Rabah Kherbane

Languages Spoken

English, French, Arabic.

Experience

Rabah has been ranked multiple years in both Chambers and Partners, and the Legal 500. He is described in the directories as, ‘one of the outstanding talents of his generation’, ‘one of the best juniors around’, ‘hugely sought-after’, ‘a fearless advocate’, ‘superb on the law’, ‘his knowledge of the law is second to none’, and ‘someone with excellent client care skills.’

Rabah is a specialist in serious crime and appeals, extradition, administrative and public law, and international law. He is highly experienced in terrorism and national security issues across these areas of practice.

Rabah regularly acts in high-profile and complex cases involving allegations of murder, terrorism, politically motivated offending, organised crime, and cases arising out of protest action. He has extensive expertise in cases predicated on allegations of membership or association to a political, terrorist, or organised group, or a gang.

Rabah is instructed as leading counsel in high-profile murder, terrorism, and protest trials. He has been led in complex murder and terrorism cases. He is instructed in significant cases as junior alone, prosecuted by KC and Junior.

Rabah has a busy criminal appeals practice, he advises on fresh appeals against conviction and sentence. He has obtained exceptional results in the Court of Appeal. He has advised on miscarriages of justice in murder cases and historic convictions.

Rabah is expert in judicial review proceedings linked to criminal justice issues, and has a broad practice in public law.

Rabah’s extradition practice encompasses cases at all levels, and foreign or international proceedings.

Rabah has experience working on sensitive international law cases, including those involving sanctions.

Work Highlights

Rabah has acted in high-profile and complex murder and terrorism trials:

o He recently represented a young client acquitted in a terrorism trial, which involved evidence relating to at least five proscribed organisations and substantial volumes of ‘mindset’ material subject to legal argument.

o He was led in the recent ‘Gray’s Inn bomb plot’ terrorism trial which lasted four months, where his client was also acquitted.

o He was led in a recent high-profile murder trial, where one of seven co-defendants was a practising solicitor, and involved a cutthroat with Rabah’s client charged with murder. Rabah’s client was acquitted.

Rabah has acted in other high-profile and complex trials:

o He recently represented the defendant accused of organising the gunpoint conspiracy to rob celebrity and former boxing world champion Amir Khan. The case was prosecuted by KC and Junior. Rabah’s client was acquitted.

o Rabah recently represented a young defendant charged with a conspiracy to transfer firearms from his prison cell, linked to contract killings. The case was prosecuted by KC and Junior. Rabah’s client was acquitted.

o Rabah was recently instructed as leading counsel in a high-profile murder trial linked to a popular music artist, representing a defendant (himself a music artist) charged with perverting the course of justice. The case was prosecuted by KC and Junior. Rabah’s client was acquitted.

o Rabah was instructed as leading counsel in another recent trial linked to a murder case, representing a defendant charged with assisting an offender following a high-profile stabbing in Slough which will be the subject of a TV series documentary. Rabah’s client was acquitted.

Rabah has acted in high-profile and legally complex organised crime, and protest trials, including those tried before High Court judges.

Rabah has acted in successful and complex appeals against conviction and sentence. In a recent authority on bias by the trial judge, the Court of Appeal quashed the serious conviction subject to appeal, and in its own words has taken the law ‘one step further.’ The Court of Appeal agreed with Rabah’s submissions, and made significant observations on the need for impartiality by trial judges, who are ‘neutral arbiters’ in the process – ‘the essence of being a judge’ – and must specifically avoid conduct or language that may suggest an appearance of advocacy on behalf of the prosecution, which is ‘never appropriate.’

Rabah has been instructed in high-profile sanctions cases, including abroad:

o Recently in the case of Andrey Yakunin, a wealthy businessman, whose father was previously a close associate to Vladimir Putin.

o Rabah has challenged UN and EU listings for individuals sanctioned on the basis of alleged membership to proscribed organisations.

Previously, Rabah was judicial assistant to Swift J, the judge in charge of the Administrative Court, High Court.

Rabah was the Oxford Bonavero Institute Fellow, and then Bertha Justice Fellow at the international human rights NGO, Reprieve. He worked on terrorism and national security cases, including cross-jurisdictional cases involving the UK and US, and assisted with the representation of Guantanamo Bay detainees.

Education