Call: 1981 Silk: 2010

Alex Milne has over twenty years of experience as a criminal advocate, and as a specialist in human rights and public inquiries.

Following his call in 1981, and prior to commencing full practice at the Bar in 1987, he gained experience in the City of London firstly in the commercial environment of marine insurance, and then in the field of human rights, working with Amnesty International.

During the 1980s he travelled overseas as a trial observer for Amnesty International on several occasions. His initial mission in March 1986 was to observe a trial in Skopje, then in communist Yugoslavia (now Macedonia). Further missions followed:

• Grenada: In May 1986 he travelled to the Caribbean island of Grenada. Following the installation of a “revolutionary government” in 1979, internal disputes turned violent in 1983 leading to the shooting dead of the Prime Minister by political opponents and a period of chaos. US intervention in late October 1983 saw the Governing Committee overthrown, and arrested for the murder of the PM. In 1985-6 they stood trial on capital murder charges. The mission was to observe the trial of the Committee, who were challenging the constitutionality of their arrests and detention throughout. They staged regular protests in the dock and attracted a great deal of press attention. Ultimately the Committee Members were all convicted of murder, but given life sentences, and not capital punishment.
• Czechoslovakia (Prague): In April 1987 he travelled to communist Czechoslovakia to observe the trial of dissident Jan Dos, and of a further dissident named Pavel Wonka. Both hearings were delayed and adjourned by the authorities, but he had the opportunity to gather information and to meet with members of Charter 77 and the families of dissidents. Vaclav Havel (later to become President) acted as his interpreter.
• Kenya: In November 1987, he attended the scheduled inquest of Peter Njenga Karanja, a Kenyan national who died in police custody in suspicious circumstances. He faced a hostile and antagonistic response from the authorities and was required to leave the country at short notice.
• Czechoslovakia (Bratislava): In August 1988 he travelled to Bratislava, in what was then communist Czechoslovakia to observe the appeal hearing of Ivan Polansky, a dissident. Although blocked from access to the hearing, he made formal representations to a number of legal officials on behalf of Amnesty International, and had the benefit of Jan Carnogursky as his interpreter. Following the fall of the communist regime, Mr Carnogursky, who had been a dissident, became Minister of Justice.

Since January 1989 Alex Milne has been a member of Chambers, initially at 5 Kings Bench Walk and subsequently at 18 Red Lion Court working in all aspects of criminal law, and subsequently in Public Inquiries.

Throughout his career he has maintained a balance between prosecution and defence and has dealt with a wide variety of criminal law both at first instance and on appeal. He also maintained his interest in international and human rights work:

• He was a recognized defence barrister before the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, and in 1998 appeared on behalf of a former prison guard from the Omarska camp, facing charges of Genocide.
• In December 1994 he travelled as part of a high profile delegation, including actress Susannah York, to Jerusalem to present a Peace Prize to Mordechai Vanunu and to press the government for his early release. During the visit, he met with the Israeli President to present arguments on behalf of Vanunu.
• Between 2001-2005 he appeared before the Bloody Sunday Inquiry sitting in Londonderry and London on behalf of a number of soldiers implicated in the shootings, and on behalf of the late Field Marshal Lord Carver.He received advanced briefing on the publication of the report on the 17th June 2010.
  
• In 2005 he worked with the Independent Police Complaints Commission, investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of Christopher Alder in police custody. He was personally responsible for drafting the majority of the resulting report to the Home Secretary.
• Between July 2008 and June 2009 he was Counsel to a Commission of Inquiry, headed by Sir Robin Auld, investigating possible corruption amongst present and former elected officials of the government of the Turks and Caicos Islands.

He was appointed Crown Court Recorder 2007

In the course of his career in the criminal law, Alex Milne has undertaken a number of large and complex cases. He has been involved in:

• Numerous cases of serious violence, including murder and attempted murder.
• Serious sexual cases, including a number of rapes and serious indecent assaults (including experience of child complainants and “video-link” evidence).
• Multi-handed drugs cases, including supply and importation of Category A drugs.
• VAT and duty frauds.
• Prosecution of fraud for the Serious Fraud Office (currently advising on a multi-million property fraud in the North West of England)
• Car-ringing and motorcycle-ringing cases.
• Multi-million pound fraud cases before the CCC.
• Judicial Review of Magistrates and Crown Court decisions.
• Environmental cases for the Environmental Protection Agency prosecuting in pollution and water-fouling cases in Anglia.
• VAT Appeal Tribunal hearings on behalf of HM Customs and Excise (as it then was).
• Child pornography cases arising from Operation Ore (including the leading case of R. v. Porter before the Court of Appeal which defined the law in relation to possession of images which have been deleted.
• Acts as a Legal Advisor to disciplinary tribunals for the General Optical Council.

• BA (Hons) Law (Nottingham)
• Called 1981, Gray's Inn

• Member of the Bar Standards Board Complaints Committee
• Qualified advocacy trainer for Gray's Inn, and trainer of Crown Advocates for the CPS
• South Eastern Circuit
• Criminal Bar Association (CBA)
• Health and Safety Lawyers Association (HSLA)
• Association of Regulatory and Disciplinary Lawyers (ARDL)

Formerly:

• Chair of the Amnesty International British Section Lawyers Group.
• Member of the National Executive Committee of Amnesty International 
• Chair of the Prisoner of Conscience Appeal Fund: www.prisonersofconscience.org
• Member of the Governors and later the Advisory Board to the British Institute of Human Rights. www.bihr.org
• Has lectured at the City University and Polytechnic of Central London (now University of Westminster) on Administrative Law and International Human Rights Law.
• Lectured on the workings of the Human Rights Act
• Member of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Panel of Pro-Bono Lawyers
• Former member of several CBA Working Parties on new legislation.