Adam Boukraa

Adam acts for a wide variety of clients in administrative and public law, in areas ranging from community care and healthcare to age assessments, consultation challenges and financial services. He has particular experience in judicial review and is instructed by both claimants and defendants. He has been listed as a rising star and leading junior in public law by The Legal 500.

Cases of note:
 

• R (Law Society) v Lord Chancellor [2024] 1 WLR 3097 – Adam appeared for the Lord Chancellor, led by Sir James Eadie KC and Catherine Dobson, in this systemic challenge to decisions concerning the remuneration of criminal legal aid solicitors and the operation of the duty solicitor scheme. The claim was heard by a Divisional Court and included consideration of the duty to provide legal aid under LASPO 2012, access to justice principles and the rationality of the Lord Chancellor’s response to an independent review. 
• R (Law Society) Lord Chancellor [2023] EWHC 3067 (Admin) – Interim applications, heard by Fordham J, for permission to amend the Claimant’s grounds of challenge and specific disclosure. Adam appeared for the Lord Chancellor, led by Sir James Eadie KC and Catherine Dobson. 
• R (Get Real Marketing Company) v Culture Recovery Board and Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport [2022] EWHC 1137 (Admin) - Adam appeared for the Culture Recovery Board and Secretary of State, led by Stephen Kosmin, in this challenge to a decision to refuse a loan application. The application related to a fund created to help organisations in the cultural and heritage sectors recover from the impact of Covid-19. The claim was dismissed. 
• R (Wallpott) v Welsh Health Specialised Services Committee [2021] EWHC 3291 - Adam appeared for the claimant, led by Vikram Sachdeva QC, in this urgent challenge to a decision to refuse funding for a potentially life-saving cancer treatment. Mrs Justice Steyn found that the defendant had misinterpreted its policy on individual patient funding requests, breached its duty to give reasons, made a mistake of fact and failed to have regard to a material consideration. The decision was quashed and remitted. 
• R (AA) v Rotherham MBC [2019] EWHC 3529 (Admin) - Adam appeared for the defendant local authority, led by Jenni Richards QC, in this application for judicial review of a decision to close a day centre for adults with learning disabilities. The claim was directed at the second of two consultations relating to the reconfiguration of learning disability services. Mrs Justice Jefford dismissed the claim. 
• R (O’Carroll) v Financial Ombudsman Service CO/926/2019 - Adam advised and appeared for the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) in this application for judicial review of a large number of linked decisions relating to advice by a financial adviser. Some of the decisions concerned the FOS’s jurisdiction and others related to the merits of the underlying complaints. Part of the claim was compromised; permission for the remainder was refused on the papers and again at an oral renewal hearing. Adam has advised and represented the FOS in a significant number of other cases. 
• R (JH) v London Borough of Merton JR/7715/2018 - Adam acted for the claimant, who had arrived without documentation from Afghanistan and sought asylum in the UK, in this challenge to the defendant’s assessment of his age. Having obtained permission from the Administrative Court for the claim to proceed, Adam represented the claimant in a four-day fact-finding hearing in the Upper Tribunal. 
• R (Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee) v Secretary of State for Health) [2017] EWHC 1147 (Admin) - Adam acted for the claimant, led by Alison Foster QC, in this challenge to a decision concerning the funding of community pharmacy services following a consultation. The grounds of challenge included that the consultation was unfair as a result of a failure to disclose material information, that the Secretary of State had breached his Tameside duty to inform himself about the impact of the decision, and that there had been a failure to comply with the public sector equality duty. 
• R (Hoareau and others) v Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs [2016] EWHC 2102 (Admin) - Adam acted for the Secretary of State, led by Kieron Beal QC and Penelope Nevill, in this challenge to a consultation and related decision on the potential resettlement of individuals removed from the Chagos Islands. The claimant contented that the consultation was unfair because it failed to consult on certain options for resettlement, and that a decision not to provide a particular form of financial support to Chagossians was irrational and contrary to the public sector equality duty. Permission was refused on the papers and again following an oral renewal hearing. 

Adam has significant experience in regulatory and disciplinary law, in areas ranging from healthcare to financial and environmental regulation.

Cases of note:

• Advising the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency on its statutory powers in the context of medicines regulation.
• Acting for and advising the Professional Standards Authority on potential referrals to the High Court under section 29 of the National Health Service Reform and Health Care Professions Act 2002, both by undertaking detailed case reviews and being instructed in appeals.
• Assisting in proceedings arising out of a barring direction under s.128 Education and Skills Act 2008 (with Katherine Apps KC).
• Advising and representing the Financial Ombudsman Service on a large number of matters relating to financial services.
• Appearing on behalf of the Health and Care Professions Council in the Administrative Court in numerous applications to extend interim orders against registrants, including social workers, radiographers, physiotherapists and occupational therapists.
• During secondments to the Electoral Commission, advising on political finance and electoral law issues arising out of the EU referendum and 2017 General Election.
• In environmental regulation, acting for Southern Water in a dispute with the Environment Agency on changes to its water abstraction licences (with Justine Thornton QC), and advising another water company on the preparation of its water resources management plan (with Stephen Tromans KC).
• Assisting a healthcare regulator in responding to an external investigation report, covering issues including governance and fitness to practise procedures (with Alison Foster QC).
• Acting as part of a team appointed as a s.166 FSMA skilled person in a major FCA review of mis-sold interest rate hedging products.
• Assisting with the preparation of internal disciplinary cases against employees of a European organisation.
• Contributing to the chapter on the jurisdiction of regulators in Jordan’s Regulatory and Disciplinary Proceedings.

