02nd October 2019
LOCATION
54 Doughty Street
London
WC1N 2LS
020 7404 1313
Doughty Street Chambers is delighted to bring you a seminar hosted in partnership with Freedom from Torture on Using Medico-legal Reports to Best Effect in the Asylum Process.
The aim of the seminar is to give lawyers, legal advisers and other staff a greater understanding of how medico-legal reports (MLRs) are prepared and how they can be most effectively used within the asylum process. The seminar will be a unique opportunity to gain insight into the MLR process from a clinical, legal and policy perspective and to allow participants to discuss issues and experiences arising in the use of MLRs. In addition, participants will hear from a service user representative from Freedom from Torture's Survivors Speak Out to get an insight into the experiences of survivors in the asylum process.
Following the seminar, participants should be able to:
• Recognise best practice when producing Medico-legal Reports (MLRs): How MLRs are prepared and how to address the current policy framework.
• Recognise how MLRs are considered by the Home Office (HO), Identify how to use MLRs effectively in the asylum process.
• Recognise the work that has been done to date, campaigning for change in policy and how legal professionals can engage with this campaign.
• Identify the impact on individual survivors and their asylum claim due to poor treatment / lack of understanding of the MLR as independent evidence of torture.
The event will be chaired by Antonia Benfield and the Panel will consist of:
Zoe Harper, Doughty Street Chambers
Dr Juliet Cohen, Head of Doctors, Freedom from Torture
Service User Representative
Emily Rowe, Legal Officer, Freedom from Torture
Liz Williams, Senior Policy Advisor, Freedom from Torture