Who is Steven Kay QC, British legal giant who became the talk of S. Sudan
You must have opened up your web browser to run a Google search on Steven Kay, a British lawyer who was contracted by the government of South Sudan to investigate the 2013 and 2016 conflicts.
Though well-known in international circles, the Briton was little known in South Sudan until a week ago, when his name surfaced as the brain behind the expose purporting to be a coup attempt during the country’s terrifying conflicts of 2013 and 2016.
Addressing the media last Friday, the author of the National Security Service’s declassified report-Kay had also denied having received $17 million in consultancy fees for the report, as he equally defended the authenticity of the document.
The report linked the First Vice President, Dr Riek Machar, and Vice President Taban Deng Gai, to the attempted coup plots, and Mr Kay said the evidence was irrefutable because it was gathered from reliable and official sources. However, Dr Machar’s deputy, Oyet Nathaniel, has disputed its validity.
Who is Mr. Kay?
As much as the debate on the document rages, perhaps, people have asked this question: who is Steven Kay QC?
Mr. Kay, a British leading international criminal lawyer with a global reputation, was admitted to the bar in 1977. He became Queen’s Counsel in 1997 and Head of the Chambers at 9BR, which is a leading set of barrister’s chambers established in London over 60 years ago.
He was involved in landmark cases that established modern international criminal law, including the first UN trial at the Yugoslavia Tribunal, which established modern international criminal law.
Steven Kay – an international criminal lawyer – has been engaged by clients to oversee complex national and international litigation and provide his experience and expertise to review and assist in the development of their cases.
Engaged by governments and organisations to investigate matters of international concern, Mr Kay has delivered on several international concerns used by ICC as evidence in trying cases, including war crimes.
One of these was the 30-year conflict in Sri Lanka between Tamils and the state, as well as Egypt and the Muslim Brotherhood, Montenegro and corruption, conflicts of interest, and human rights violations.
Mr. Kay’s reports have been influential in internal affairs. He was contracted by Kenya’s President, Uhuru Kenyatta, to handle his case in relation to the 2007 post-election violence at the ICC. Kenyatta was acquitted in the case.
Aside from that, Mr Kay has played an important role in defending justice in cases involving prominent figures at the International Criminal Court (ICC), including the first trial of the head of state, former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, who was indicted in 1999 for war crimes in Kosovo.
The Tribunal’s prosecution presented evidence of Milosevic’s involvement in many dozens of crimes against thousands of victims in three different countries spanning a period of almost ten years. The cases ended with the death of Milosevic in prison in 2006.
However, his death did not rule out justice for the victims of the crimes, as the prosecutor indicated a number of his co-perpetrators who aided Milosevic to plan and executing the crimes that resulted in so much suffering.
For instance, in August 2020, in response to growing demand from clients for advice on the impact of the UK Bribery Act on international companies with subsidiaries or related organisations in the UK, Steven, together with Richard Paton-Philip, set up the UK Bribery Act International Advisory Service.
At 9 BR Chambers with Gillian Higgins, he has established an Interpol Red Notice Hot Desk, to deal with the increasing number of international arrest warrants requested by states against perceived enemies of a regime that may be politically or financially motivated. This area of work also covers applications for clients to the international financial information databases of World-Check and Lexis Nexis; and representation of persons and companies listed on international sanctions lists, including advice on the US sanctions against Iran.
Kay is experienced in advising clients at the crisis stage of an international situation by setting out their options and guiding their responses, whilst also making the preparations necessary for future litigation. His cases below demonstrate the depth of experience and the quality of the work for which he has been hired. 9BR’s other international lawyers have been involved in most of these cases with him, and they have developed an impressive team to meet the unique challenges these cases present in whatever part of the world they may arise. Some international cases upon which he has been asked to advise are necessarily confidential.
Kay is registered to accept instructions under Direct Public Access and is licensed to litigate.
