Julia Farrant

"Julia Farrant is a very confident advocate. It was clear in our case that she was entirely on top of the papers." (Chambers UK, 2024, Extradition)
‘A superb barrister - clever, thoughtful and fluent. Paperwork of outstanding quality.‘ (Legal 500, 2024: International Crime and Extradition)
"Julia is very bright and persuasive in her advocacy. She also has a serious eye for detail." (Chambers UK, 2023, Extradition)

Julia is a specialist extradition practitioner, described by Chambers and Partners 2017 as an ‘‘exceptionally bright’ junior who attracts praise for her strong judgement’, ‘a formidable opponent who is hard-working and effective’ and ‘a good advocate, she cuts through nonsense very quickly and is very sharp’.

Julia is ranked as a tier 2 junior in international crime and extradition by the Legal 500 directory, which comments that ‘her paperwork is of an impressively high standard, as is her advocacy.’

Julia is currently instructed as part of the inquiry team in a major public inquiry. She was appointed to the Attorney General’s C Panel of Junior Counsel to the Crown in 2018.

Julia is an experienced general criminal and regulatory practitioner, who has frequently acted in proceedings before professional disciplinary tribunals.

Extradition

Julia acts in complex extradition cases at the highest level. She is frequently instructed to advise in cases requiring detailed submissions on technical points of law and has appeared on numerous occasions before the Divisional Court, both as a led junior and as a sole junior against Queen’s Counsel. In the last 12 months, she has appeared in the leading ‘class action’ cases on Romanian and Bulgarian prison conditions and has represented the Greek, Bulgarian and French authorities in high-profile Article 3 challenges to extradition.

Julia’s recent cases of note include:

1. The leading case on prison conditions and the reliability of assurances given by the Bulgarian authorities (Georgiev, Dimitrov and Georgiev v Bulgarian Judicial Authorities [ 2017] EWHC 359 (Admin))
2. The leading case on Romanian prison conditions (Grecu and Bagarea v Romania [2017] EWHC 1427 (Admin); [2017] 4 W.L.R. 139)
3. Divisional Court authority on the passage of time bar and prison conditions in Ioannina Prison, Greece (Obert v Public Prosecutor’s Office of Appeal of Ioannina, Greece [2017] EWHC 303 (Admin))
4. High Court authority on the correct approach to the issue of passage of time where there are multiple European arrest warrants (Zengota v Poland [2017] EWHC 191 (Admin); [2017] 1 W.L.R. 3103)
5. Divisional Court authority on the reliability of assurances given by the Romanian authorities (Romanian Judicial Authorities v Zagrean, Sunca, Chihaia [2016] EWHC 2786 (Admin))
6. Divisional Court authority on the passage of time bar in cases involving suspended sentences (Wisniewski et al v Polish Judicial Authorities [2016] 1 W.L.R. 3750)
7. Divisional Court authority on the status of the EAW Framework Decision and the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union since the ‘opt-in/ opt out’ of pre-Lisbon Treaty criminal justice measures (Cretu v Local Court of Suceava, Romania [2016] 1 W.L.R. 3344)
8. Divisional Court authority on the validity of European arrest warrants where sentences for various offences have been merged and aggregated (Romanian Judicial Authorities v Edutanu et al [2016] 1 W.L.R. 2933).

Criminal

Julia’s notable criminal cases include:

R v Tarasov, Tarasov and Tarasov: Central Criminal Court; November- December 2015. Julia was led by Julia Smart for the first defendant in a complex manslaughter by flight.

R v Bala and Others: Canterbury Crown Court; October – December 2013. Julia was led by Sandip Patel QC in a nine-defendant immigration fraud trial. Their client was acquitted after a trial lasting 10 weeks.

R v Ho: Central Criminal Court; February 2013. Julia was led by Charles Sherrard QC in the trial of a young defendant charged with the murder of his brother and attempted murder of his parents.

Julia appears regularly for the defence in serious matters in the Crown Court. She is an experienced appellate advocate and has appeared before the Court of Appeal Criminal Division and the High Court in appeals by way of case stated.

Healthcare/ Regulatory Work

Julia appears regularly in regulatory proceedings, advising clients from an early stage and representing them before professional tribunals. She has acted for those facing misconduct and lack of competence charges and has ensured positive outcomes in a number of cases

Qualifications and Other Interests

Appointed to Attorney General’s C Panel in February 2018.

Crown Prosecution Service Level 2 panel advocate in crime and extradition.

2010: Bar Vocational Course at City University (Outstanding)

2009: Graduate Diploma in Law at City University (Distinction)

2008: Double First in Modern Languages (French and German) from Girton College, Cambridge University

Fluent in French and German