Dr S Chelvan joins Chambers as Head of Immigration and Public Law

Author: Reporter
In: News Published: Tuesday 01 December 2020

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We are delighted to announce that Dr Chelvan has joined Chambers, as Head of Immigration and Public Law.

Chelvan is a globally recognised legal expert on refugee and human rights claims based on sexual or gender identity and expression.  He is instructed on cases in the UK up to and including the Supreme Court, and the Strasbourg Court. 

Chelvan has practised in the field of LGBT+ asylum since 2001 and has earned a reputation for being the leading legal expert in the UK, spearheading some of the leading cases since 2005 as well as providing consultation to the United Nations, the IOM, national governmental departments, lawyers, and NGOs. Dr Chelvan is ranked in Band 1 in Legal 500 (2021) (Immigration, London Bar) - “His expertise in sexual-identity-related asylum claims is world renowned”.

Chelvan holds an LLM from Harvard Law School (2001, Kennedy Memorial Trust scholar) and was awarded a PhD in Law from King’s College London in June 2019 - his thesis was entitled: ‘At the End of the Rainbow: Where Next for the Queer Refugee?’. He tweets from @S_Chelvan

Chelvan’s approach to his practice successfully employs a symbiotic approach to strategic litigation, academic research and policy development. Chelvan has provided training to judges, lawyers, NGOs, activists and those seeking asylum.  His public speaking has earned him an international reputation as a charismatic and engaging speaker - examples range from giving the 11th Stonewall Lecture in February 2013, highlighting to a national audience for the first time the extreme lengths gay asylum-seekers were taking to prove their sexual identity, through to giving intensive legal training on 18 and 25 November 2020 to students, lawyers, NGOs, UNHCR colleagues, and adjudicators based in Hong Kong and the region on his Difference, Stigma, Shame and Harm ('DSSH') model and LGBT+ asylum (invitation of UNHCR Hong Kong and Hong Kong University).

Chelvan has published extensively and is regularly interviewed by national and international media outlets.