Paul Stinchcombe

Date of call: 1985 Lincoln's Inn

Paul Stinchcombe recently returned to the full-time bar after 8 years as an MP. Before entering Parliament Paul had already built up a substantial practice specialising in Administrative Law, Local Government Law, Town and Country Planning and all aspects of Judicial Review. Even as an MP, however, Paul was able to ‘keep his hand in’, appearing in the High Court, the Court of Appeal and the House of Lords as well as in Planning and Local Plan Inquiries.

COURT AND LANDS TRIBUNAL EXPERIENCE
Paul has appeared in leading cases both on his own and as a junior, covering a wide range of public law areas including: immigration (R. v. Secretary of State for Home Office ex p. Bagga); local government (R. v. Manchester CC ex p. King; R. v. Secretary of State for the Environment ex p. Lancashire CC); education (R. v. Secretary of State for Education ex p. Cumbria CC); social security (R. v. Secretary of State for Social Security ex p. Mallinson); bias and breach of rules of natural justice (R. v. Inner London Coroner ex p. Dallaglio; R. v. Secretary of State for the Environment ex p. Kirkstall Valley Campaign); planning (Bolton MDC v. Secretary of State for the Environment; Slough BC v. Oury; Millbank v. Secretary of State for the Environment); compulsory purchase and compensation (Wildtree Hotels v. LB of Harrow; Ocean Leisure Ltd. V. Westminster CC).

INQUIRY EXPERIENCE
Paul has appeared in Planning and Local Plan Inquiries covering the whole range of potential development, both for developers and Local Authorities, including housing, industrial, retail, leisure, aviation, mineral extraction, agricultural and highways.

Paul has promoted and resisted many significant housing and industrial developments both on appeal and at Local Plan Inquiries. He has appeared in numerous shopping Inquiries both on behalf of major retailers and Local Authorities. He has appeared in Inquiries concerning comedy clubs, superpubs and restaurant chains. Paul has considerable experience of major aviation proposals, appearing in Inquiries into the City of London Airport, two London Heliports and the proposed expansion of Redhill Aerodrome. He was junior counsel in the Inquiry into the largest proposed coal mine in Europe and has appeared in numerous Inquiries concerning agricultural development. Paul has both promoted and resisted major highways proposals.

PARLIAMENTARY EXPERIENCE
During his 8 years as an MP, Paul expanded his expertise into areas concerning constitutional reform, human rights and criminal justice. Paul served on Parliamentary Select Committees on Procedure, Home Affairs, DEFRA, the Joint Committee on House of Lords Reform and the Joint Committee on Human Rights. Paul also served on the Standing Committees into most of the Criminal Justice Bills during his time in the Commons and — under the Chairmanship of Lord Slynn - on the Joint Committee which scrutinised the Draft Anti-Corruption Bill. Paul chaired the All Party Parliamentary Group on the Human Rights of Roma and is a Trustee of the Prison Reform Trust.

Paul has led a Parliamentary Human Rights delegation to Slovakia and has presented a paper on Administrative Law in the Ukraine as part of a delegation comprising the Parliamentary Ombudsman, a High Court Judge and a Cambridge Professor.

APPOINTMENTS
Elected as a Visiting Fellow to Cambridge University's Centre of Public Law for the academic year 2005-2006

EDUCATION
BA (Law) Double First Class Honours MA (Trinity College, Cambridge); LL.M (Harvard Law School).

SCHOLARSHIPS
Cambridge - Ten prizes for academic distinction including a Senior Scholarship from Trinity College and the Squire Law Scholarship (twice) from Cambridge University.
Harvard Law School - Frank Knox Fellowship.
Lincoln’s Inn - Hardwicke Entrance Scholarship, Thomas More Bursary, Megarry Scholarship.

PUBLICATIONS
Paul was a co-editor of the Crown Office Digest (1989-90) and co-authored the chapter on Planning in ‘Law Reform for All’ (1995). For 4 years Paul was a columnist for Planning Magazine (1997-2001).

Legal Experts, 2010:
Recommended expert in Planning Law .

CLERKS EMAIL
Mark Regan and Stephen Broom