Aqsa Hussain is a specialist criminal barrister, with emphasis on serious crimes, appeals and public law. She also has a practice in regulatory, inquest and international law.
Crime
Aqsa is recognised as a fearless, determined and passionate advocate regularly instructed to appear in trials across the country. She predominantly defends in a wide range of criminal matters, including sexual offences, offences of violence, drugs offences, public order offences and offences involving dishonesty and financial crime. Aqsa is instructed at all stages of criminal proceedings, including trials and appeals.
Aqsa is frequently instructed to represent extremely vulnerable clients, particularly youth clients, clients with complex mental health issues and/or significant learning difficulties, often dealing with issues such as modern slavery and forensic expert evidence. Meticulous in her preparation, Aqsa is a sought after junior, routinely praised for her robust advocacy and exceptional client care when dealing with the most vulnerable and anxious clients.
Recent noteable cases:
R v OO and others (2024 - Manchester CC): defended client indicted with offences of s.18 GBH, possession of an offensive weapon and criminal damage. Client of good character unanimously acquitted of all counts following 6-day trial.
R v MR (2023 - Manchester CC): defended in two-defendant historical sex abuse case against a then-child; whilst co-D was convicted of a number of sexual offences and had pleaded guilty to others pre-trial, re MR, jury unable to reach verdicts, therefore discharged.
R v RR and others (2023 - Derby CC): defended in a 6-week trial re a multi-hander conspiracy of mass production and supply of cannabis across the South Derbyshire area; secured an acquittal and a hung jury on a two-count indictment. Majority of those indicted pleaded guilty throughout the course of proceedings.
Local Authority v SK (2023 - Southwark CC): defended in multi-hander case relating to fraudulent covid grant applications. Following robust representations and extensive negotiations for over a year on behalf of her client, on the first day of trial the prosecution offered no evidence against Aqsa's client.
R v JB (2023 - Nottingham YC): defended in a child rape trial where defendant was 15 yo and the complainant was 9yo - the two were related. On sentence, in recipt of psychological and psychiatric reports, youth client received a 24-month Youth Rehabilitation Order. Aqsa was praised by the Judge for the manner in which she dealt with such a sensitive and difficult case.
R v PS (2023 - CCC) - secured an acquittal for client facing s.18 GBH (and s.20 GBH in the alternative) on the grounds of self-defence, despite the assailants sustaining significant injuries.
R v FV (2023 - Woolwich CC): youth client received a 24-month Youth Rehabilitation Order following guilty plea to multiple offences including s18 GBH which involved the victim receiving multiple stab wounds. Following extensive mitigation and expert evidence relating to modern slavery, Aqsa convinced the court to take a leap of faith in her young client and impose the community-based sentence with stringent conditions.
R v TI (2022 - Reading CC): client acquitted by unanimous verdict for possession of a firearm.
R v BM (2022 - Isleworth CC): client acquitted by unanimous verdict for possession of a bladed article and numerous violent offences.
R v AL (2022 - Bath MC): client acquitted of multiple charges of domestic violence following thorough cross-examination of complainant and prosecution witnesses which ultimately revealed the complainant's underlying motivations to lie about the allegations.
Public Law
Aqsa’s public law practice primarily encompasses judicial review challenges on issues of asylum support, age assessments, modern slavery, unlawful detention and other related matters in the immigration and criminal context, advising on merits and drafting grounds accordingly. She is also instructed in wider civil liberties work, including actions against the police.
Specifically relating to immigration work, Aqsa regularly works with local and national charities on immigration cases. She dedicates much of her pro-bono practice to this work, for example, undertaking cases for Bail for Immigration Detainees where she represents asylum seekers at the first-tier tribunal, as well as working with the charity West London Welcome where she provides legal advice to its members on a regular basis. Further, she has experience in representing very vulnerable clients, such as victims of trafficking and modern slavery, in their asylum appeals.
Inquests
Aqsa has been instructed on inquests on behalf of various regulatory bodies including the Royal College of Nursing and the Security Industry Authority. She is familiar with all aspects of the inquest procedure. Earlier this year, Aqsa was instructed to represent a family in an inquest relating to a cluster of deaths from the use of a poisionous chemical: (see news article here).
Employment
Aqsa has experience representing claimants in the Employment Tribunal, primarily focusing on claims related to discrimination and unfair dismissal. Recently, Aqsa successfully represented a claimant in a multi-day trial in a pregnancy discrimination case (see here).
