Anna Moradi
Anna specialises in inquests, inquiries and international law.
In inquests, Anna welcomes instructions from any properly interested person. She advises on and conducts associated judicial review, human rights and civil claims. Anna is usually instructed on inquests at pre-inquest review stage and is heavily involved in final hearing preparations. Her recent inquests include issues of detention and prison services; local authority duties; medical treatment (including primary, emergency, neonatal, paediatric, and psychiatric care); and nursing and midwifery.
Anna acts for core participants and inquiry teams in public inquiries. She is usually instructed to draft Rule 9 requests for inquiry teams; and to advise core participants on inquiry procedures and manage Rule 9 responses. Anna is currently instructed by core participants as Junior Counsel on the Independent Inquiry into Afghanistan which is investigating matters arising from the deployment of British Special Forces to Afghanistan between 2010 and 2013, and Module 6 of the COVID-19 Inquiry which is investigating the impact of the pandemic on the publicly and privately funded adult social care sector.
At international law, Anna acts before international human rights mechanisms and diplomatic procedures in cases concerning detention abroad, consular duties, torture, land rights and healthcare. Anna advises on associated domestic civil and human rights claims in cases where there is UK jurisdiction.
Inquests & Inquiries
Inquests
Work includes:
- Inquest concerning paediatric emergency medicine (Family Counsel, 2024 – Present)
- Request for inquest concerning sepsis, severe disabilities and social care (Family Counsel, 2024 – Present)
- Inquest concerning community mental health services, social services and self-inflicted death (Family Counsel, 2023 – Present)
- Inquest concerning liver disease (Family Counsel, 2024 – Factual finding of unsafe hospital discharge. Post-mortem medical cause of death changed following submissions. Prevention of Future Deaths report published concerning Secretary of State for Health and Social Care)
- Inquest concerning community mental health and self-inflicted death (Family Counsel, 2024 – Factual finding of GP failure. Narrative conclusion with no finding of suicide or misadventure. Article here)
- Inquest concerning COVID-19 and emergency medicine (Family Counsel, 2024 – Narrative conclusion)
- Inquest concerning midwifery and obstetric care (Family Counsel, 2023 – Prevention of Future Deaths report published concerning Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust)
Associated human rights, civil and judicial review claims
Work includes:
- Article 8 claim against NHS Trust (Family Counsel, 2024 – Present)
- Advice on claim under Fatal Accidents / Law Reform Acts (Family Counsel, 2024 – Present)
- Advice on Article 8 claim against local authority and NHS Trust (Family Counsel, 2024 – Present)
- Judicial review claim challenging refusal to order fresh inquest (Family Counsel, 2023 – challenged decision withdrawn following submissions)
Public inquiries
Work includes:
- COVID-19 Inquiry (Junior Counsel, 2024 – Present)
- Independent Inquiry Relating to Afghanistan (Junior Counsel, 2024 – Present)
- Undercover Policing Inquiry (Junior Counsel, 2024)
- Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry (Junior Junior, 2023– 2024)
International Law
Detention, ill-treatment and torture abroad
Work includes:
- Foreign Ministry, Communications: on behalf of individual detained abroad (2024 – Present, Junior Counsel)
- Foreign Office and UN Special Procedures, Communications: on behalf of individual detained abroad (2023 – 2024, Junior Counsel: Repatriated)
- X v Sweden, UN Committee Against Torture, Communication: on behalf of individual at risk of deportation and torture (2023 – 2024, Junior Counsel: Deportation Order withdrawn following submissions)
- Foreign Office and UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, Communications: on behalf of individual detained and tortured abroad as a state-hostage (2020 – 2022, Junior Counsel: Repatriated and UN finding of arbitrary detention)
Land, environment and natural resources
Work includes:
- African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Communication concerning the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam: on behalf of NGO concerning rights to land and natural resources (2022 – Present, Junior Counsel: Secured seizure of complaint)
Advisory work
Work includes:
- Legal expert to the Council of Europe: Opinion on Article 3 and 5 ECHR standards in response to the EU Pact on migration and asylum implication on detention conditions (2024, Junior Counsel)
- Advice on proposed EU Regulation on the protection of adults deprived of their legal capacity (2023, Junior Counsel)
- Advice on the criminalisation of forced sterilisation at EU level (2023, Junior Counsel)
- Advice on EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime concerning alleged torture in the Middle East (2022, Junior Counsel)
