Paul Bowen KC

Paul Bowen KC is a leading public law silk. His practice centres on public law, human rights and constitutional challenges in fields including energy regulation, financial services, data regulation and offshore work. He acts in regulatory disputes, commercial cases with constitutional and human rights implications, Privy Council appeals and cross-border disputes. Paul acts for and against regulators and governments in England and Wales, the Overseas Territories, the Crown Dependencies and other common law jurisdictions. He is an expert in statutory drafting and interpretation and advises on legislation as it is made and in later legal challenges. Commercial teams turn to him when a case hinges on a difficult point of public law or human rights. He is often instructed before proceedings begin, including regulatory and criminal investigations. His expertise has been developed over more than three decades of practice and in many ground-breaking appellate cases such as Nicklinson, Catt and Cheshire West in the Supreme Court and Volaw and Ramoon in the Privy Council. He has acted as counsel in more than twenty cases in the Supreme Court, House of Lords and Privy Council and in many in the European Court of Human Rights.

Paul has appeared before the Privy Council, or been admitted locally as an advocate, in jurisdictions including Jersey, the Cayman Islands, the Bahamas, Bermuda, the BVI, the Isle of Man, Jamaica, St Helena, Trinidad and Tobago and St Vincent and the Grenadines. He has also advised in disputes in other jurisdictions including Cyprus and Gibraltar. He gives expert advice and evidence on English public law, human rights law and their relationship with the constitutional law of the Overseas Territories, Crown Dependencies and other common law jurisdictions.

Paul has been ranked in the leading legal directories for a quarter of a century. He is currently ranked in five categories across Chambers and Partners and the Legal 500, including Tier 1 in the Legal 500 for offshore regulatory and constitutional work. He began his career as a solicitor at Clifford Chance.

Paul also sits as a Deputy High Court Judge in the King’s Bench Division and Administrative Court (2021) and as a Recorder in the Crown Court (2018).

Recent work

Leading for an energy producer in a substantial regulatory dispute with a UK energy regulator.
Leading for a regulated utility in the Isle of Man in a doléance and judicial review challenge to price controls imposed by the utilities regulator.
Leading for the Governor of the Cayman Islands in Douglas and Ramoon, which is due before the Privy Council in 2027.
Leading for the Attorney General of St Helena in a constitutional challenge to costs legislation and in appeals on prison conditions.
Leading on an application to the European Court of Human Rights arising from a multi-million dollar cross-border confiscation (A1P1, Article 6, Article 7).

YEAR OF CALL: 1993 YEAR OF SILK: 2012