During pupillage, Aqsa gained experience in professional discipline work assisting senior counsel, namely representing police officers in police misconduct matters up to the Police Appeals Tribunals stage. She is able to accept instructions in this area.
Regulatory law
Aqsa is regularly instructed by local authorities and regulatory agencies to prosecute in a variety of regulatory offences including those relating to housing, licensing, fraud and road traffic offences. She also defends in these matters. Aqsa completed an 8-month part-time secondment with the Security Industry Authority, regulator of the UK's private security industry, during which time she wass responsible for dealing with criminal, regulatory, and inquest cases on the regulator's behalf.
International law
Aqsa's practice also includes work in the field of Public International Law, focusing primarily on international human rights and criminal law.
Aqsa has assisted senior counsel on several international human rights cases. Notably, she was involved in the written application stages in cases lodged at the European Court of Human Rights; Aqsa was instructed junior in H.A. v the United Kingdom (Application no. 30919/20) and further assisted with H v the United Kingdom (Application no. 32185/20) - these cases covered complex family law, immigration and human rights issues. Currently, Aqsa is assisting senior counsel in cases relating to British nationals unable to return home. Linked to this, recently Aqsa also assisted with compiling evidence for Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee's Inquiry into the handling of state level hostage situations - outcome of Inquiry still pending.
Prior to joining the Bar, Aqsa interned for human rights NGOs based in New York and Geneva where she was able to gain significant experience in international human rights litigation gaining a crucial understanding in how various human rights institutions and mechanisms could be used to deliver justice.
Beyond the legal space, Aqsa is also the Co-founder and Executive Director of Human Rights Pulse - a global online platform dedicated to international human rights news, discussion and advocacy, encouraging discussion and accessibility in the field. Through this organisation, Aqsa often collaborates with grassroots initiatives working on various human rights issues at both the local and international level.
Previous employment / experience
Prior to commencing a career at the Bar, Aqsa's work gave her experience in the fields of law, international development, human rights, cyber security and strategy consulting. She has experience in both start-up environments and multinational organisations. Aqsa has also had the privilege of working in several countries around the world such as the USA, Netherlands, France, Tunisia and Switzerland in project management, research and advocacy roles. These diverse experiences strengthen Aqsa’s multidisciplinary legal practice.
During Bar school, Aqsa trained as a mentor with Vocalise to teach debating in prisons; further, as a youth mentor with the Y-stop project to teach young people about their rights during stop-and-search; she was a legal volunteer with the Free Representation Unit representing clients in the social security tribunals and also volunteered with the National Centre for Domestic Violence assisting victims of domestic abuse with obtaining emergency injunctions. Further, Aqsa interned at the International Bar Association where she was responsible for conducting research into whistleblowing and harassment laws which ultimately contributed to the organisation's landmark 2019 report. Aqsa was also a reporter for The Justice Gap - an award-winning online magazine about law and justice.
Related work
Aqsa’s is involved with a number of human rights and social mobility related initiatives alongside her legal practice. Selected examples include:
Aqsa is a Trustee and/or Board Member of several human rights related charities, including ‘The Rights Practice’, ‘Educate, Not Mutilate’ and ‘Grappling Beyond Borders’ and is relied on to provide legal and strategic advice to the charities.
Aqsa is a pro-bono Legal Supervisor at the Islamophobia Response Unit advising caseworkers on criminal law and procedure pertaining to hate crime.
Aqsa regularly mentors young people, particularly those from underrepresented and marginalised backgrounds, about their careers. She is frequently invited to speak at events about career development as well as events dedicated to specific legal issues. Recently, she spoke at the APPG on Legal Aid, Human Rights Lawyer's Association's Careers Day, Lincoln's Inn Insight Day and the Government Legal Department's careers day.
Please contact Aqsa’s clerks should you wish to instruct her or discuss any other opportunities.
BPTC - City Law School, University of London
GDL - City, University of London
MSc Economy Risk and Society - The London School of Economics and Political Science
BA Political Science and International Relations - Amsterdam University College
The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn
The Criminal Bar Association
Bar Human Rights Committee
Human Rights Lawyers Association
The Society of Mediators
Young Legal Aid Lawyers
Direct Access qualified (January 2022)
"Resourceful and determined."
"Conscientious, hard-working, honest and a pleasure to work with."
"I would not hesistate to recommend Aqsa."
French, Spanish, Urdu and Punjabi (conversational); Dutch (Basic)
Crown Prosecution Service Advocates Panel - Grade 1
Accredited Civil and Commercial Mediator