Adam has significant experience of Court of Protection welfare proceedings. He is instructed by a wide variety of clients, including the Official Solicitor, ICBs, hospital trusts and local authorities. He has acted in cases covering a broad range of capacity, best interests and deprivation of liberty issues, and his experience includes acting for young people as well as adults.

Cases of note:
 

• Re MC – Adam is acting on behalf of MC, instructed by the Official Solicitor, in these proceedings before Senior Judge Hilder, which involve complex fluctuating capacity and deprivation of liberty issues. MC turned 18 during the proceedings. 
• Re HHH – Adam is acting on behalf of a young person, HHH, instructed by the Official Solicitor, in proceedings involving overlap between the Family Court and Court of Protection, and the deprivation of HHH’s liberty in hospital and in the community. 
• Re KS – Adam is acting on behalf of KS, instructed by Official Solicitor, in these s.21A proceedings, involving complex capacity and residence issues.
• NHS West Yorkshire v MK [2024] EWCOP 27 – Adam appeared on behalf of the applicant ICB, which obtained an indefinite injunction against one of P’s sons, restricting his contact with her and his ability to instruct professionals to assess her without the court’s authority. 
• Reading Borough Council v P [2023] EWCOP 16 – Adam acted for the local authority in this fact-finding hearing before HHJ Owens, involving allegations about the conduct of P’s daughter towards care home staff. All of the allegations were found fully or partially proved.
• Re EN - Adam appeared for the applicant CCG. The issues in the case included capacity to make decisions on residence, care and contact; best interests decisions for residence and care; and the deprivation of EN’s liberty. 
• Re NT - Adam appeared for the respondent CCG in these proceedings concerning NT, who had treatment-resistant schizophrenia, a moderate learning disability and an eating disorder. The issues in the case included the proportionality of restrictions imposed on NT as a result of her eating disorder; restrictions on contact between NT and her family; and whether NT moving from a residential placement to the family home would be in her best interests. 
• Re SGA - Adam acted for SGA, instructed by the Official Solicitor, in proceedings arising from a personal welfare deputyship application. The case involved a number of complex issues relating to the deprivation of SGA’s liberty, her residence and care and the appropriateness of a deputyship order, including as a result of cross-border arrangements between Scotland and England. 

Between 2020 and 2024, Adam was junior counsel to the Infected Blood Inquiry, led by Jenni Richards KC, and was a member of the Inquiry’s core counsel team. He additionally has experience of regulatory investigations.

Cases of note:

• Infected Blood Inquiry - Between 2020 and 2024, Adam worked on a very broad range of Inquiry issues. These included, for example, the actions of haemophilia centre directors and the blood transfusion service, as well as decisions taken by Westminster and Scottish government officials and ministers. In addition to taking on the role of junior counsel during inquiry hearings, Adam undertook advocacy himself. 
• Re a healthcare regulator - Adam assisted a healthcare regulator in responding to an external investigation report, covering issues including governance and fitness to practise procedures (led by Alison Foster KC). 
• FCA review of interest rate hedging products - Adam acted in a team appointed as a s166 Financial Services Markets Act 2000 (FSMA) skilled person in a major Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) review of mis-sold interest rate hedging products. His work involved reviewing claims for consequential loss from businesses mis-sold such products. 

Adam has acquired a significant amount of experience in environmental law, as well as writing and speaking regularly on environmental matters. He has contributed to multiple editions of the Journal of Environmental Law, assisted with the update of the current edition of Contaminated Land by Stephen Tromans KC, and has presented at UK Environmental Law Association (UKELA) events (including its annual conference).

Cases of note:

• Re Gamebirds licensing – Adam advised Defra on the licensing of gamebird release as part of a team of counsel. 
• Re a water resources management plan - Adam was instructed to advise a water company on the preparation of its water resources management plan (led by Stephen Tromans KC).
• Itchen, Candover and Testwood Water Abstraction Inquiry - Adam acted for Southern Water, over a significant period of time, in a dispute with the Environment Agency on changes to water abstraction licences (led by Justine Thornton KC). The case involved issues across the Habitats Directive, Water Framework Directive, domestic environmental law and the legislative regime governing water abstraction. The proceedings were compromised shortly before the beginning of the inquiry and involved detailed negotiations with parties including the Environment Agency and Natural England. 
• Re a sewerage undertaker - Adam was instructed in a number of claims against a statutory undertaker arising out of sewage flooding. 
• Re a local authority - Adam assisted with advice on the hierarchy of environmental and planning law responsibilities for the clean-up of contaminated land.