Omar Sabbagh
- CPS Panel Level 2
- The Honourable Society of Inner Temple
- Criminal Bar Association
- Bar Professional Training Court with LLM, University of Law
- LLM Specialising in Public Law, UCL
- BA Law, University of Cambridge
Scholarships and Awards
- Top Score in BPTC Drafting Paper, University of Law
- Winner, UCL Law for All Moot
- Leonard Sainer Foundation BPTC Scholarship, UCL
- Exhibition & Duke of Edinburgh Entrance Awards, Inner Temple
Instructing Omar Sabbagh
To instruct Omar or for any further information please contact our clerks on +44 (0)20 7440 8888 or clerks@2br.co.uk.
Omar Sabbagh has a busy practice prosecuting and defending in the Crown, Magistrates’ and Youth Courts. He also practises in a range of quasi-criminal areas such as inquests, judicial review and regulatory proceedings.
As a trial advocate, Omar has been instructed as a led junior and junior alone in a wide range of criminal matters, including cases involving serious violence, drugs, robberies, sexual offences, protest offences, animal welfare, offensive weapons, and public order offences. Omar also has extensive experience representing those charged with motoring offences.
Omar is developing a practice in judicial review and public law cases, and he has appeared as a led junior before the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. He has also appeared in the Court of Appeal as both a led junior and a junior alone in cases raising important principles of criminal law.
Alongside his criminal practice, Omar is developing a practice in public inquiries, having been instructed as counsel for a core participant of the Covid Inquiry. Omar also acts in regulatory cases, including before the Nursing and Midwifery Council. Omar’s practice extends to quasi-civil matters, including enforcement proceedings and licensing prosecutions.
Before coming to the Bar, Omar volunteered for several organisations providing free legal advice and representation. He successfully represented clients before the First-Tier Tribunal (Social Entitlement Chamber), and also represented immigration detainees as part of the University of Law Legal Advice Centre’s Immigration Clinic. Omar is a co-creator of Liberty Lines Project, a not-for-profit organisation looking to tackle modern slavery by creating a comic book educating children about the dangers of county lines exploitation.
As a Direct Access approved barrister, Omar is registered with the Bar Council to accept instructions directly from clients. To instruct Omar directly, please contact the Clerks.
Practice Areas
Omar regularly defends in the Crown, Magistrates’ and Youth Courts. His practice covers a wide range of criminal matters including serious violence, domestic violence, drug offences, public order offences, sexual offences, protest cases, and road traffic proceedings.
Notable criminal defence cases
R v DD
Represented defendant accused of intentional strangulation, two batteries, and criminal damage within a domestic setting. Secured defendant’s acquittal by the jury of all save one battery offence, in respect of which persuaded the court to impose a sentence which would be deemed served by virtue of time already spent in custody.
R v KA
Defended as a led junior in the first prosecution of an offence contrary to paragraph 23(1)(a) and (2) of Schedule 3 to the Counter Terrorism and Border Security Act 2019.
R v KY
Represented a defendant in his sentence for the supply of heroin and crack cocaine. Notwithstanding the starting point for sentence being 3 years’ custody according to the sentencing guidelines, successfully persuaded the court to impose an 18-month community order with conditions of unpaid work and RAR days.
R v AG
Secured acquittal of defendant charged with assaulting an emergency worker in prison. Established a failure by the prison officers to switch on their body-worn video footage, and serious inconsistencies between their accounts.
R v HM
Represented defendant in relation to three assaults against three separate complainants. Defendant acquitted of all charges, despite it being his word against that of the three complainants.
R v MC
Represented a highly vulnerable defendant in a rapidly evolving set of nine interlinked matters. Acted in multiple case management hearings and ultimately at the trial on the two remaining charges, after the majority of charges were discontinued. Secured the acquittal of defendant in relation to one of the charges, after complex and technical submissions regarding the interplay between intoxication and basic/specific intent. Obtained a fine deemed served in relation to the other charge.
R v GN
Represented defendant who had pleaded guilty to serious sexual offences. Persuaded the court to suspend the sentence in view of the defendant’s good prospect of rehabilitation and his personal mitigation.
Omar regularly prosecutes on behalf of the CPS and the Probation Service. He accepts instruction to prosecute in the Crown, Magistrates’ and Youth Courts.
Omar has extensive experience representing those charged with motoring offences. He also accepts instructions in such cases on a direct access basis.
Notable road traffic cases
R v CD
Persuaded the court to exercise its discretion not to disqualify defendant from driving, on the basis that disqualification would cause exceptional hardship to the defendant’s family.
R v SW
Represented defendant who had pleaded guilty to driving with no insurance. Successfully argued that the court should not impose penalty points on the defendant, given the presence of special reasons; namely, that she had taken all appropriate steps to ensure that she was covered by an appropriate policy.
R v LB
Persuaded the court, contrary to the standard guidance, to exercise their discretion not to impose 6 penalty points which would lead to the revocation of the defendant’s license as a new driver, and instead to impose a short 4-week disqualification.
Omar has appeared before the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council and the Court of Appeal in appeals raising important principles of criminal law. He has also conducted a number of appeals in the Crown Court where defendants have been convicted in the Magistrates Court.
Notable appeals cases
Chandra Silochan and another (Appellants) v Rickie Cedeno (Respondent) (Trinidad and Tobago) [2023] UKPC 5 Privy Council Appeal No 0002 of 2022
Appeared before the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council as a led junior in an appeal against both conviction and sentence, as well as an application for a stay of the Court of Appeal’s order on sentence pending determination of the appeal. The Privy Council granted permission to appeal against conviction and sentence and a stay pending appeal. This decision of the Privy Council for Trinidad and Tobago is the most substantial and recent review of the operation and application of planning offences under the Town and Country Planning Act by a final appellate court and will have broad application in the development of how planning offences created by similarly worded statutes are dealt with in the Commonwealth Caribbean and other common law jurisdictions.
R v Jan Usman [2023] EWCA Crim 313
Appeared as a led junior before the Court of Appeal in a challenge to the current state of the law on insanity, the M’Naghten Rules, on the basis that the law was being incorrectly stated and/or was unfit for purpose.
R v WR
Appeared as a junior alone in an appeal against sentence lodged and successfully argued before the Court of Appeal on the basis that the courts below activated the defendant’s same SSO on two separate occasions, thereby punishing him twice for the same offence.
R v RS
Represented a defendant charged with harassment in an appeal against conviction before the Crown Court. Successfully overturned the defendant’s conviction after lodging a half-time submission combined with an abuse of process argument, and a section 78 application to exclude the entirety of the prosecution’s case. HHJ dismissed the Crown’s case on the basis of the half-time application, but indicated he would have seriously considered the abuse of process and section 78 arguments in the alternative.
Omar is developing a practice in judicial review and public law and has appeared as a led junior before the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in judicial review proceedings.
Notable judicial review cases
Mitoonlal Persad and another (Appellants) v Registration, Recognition and Certification Board (Respondent) (Trinidad and Tobago) [2025] UKPC 1 Privy Council Appeal No 0046 of 2023
Appeared as a led junior in a judicial review of the Registration, Recognition and Certification Board’s (the ‘Board’) decision that Mr Persad was not a member in good standing of a union which had followed sound accounting practices, the result of which decision was that Mr Persad was deprived of his access to the Industrial Court of Trinidad and Tobago. It was argued that the Board had fettered its discretion in reaching its decision, and further that the decision was disproportionate in its interference with, and undermining of, Mr Persad’s access to justice.
Omar is developing a practice in public inquiries, having been instructed as counsel for a core participant of the Covid Inquiry.
