Inquiries, Disciplinary & Sports Tribunals

"At Farrar’s Building, Gerard Elias QC is rightly regarded for his experience in not only acting in the Bloody Sunday Inquiry, but also the North Wales Child Abuse Inquiry. The set’s historic experience extends to the King’s Cross Inquiry and has broadened to include experience of related regulatory work also" – The Legal 500 2007.

Farrar’s Building has a long history of involvement in Public Inquiries and our practitioners have substantial experience both of appearing in them, and of Chairing and/or appearing before a range of Disciplinary Tribunals.

We provided Leading Counsel, Gerard Elias QC, to the Waterhouse Tribunal 1997 –1999 (Sexual Abuse in Childrens’ Homes) as well as one of the Junior Counsel, Melissa Pack, and more recently have provided Leading and Junior Counsel, Gerard Elias QC and Huw P Davies, to represent former soldiers and civil servants who appeared before the Bloody Sunday Inquiry in Northern Ireland - a task of great sensitivity and detail which lasted some 5 years.

Anthony Seys Llewellyn QC represented Thames trains in Lord Cullen’s Inquiry into the Ladbroke Grove Rail Crash and before that he was involved in the King’s Cross Fire Inquiry for British Transport Police.

In the Disciplinary Tribunal Field, members have appeared both for and against those summoned before the Disciplinary Committees of Professional & Sporting Bodies.

We are particularly active in the Sports Disciplinary Tribunal field. Gerard Elias QC was appointed as Chairman of Sport Resolutions UK (formerly Sports Dispute Resolution Panel) in 2007 and Patrick Harrington QC was appointed as Vice-President of the National Anti- Doping Panel in 2008.

Sport Resolutions UK is an independent body set up to mediate or arbitrate disputes arising in a range of sports and sport related activities. In connection with this it now runs the National Anti-Doping Panel, (itself an independent body administered by Sport Resolutions), set up to deal with doping violations in Sport. In other sporting areas, Chambers have provided legally qualified Chairmen for Sport Resolutions’ disciplinary panels.

In addition to the above, Gerard Elias QC continues as Chairman of the ECB’s Cricket Discipline Commission.