Tim Owen (barrister)

Education and career

Educated at United World College of the Atlantic and London School of Economics, Tim Owen was called to the Bar in 1983. He was appointed Queen's Counsel in 2000. He is currently a member of Matrix Chambers.

Cases

Rurik Jutting

In 2016, Tim Owen defended Rurik Jutting, a British banker who confessed to torturing and killing two Indonesian women in HK, arguing diminished responsibility. The trial evidence included videos of torture Jutting recorded on his phone. They were deemed so traumatising that journalists and the public were prevented from seeing them. Jutting was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison.

Jimmy Lai

In late 2022, Jimmy Lai's request to instruct Owen as part of his defense team was appealed by Hong Kong Secretary for Justice Paul Lam and the Department of Justice multiple times. On 30 December 2022, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress gave the Chief Executive of Hong Kong the power to bar foreign lawyers from cases related to national security.

Personal life

Tim Owen was married to actress Jemma Redgrave, between 1992 and 2020. They have two sons, Gabriel, born in 1994, and Alfie, born in 2000.

He married Hong Kong-based journalist Wei Du in 2020.

Publications

• Prison Law, 5th edition (OUP, 2015)
• Asset Recovery: Criminal Confiscation and Civil Recovery (OUP, 2021) co-editor
• Blackstone's Criminal Practice 2021 (Advisory editor)
• Halsbury's Laws, vol 36(2), Prisons and Prisoners (Butterworths, 1999)
• Criminal Proceedings, Police Powers and the Human Rights Act 1998 (OUP, 2000) contributing author

References

References

1. Matrix Chambers. "Tim Owen QC". Matrix Chambers.
2. "Tim Owen QC - Sports Lawyer - LawInSport".
3. "Tim Owen QC, UK Bar {{!}} Chambers Rankings".
4. "Tim Owen > Matrix Chambers > London > England {{!}} Lawyer Profile".
5. "Tim Owen QC".
6. "Middle Temple".
7. (2016-10-31). "Rurik Jutting: British banker 'had narcissistic disorder'". BBC News.
8. (2016-11-04). "Killings were manslaughter, not murder, banker's barrister tells Hong Kong jury".
9. "Hong Kong Jury to See 'Torture' Video as British Banker's Trial Begins".
10. "British Banker Rurik Jutting Guilty of Hong Kong Murders".
11. Haas, Benjamin. (2016-11-08). "Rurik Jutting guilty of murder of two Indonesian women in Hong Kong". The Guardian.
12. Chau, Candice. (2022-11-22). "Justice dep't applies to appeal to Hong Kong's top court to block Jimmy Lai from hiring UK lawyer".
13. (30 December 2022). "Beijing gives Hong Kong leader power to bar foreign lawyers after loss at top court".
14. (13 December 2022). "Jimmy Lai trial postponed to September as Hong Kong seeks to bar his British barrister".
15. (2015-08-25). "Livingstone, Owen, and Macdonald on Prison Law". Oxford University Press.
16. (19 April 2007). "Smith, Owen and Bodnar on Asset Recovery, Criminal Confiscation, and Civil Recovery". Oxford University Press.
17. (2020-12-08). "Blackstone's Criminal Practice 2021". Oxford University Press.
18. (2001-05-01). "Criminal Justice, Police Powers and Human Rights". Oxford University Press.