Sanctions without a courtroom: due process in the designation of individuals
Argues that the speed sanctions require is not a reason to defer review, and proposes a fixed statutory window for challenge.
Aspiring barrister · Sixth form
Varnika
Reading for A levels in Maths, Geography, Politics and Economics — and building the case, early, for a career at the Bar.
portrait — head & shoulders,
plain background, 4:5
plain background, 4:5
01 / Profile
I am seventeen, in the second year of sixth form, and intent on practising as a barrister. This page is a record of the work I am doing now — essays, moots, competitions and reading — rather than a claim to expertise I have not yet earned.
My interest sits where international law meets money and power: sanctions and asset recovery, the prosecution of economic crime across borders, and the drafting of policy that makes either possible. I am drawn to advocacy because it rewards precision under pressure — the discipline of holding a position only as far as the evidence will carry it.
02 / Areas of interest
i
Public international law
Treaty interpretation, state responsibility, and the practical limits of enforcement at the ICJ and beyond.
ii
Financial crime & fraud
Money laundering, sanctions evasion and asset recovery — where the paper trail is the whole case.
iii
Human rights
Articles 3, 6 and 8 in practice: detention, fair trial, and the reach of the Human Rights Act.
iv
Policy & legislative reform
How a green paper becomes a statute, and why good drafting decides whether it works.
v
Criminal law
Mens rea, disclosure and sentencing — the areas I have followed most closely in the public galleries.
vi
Commercial arbitration
Seat, jurisdiction and enforcement under the New York Convention — dispute resolution without a courtroom.
03 / Written work
Full texts available on requestWho pays for fraud? Corporate liability after the failure-to-prevent offence
On the gap between prosecuting a company and prosecuting the people inside it.
A right to be forgotten, a duty to remember: Article 8 and the public record
Balancing privacy against the archive, with reference to Google Spain and its afterlife in UK courts.
04 / Mooting & debating
4moots argued as lead counsel
2regional debating finals reached
18days spent in public galleries and tribunals
3essay competitions entered
- National Schools Mooting Competition — quarter-finalist, appellant
- Model United Nations, Legal Committee — best delegate
- Inner Temple schools day — attended; mock trial, defence
- Sixth form debating society — secretary, then chair
05 / Route to the Bar
Now
A levels
Maths, Geography, Politics, Economics. Predicted A*AAA.
2027
LLB
Law with an international focus; applications in progress.
2030
Bar course
Vocational training and call by one of the four Inns.
2031
Pupillage
Twelve months in chambers under supervision.
2032
Tenancy
Practice in international and financial crime work.