court. She has experience across general crime including drug-related crime, serious violence and weapons offences.

She has particular expertise in protest cases and has successfully defended protestors from several groups including Palestine Action and Extinction Rebellion.  She also has represented clients in cases involving elements of modern slavery.

Dharsha has extensive experience and interest in international criminal and international human rights law.

Public Law
Dharsha is regularly instructed in s204 appeals and judicial reviews in housing and homelessness. She also has experience representing prisoners in Parole Board hearings.

Inquests
Dharsha is developing a practise in inquests and accepts instructions on behalf of families of the bereaved. She has represented the family of the bereaved on an inquest concerning the death of a prisoner involving complex mental health evidence, and recently concluded an inquest concerning the death of an individual following a police pursuit.

Previous Experience
Prior to joining One Pump Court, Dharsha had extensive experience working in international human rights and criminal law. Until commencing pupillage she was the Co-Director of the Adayaalam Centre for Policy Research (ACPR), a human rights think-tank based in Jaffna, Sri Lanka which she co-founded while being based in Jaffna between 2016 and 2018. At ACPR she led documentation of atrocity crimes and explored avenues for accountability in foreign domestic courts. She worked closely with families of victims of enforced disappearances to build participatory models of advocacy, including providing training on international human rights and criminal law across eight districts in Sri Lanka. She continues to assist with ACPR’s work as a strategic advisor.

As part of Dharsha’s interest in universal jurisdiction, whilst completing her LLM she volunteered for REDRESS where she assisted with developing a novel legal argument on an intervention in an appeal to the UK Supreme Court on a universal jurisdiction case.

Dharsha also previously led Reprieve UK’s South Asia Death Penalty team in assisting in the defence of individuals facing the death penalty for a wide range of offences including terrorism, drugs and murder in Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka. Through this work she developed a particular interest in the experience of victims of trafficking in the criminal justice system in the UK and internationally. She organised advocacy on legislative reform to reduce the scope of the death penalty in the region with parliamentarians and policy makers in the EU and the UK.

In Canada, Dharsha completed her articles at a pre-eminent litigation firm in Toronto where she assisted on matters in a wide range of areas including employment, human rights, and constitutional law. While in law school in Toronto she also developed significant casework and legal research experience in refugee and immigration law.