Dr Christina Lienen

Secondment

Christina is currently seconded to the Legal Department of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets as a Senior Adult Social Care/Safeguarding Lawyer.

This is a part-time role (3 days/week) - Christina is still taking on instructions through Chambers, and is continuing to look after her long running cases.

Her work at the Council is varied, including section 21A challenges under the Mental Capacity Act 2005, DoLS, ordinary residence disputes, Children's Social Services and Safeguarding, NRPF, Care Act 2014 obligations and inherent jurisdiction.

Legal practice experience

Christina is able to provide clear, accessible advice and representation to professional clients and individuals who wish to instruct her without a solicitor (i.e., on a public access basis).

Christina has a legal practice encompassing in particular the following areas:

1. Health & Social Care Law and Court of Protection work: advisory work and representation

2. Planning and Environmental Law: inquiries, enforcement appeals and advisory work

3. Public Law & Judicial Review: drafting and advisory work

4. Housing Law (with a focus on HMOs, selective licensing and penalties under the Housing Act 2004 and Housing and Planning Act 2016): advisory work and representation, including in possession proceedings

5. Anti-social behaviour (with a focus on injunctions, closure orders, and the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 more generally): advisory work and representation

6. Data Protection/Information Law: drafting (pleadings, online privacy notices etc.) and advisory work

During her pupillage, Christina benefitted from the supervision of Estelle Dehon, Philip Coppel QC and Dean Underwood, principally in the areas of planning and environmental Law, commercial law, freedom of information and data protection law, and housing law.

Mediation/ADR

Christina is an accredited mediator, having trained with the Society of Mediators (2020, 40 hours qualification).

She can be instructed as a mediator and is also available to represent clients at mediations.

Academic background & publications

Christina was called to the Bar by Middle Temple as a Queen Mother Scholar (BPTC) and Jules Thorn Scholar (GDL). Having previously obtained a distinction at the University of Oxford (MJur, ranked second in year), she holds a PhD in Constitutional Law from the University College London (UCL), which she was awarded without corrections.

She has held a position as Teaching Fellow in Public Law at University College London (UCL), and is currently a Visiting Lecturer at the University of Law.

Her academic work on public law and common law constitutional rights in particular has been published in leading peer-reviewed journals, and she has presented her research at academic conferences, including in the UK, Hong Kong, Dublin, and Australia.

Her book Shaped by the Nuanced Constitution: A Critique of Common Law Constitutional Rights is due to be published by Hart Publishing in 2022.

Christina is also the contributor of three titles of Lexis Nexis' Atkin's Court Forms, namely "Transfer and Consolidation", "Trespass to Goods and Conversion" and "Transport" (all forthcoming in 2021).

Pro bono & civic engagement

Christina is a member of the Muslim Lawyers Action Group (MLAG), where she chairs the Human Rights Projects Group.

Prior to taking up that role, Christina provided pro bono advice through the Brixton Advice Centre (BAC) (April 2020 - May 2021), an online legal advice clinic which was recently awarded the 2020 Law Works Award in the "Best Contribution by a Pro Bono Clinic" category.

She has also provided pro bono advice and representation through Advocate, and previously volunteered as a telephone advisor with Citizens Advice.

She welcomes pro bono enquiries by organisations, solicitors and individuals, in particular those concerned with human/constitutional rights, ethnic inequality/religious discrimination, and the environment.

Ending a tenancy following the death of the tenant: Court of Appeal clarifies Notices to Quit regime

22nd February 2021

Dr Christina Lienen has written a piece in the Housing Newsletter summarising the implications of the recent Court of Appeal decision in Gateway Housing Association v Personal Representatives of Ali, which has important practical implications for landlords seeking to recover possession of premises where the tenant has passed away, relating to the steps they need to take to serve notice to quit on the Public Trustee.

Read article HERE.

LexisPSL: ‘No support in statute or authority’ for limiting the decision-maker’s planning judgment (Gladman Developments v SSHCLG)'

10th February 2021

LexisPSL: Planning analysis: The Court of Appeal has clarified the relationship between the presumption in favour of sustainable development in paragraph 11 of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and the statutory duty in section 38(6) of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 (PCPA 2004) to determine applications in accordance with the development plan, unless material considerations indicate otherwise.

Reinforcing well-established case law, the court held that the exercise of assessing a development's compliance with the policies in the NPPF can properly embrace consideration of policies in the development plan. Whether or not (and how) to include any relevant development plan policies is a matter of planning judgment. The court also held that there is no prescribed method for discharging the statutory duty under PCPA 2004, s 38(6). The decision-maker can go about the task in a way that seems suitable in the particular circumstances of the case, which may include an approach that incorporates the application of the tilted balance under para 11d)ii into the decision-making under PCPA 2004, s 38(6) in one all-encompassing stage.

To continue reading, see HERE (subscription required).