- Advice on UN sanctions procedures concerning alleged torture in Eurasia (2022, Junior Counsel)
- Legal expert to the Council of Europe: drafted and presented codifying document on international laws concerning administrative detention conditions (adopted by Member States in May 2023 and co-authored by former European Court of Human Rights judge, Judge Ledi Bianku)
Qualifications & Awards
- Finalist, ‘Junior Pro Bono Barrister of the Year’ (2024)
- Winner, ‘Young Pro Bono Barrister of the Year’, Advocate (2022)
- Finalist, ‘International Pro Bono Barrister of the Year’, Advocate (2022)
- Scholar, Prince of Wales Scholarship, Gray’s Inn – £16000 (2015)
- Recipient, Performance Award, University of Law – £1000 (2015)
- BPTC, University of Law (2015 – 2016)
- MA Legal and Political Theory, University College London (2014 – 2015)
- LLB, School of Oriental and African Studies (2011 – 2014)
Appointments
- Equality and Human Rights Commission – Panel of Counsel (2024 – Present)
- International Criminal Court – List of Assistants to Counsel (2023 – Present)
Testimonials
“[Y]ou have a very good way of setting things out and explaining things so that we are all on the same page!” – Instructing Solicitor (2025)
“In my capacity as the Inquest caseworker, Anna is always one of the first barristers I seek to instruct…She is a fantastic barrister … [Our] matters are often some of [the] most difficult cases … Anna has taken on many of my cases … [and] is an excellent advocate” – Caseworker (2024)
“Thank you for today. You are really across this case in such detail.” – Instructing Solicitor (2024)
“You continue to do an immense job.” – Instructing Solicitor (2024)
“[A]n amazing effort Anna” – Instructing Solicitor (2024)
“You have argued eloquently”– Client (2024)
“As always, you have gone above and beyond what we would expect and that made all the difference … your flexibility and dedication set a high standard” – Instructing Solicitor (2024)
“[Anna] demonstrated an exceptional level of expertise, thoroughly understanding our … needs and the challenges [faced]. Her responses to our enquiries were meticulous, providing strong legal arguments crucial for … negotiation success. … [S]he revealed remarkable professionalism by delivering timely advice, further contributing to our [success].” – Client (2024)
“[Y]ou did a great job today. … we did much better than expected.’ – Instructing Solicitor (2024)
“[Anna is a] reliable junior for cases [involving] individuals and communities suffering serious human rights violations.” – Lead Counsel (2024)
“This is such an incredible outcome in an extremely difficult case … but we won because you cared and worked so hard on this.” – Instructing Solicitor (2023)
“[D]uring the hearing it was clear she left no stone unturned and fought tooth and nail to put my case forward. I couldn’t have asked for better representation. Sound advice and a force to be reckoned with in the courtroom.” – Client (2023)
“[Anna] … was super thorough in going through the case documents and she was able to flag potential issues and highlight further documentation we needed. She provided advice to the client in a clear and compassionate way and she was especially considerate of our client’s vulnerabilities … She was extremely communicative and easily reachable throughout the case – it was an absolute pleasure to work with her! Our client was truly delighted with the outcome and with all of [Anna’s] work on his case.” – Instructing Solicitor (2023)
“The preliminary work you carried out for my client was … extensive [and] shows that you really care about the client’s situation … [The client] is very lucky that a hearing was scheduled for the day that you were [available] as without your hard work and deep understanding of the law I can very much imagine things would have turned out differently.” – Instructing Solicitor (2023)
“[Anna] proved to be a Godsend to our family […] [F]or everything she has done for us […] we are eternally grateful. She is a shining beacon in the legal industry.” – Client (2022)
“[Anna] always makes herself available to assist with our most complex and often, last minute requests […] [She] has been disarmingly proactive when approaching a case, carrying out a meticulous review of evidence and ensuring that all legal arguments are considered and evidenced. […] We are consistently impressed by [Anna’s] dedication to her casework. […] All our legal staff agree that she is a marvel” – Instructing Solicitor (2022)
“[We] work with numerous … barristers … but [Anna’s] conduct stood out. … [Anna] has been communicative, personable and reassuring … I was extremely well impressed by her commitment to the client [and] dedication to the case [and] her ability to grasp complex information in a short period of time. … [W]hen engaging with the client following the hearing, he told me that he was very grateful to have [Anna] fighting for him and that he felt that that made all the difference” – Instructing Solicitor (2022)
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