Toby Fisher

Practice Areas

(1) Public international law (law of the sea; int. environmental law; int. human rights law; int. trade and investment law)

(2) Private international law (environment and human rights group claims)

(3) ESG

(4) UK environmental, public and regulatory law

Career

Toby has more than 15 years' experience at the UK bar as well as three years as Deputy Director, International Law for the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. He is an expert litigator and advocate and skilful negotiator.

Toby's public international law practice is focused on law of the sea, international environmental law, international human rights law, and trade and investment law (in particular its overlap with international environment and human rights law). He is on the UK Attorney-General's panel of public international law counsel and is regularly instructed in cases before the International Court of Justice and Human Rights Committee.

Toby's private international law practice is focused on international group claims arising out of environmental pollution or human rights violations. He is currently acting for claimants based in Madagascar, Kenya, Tanzania, Philippines, and Zambia in claims against UK domiciled parent companies.

Toby’s ESG practice draws on his expertise in international human rights and environmental law and his experience advising, and litigating against, companies in the extractives, agribusiness and retail sectors. He acts for both complainants and respondents in proceedings before the OECD’s National Contact Points and before the World Bank’s Compliance Advisor/Ombudsman. He advises corporates on supply chain due diligence, with a focus on risks arising from modern slavery, environmental crime, and carbon credits.

Toby's UK domestic practice is focused on public and regulatory law, especially in the environment space. He acts and advises individuals, NGOs, corporates, and government departments and is a member of the Attorney-General’s B Panel of counsel.

In his role as Deputy Director, International Law for the NZ Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (2019 - 2022), Toby led the teams responsible for International Environmental Law and General International Law. In that role (among other things) he led negotiations at UNFCCC climate conferences at the International Seabed Authority and was responsible for New Zealand's representations to the UN Human Rights Committee in response to communications alleging a breach of New Zealand’s obligations under the ICCPR.

Professional Memberships

Member of the British Institute of International and Comparative Law

Council Member of the UK Environmental Law Association

Member of the UK Planning and Environmental Bar Association

Member of the UK Administrative Law Bar Association

Publications

Garner’s Environmental Law (Lexis Nexis Butterworths): chapters on climate change law and renewable energy law.

Human Rights Practice (Simor, ed): chapter on freedom of expression

National Security Law, Practice and Procedure (Ward and Blundell, 2nd ed): chapter on sanctions

Judicial Review (Supperstone, Goudie and Walker): chapter on judicial review procedure

UN Minnesota Protocol on the Investigation of Potentially Unlawful Death (2017): coordinator/contributing author

Work Highlights

Work highlights from the last two years include:

International human rights law:

- acting for the Muddusjärvi Reindeer Herders’ Cooperative in UN Human Rights Committee complaint against Finland arising out of alleged violation of ICCPR Articles 27 (right to enjoy one’s culture) and 17 (privacy and family life) resulting from Finland’s failure to support indigenous Sámi reindeer herding communities in their adaptation to the impacts of climate change (ongoing).

- acting for Kyklos and Global GAP in the Inter-American Court of Human Rights advisory proceedings concerning state obligations concerning the climate emergency (2024-2025)

- advising the Ukrainian Orthodox Church on international human rights law remedies related to infringements of religious freedom resulting from Law 8371 of the Verkhovna Rada (2024-2025);

- acting for New Zealand in ICJ proceedings brought by Ukraine against Russia under the Genocide Convention (2022-2024).

- advising a global NGO on potential international human rights or international criminal law remedies to secure justice in respect of financial sector executives complicit in war crimes in Gaza (2024).

International Environmental Law / Law of the Sea

- acting for the UK Department of Business and Trade in defending threatened domestic proceedings relating to the UK's decision to continue sponsoring UK Seabed Resources in relation to its ISA licence to explore the seabed beyond national jurisdiction.

- advising NGO (Pew Trusts) on emerging issues relating activities in the seabed beyond national jurisdiction (ongoing).

- advising NGO (WWF) on the continuing legality of the krill fishery managed under the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (2025).

- acting for New Zealand in ICJ advising proceedings on the obligations of states in respect of climate change (2023- 2025) .

International trade and investment law

- counsel to the UK Department for Business and Trade defending threatened domestic proceedings relating to the imposition of safeguard measures in relation to certain steel imports (2025).

- advising global NGO on the international investment law implications of a decision by the UK to end all offshore oil and gas licensing (2025).

- advising Australian company on compatibility of New Zealand's proposed grocery divestment measures with investment protections under the ANZ CER Protocol on Investment (2023).

Private international law group claims

- - Acting for 106 Filipino claimant in Annie Scano Casquejo & 103 others v Shell plc and The Shell Transport and Trading Company, a claim against Shell plc for climate-change related damage caused in the Philippines by Typhoon Rai (ongoing).

- Acting for Madagascan claimants in a claim against Rio Tinto for alleged pollution of waterways around its Mandena mine near Fort Dauphin (ongoing).

- Acting for Zambian claimants in a claim against First Quantum Minerals, arising out of an alleged failure to compensate local villagers forcibly relocated by mine expansion (ongoing).

- Acting for Tanzanian claimants in Wambura & others v Barrick TZ Ltd and North Mara Gold Mine Ltd, a claim arising from alleged human rights abuses by police at the North Mara Gold Mine (2022-2024).

ESG

- - Acting for WPP plc in a complaint brought by Adfree Cities and New Weather Institute alleging a failure to comply with the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises by allegedly contributing to the adverse climate impacts of its “high emitting” clients (ongoing).

- Advising NGO (Pew) on the supply chain risks of minerals extracted from the deep seabed under licences issued (outside the UNCLOS framework) by the United States (ongoing)

- Acting for NGO (Stop Uighur Genocide) in a proposed claim for judicial review of the Financial Conduct Authority’s anticipated decision to approve the listing of Shein on the London Stock Exchange (modern slavery) (2025)

- Acting for NGO (Mighty Earth) in opposing the listing of JBS on the New York Stock Exchange (deforestation) (2025).

- Advising corporate client on risks arising out of carbon credits purchased on the voluntary carbon market.

Domestic UK law

- Counsel to UK Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs in responding to the information notice served by the Office for Environmental Protection alleging a failure to ensure the achievement of Good Environmental Status in the marine waters of the marine strategy area (ongoing).

- Counsel to Andrew Gibbon in Gibbon v Marine Management Organisation, an ongoing challenge to the decision of the MMO to grant a marine licence to PD Teesport Ltd to dispose of potentially toxic sludge at sea (ongoing).

- Counsel to Andrew Boswell in a successful pre-action challenge to the Secretary of State for Business and Trade’s decision to adopt the Industrial Strategy without first carrying out a lawful review of the strategy against the Environmental Policy Principles Statement (2025).

- Counsel to Blue Marine Foundation in its appeal to the Court of Appeal against the order of the High Court in R (Blue Marine Foundation) v Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs [2025] EWHC 734 (Admin), an application for judicial review challenging the determination of fishing opportunities in UK waters at levels exceeding the scientific advice on sustainable TACs.

- Counsel to Chris Packham in R (Packham) v Secretary of State for Energy Security and Climate Change, a successful judicial review claim challenging the abandonment of key policies in the Carbon Budget Delivery Plan (2025).

Personal

Married to Laura Clarke OBE, chief executive of ClientEarth.

Education