Property & Real Estate Barristers
John Buck
Year of call 1987
Instructing John
For further information or to instruct John please contact one of our following clerks:
Alex Southern
Practice Managers
- Pensions In Ancillary Relief: Seminar Distributed By Association Of Actuaries (2006)
- Enforceablilty Of Dowries In Ancillary Relief: Family Law (2005)
- MA (Christ Church, Oxford)
- FLBA
- English
- French
- German
John Buck specializes primarily in family and public law, having had a broad background in criminal and civil litigation, the latter ranging from residential landlord and tenant disputes, professional and clinical negligence and Inheritance Act claims. He is instructed in cases against the police.
His public law practice encompasses Care Proceedings and Court of Protection work. His Private Client work includes Trusts of Land and Financial Remedies, Wills and Probate as well as cases with an international element such as leave to remove and child abduction.
Areas of expertise
Regularly instructed on behalf of Local Authorities, parents, grandparents and Guardians, often representing those with severe and unusual personality disorders or those accused of or who are the victims of the most serious violence. Have appeared in all courts to Court of Appeal level. In 2011 he represented a grandfather in a 10-day fact finding accused of the serial rape of his daughter (when a minor) and the grooming of his grandchildren, and the keeping of bestial pornography at the highest end of the scale. In subsequent criminal proceedings on conviction he was sentenced to 17 years’ imprisonment.
Represented parties in the County Court and the High Court in applications to remove chidlren to Scotland, Japan, The Netherlands, Switzerland and Australia; also in child abduction cases, on one occasion representing a young mother whose own mother had abducted her child to the Phillipines.
Regularly instructed in the County Court and High Court in private Children Act, TOLATA, financial remedies claims, Wills and Probate. Recently appeared in the Court of Appeal for a Direct Access client in her appeal against a refusal to award her spousal maintenance. Gave seminar on pensions in financial remedies claims, which was published and widely distributed by an association of actuaries.
Experienced in judicial review especially of local authorities in cases involving provision of services to children in care and in housing and homelessness cases.
Considerable experience in civil jury actions, usually against the police, triable in the County Court by a civil jury of 8. Successfully prosecuted a senior court bailiff form his assault, false imprisonment and malicious prosecution of the husband of a person whose house he was repossessing, obtaining compensation for personal and psychiatric injury (re-activation of a bi-polar disorder). Successfully prosecuted the Sussex police for their negligent bailment of a flock of sheep. Recently involved in an extremely high-profile case against the Metropolitan Police Commissioner.
Notable Cases
- Matthews v Matthews (2013) EWCA 1211; (2014) FLR forthcoming Appeal to the Court of Appeal against part of a final order in financial remedies proceedings before Mostyn J refusing to make an award of spousal maintenance to a wife who had been handicapped in the labour market as a consequence of sadlling matrimonial debt. Both the leave application before Jackson LJ (successful in part) and the substantive hearing before the full court dismissing the appeal have been widely reported.
- Waad Al-baghdadi v Metropolitan Police Commissioner (2013) Central London County Court Represented the victim of misfeasance by the high-ranking ex-police officer Commander Ali Dizaei, twice convicted on the same facts as those giving rise to this claim of perverting the course of justice and misconduct in a public office and sentenced to 4 years' imprisonment. Obtained a summary judgment when the MPC refused to admit liability and thereafter negotiated an award of £41,000.00 damages.
- RE H-T (Children) (2012) EWCA Civ 1215; (2013) 1 FLR Represented one of two successful appellants against an order under s34(4) CA 1989 allowing a LA to withhold contact to the parents' children in interim care. Although the parents were the only persons in the frame for haviung sexually abused two of their own children, the appeal was allowed on the basis the circuit judge had wrongly based his decisions on assumptions as to what might happen at a final hearing rather than weighing up the advantages and disadvantages of conTact at an interimstage; and, in particular, whether it could be safely supervised. The leading judgment was by MacFarlane LJ. This is an important case usefully sumamrizing all the authorities of the last 20 years or so on the issue of contact to children in interim care.
- RE T (Child), Lawtel Feb 6th 2013 Represented successful appellant mother in the Court of Appeal against an adoption order set aside on the grounds of material irregularities and unfairness in the court below where the judge had been unaware the mother (appearing in person) had not had sight of an adverse report from a Guardian who had not been properly appointed, and had been given no opportunity to challenge it or make submissions upon it. Matter remitted for re-hearing in Hereford County Court by a different judge.
- Treasure Island v Care Standard Commission (2003) 223/EA Care Standards Tribunal Represented owner in her appeal against the Commision's refusal to register her as a fit person to run a child fostering agency under the Care Standards Act 2000. Involved some 27 live witnesses over 16 days against a QC as an opponent. Benchmark case on burden and standard of proof to establish fitness.