Shamik Dutta

Shamik Dutta specialises in pursuing civil claims and public law challenges against the police and in enforcing the rights of those subject to unlawful immigration detention and unlawful deportation. He also acts for the families of individuals who have died in police and prison service custody.

Shamik has brought numerous successful claims against the police and Home Office for assault, false imprisonment, malicious prosecution, misfeasance in a public office, negligence, race discrimination, breaches of the Data Protection Act and breaches of the Human Rights Act. He has a particular specialism in claims concerning breach of privacy and has pursued a number of judicial reviews in relation to the unlawful surveillance and unlawful retention by the state of individuals’ personal data including DNA samples and police intelligence records.

Shamik regularly provides legal training on individual rights and police powers to other lawyers as well as Non-Governmental Organisations and professional bodies such as the Association of Photographers and National Union of Journalists. He has also written extensively for legal journals, lobbied in support of civil liberties and access to justice and has been invited to give evidence to the Parliamentary Home Affairs Select Committee on his areas of expertise.

Shamik is a former joint-chairperson of the Police Action Lawyers Group and is a member of Liberty. He is also an Executive Committee member of the London Anti-Racist Alliance.