The Hon Neil F Costa

Practice Areas

Overview

The Hon Neil F Costa joined the firm as a Partner in October 2019. Prior to joining ISOLAS, Neil served as a Minister of His Majesty’s Government of Gibraltar for eight years, and the last three years as Minister for Justice. During this time, Neil was responsible for several important legislative reforms, some of which are briefly mentioned below.

Elected in December 2011, Neil was responsible for Tourism, Commercial Affairs, Public Transport, and the Port before being named Minister for Business and Employment with responsibility for Pensions and Benefits, Health and Safety, and Postal Services. During this period, he oversaw the wholesale reform of the Employment Tribunal’s constitution, powers, functions, and processes. In 2016, he was appointed Minister for Health, Care, and Justice during which time he was responsible, among other areas, for Gibraltar’s health, elderly, and social care services, the Royal Gibraltar Police, Her Majesty’s Prison Service, and Gibraltar’s Court Service. As Minister for Justice, Neil swore an oath to respect the rule of law and defend the independence of the judiciary.

After twelve years as a Member of Parliament, four years as the Opposition spokesperson on Health and Care and eight years as a Government Minister, Neil has returned to private legal practice. Neil’s legal work focuses on human rights law and public law, namely constitutional and administrative cases, and employment law, in particular in matters relating to non-discrimination, protected disclosures, and equal opportunities. Neil also specialises in common law, general commercial, and civil and criminal litigation.

Neil has litigation experience before Gibraltar’s Magistrates’ Court, Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, Employment Tribunal, and statutory bodies.

In November 2021, Neil graduated from Oxford University, New College, with Distinction in his Master of Studies in International Human Rights Law. Neil was awarded the Morris Prize for the highest overall grade for the year and for the highest grade in the dissertation.

Neil is a member of the Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn, and in October 2019 he graduated with Distinction from his Edinburgh University Master of Laws.

During his time as Minister for Justice, Neil led on several wide-ranging reforms to Gibraltar’s domestic legislative framework. Such reforms included:

the introduction of the Lasting Powers of Attorney and Capacity Act 2018, an innovative piece of legislation in Gibraltar regarding decision-making in respect of individuals who lack capacity and to their care and treatment.

introducing amendments to Gibraltar’s Proceeds of Crime Act, expanding the definition of ‘unlawful conduct’ to include such conduct by a public official outside Gibraltar that constitutes gross human rights abuses against a person;

finalising and bringing the Legal Services Act 2017 into force, ushering the first regulatory overhaul of Gibraltar’s legal profession in fifty years;

architecting the Law Commission Act, which was established to undertake the examination and reform of particular branches of the law; and

enacting the most significant enhancement of access to justice in twenty-eight years by increasing the pool of persons eligible to enjoy free legal advice and representation in certain civil cases, and also introducing the duty legal representative scheme, which, for the first time, guarantees advice and representation to persons in custody at any time.

Neil was instructed in relation to the planning application by MH Bland to expand and modernise the Cable Car, which received unanimous support by the Development and Planning Commission on 29 October 2020 after having been previously deferred on various occasions.

In January 2020, Neil was appointed by the Minister for Digital and Financial Services to form part of the Decision Making Committee (‘DMC’) of the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission (‘GFSC’). The DMC operates as an independent statutory committee whose task is to make specified regulatory decisions on behalf of the GFSC in accordance with the provisions of the Financial Services Act 2019. Neil elected to resign on the anniversary of the 4th year of his appointment.

In 2021, the Royal Gibraltar Police (the ‘RGP’) instructed Neil to represent their interests in the Coroner’s Inquest touching upon the death of Mustafa Dris Mohammed & Another. In 2022, two RGP officers challenged the verdicts of the jury in the Coroner’s Inquest by way of judicial review. The RGP was an interested party in the judicial review proceedings and instructed Neil to represent them. By way of a judgment that was handed down in open court on Wednesday 19 April 2023, the Honourable the Chief Justice dismissed all three grounds on which the officers challenged the Inquest jury verdicts. The judgment, in essence, agreed with various central grounds of resistance that Neil filed on behalf of the RGP and developed in oral arguments before the Supreme Court.

In August 2023, following an oil spill in British Gibraltar Territorial Waters (‘BGTW’) by the Gas Venus tanker (the ‘Vessel’), Neil was instructed by the owners of the Vessel to represent and defend the Vessel’s captain (the ‘Captain’) in relation to the criminal charges brought against him. The Captain was charged with one count of allowing oil to escape into BGTW contrary to section 47(4) of the Port Rules (‘section 47’) and one count of damaging a resting place of a wild animal of a European protected species contrary to section 17T(1)(d) of the Nature Protection Act 1991 (‘section 17T’). The Captain pleaded guilty to both charges. In a wide-ranging plea in mitigation, Neil submitted to the Magistrates’ Court, among many other arguments, that the Vessel complied with all relevant international safety standards and that all appropriate safety bunkering measures were in place and had been followed. In passing sentence, the learned Stipendiary Magistrate (the ‘Magistrate’) fined the Captain £30,000 in respect of the offence under section 47, which was reduced to £20,000 to take account of the Captain’s early guilty plea. The Magistrates’ Court had power to impose a fine of up to £250,000. Additionally, the Magistrate did not impose a separate penalty in respect of the offence under section 17T.

In September 2023, Neil appeared before the Court of Appeal for Gibraltar (the ‘Court’) in relation to the appeal of a Supreme Court judgment of May 2023 in which the Supreme Court passed a sentence of 14 months’ imprisonment in relation to one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm (the ‘Sentence’). On Neil’s advice, the defendant in the matter (the ‘Appellant’) decided to appeal the Sentence. The Appellant’s sentence was reduced from 14 months to 7 months’ imprisonment. In oral arguments before the Court, Neil argued that the Sentence should be quashed on the following four grounds, namely that: (a) the Sentence was manifestly excessive; (b) the Supreme Court Judge’s (the ‘Learned Judge’) application of the law was wrong in principle; (c) the Learned Judge failed to have regard or sufficient regard to applicable case-law; and (d) the Learned Judge failed to have regard or sufficient regard to relevant mitigating circumstances. On the appeal on Wednesday 27 September 2023, the Court quashed the Sentence and allowed the appeal, re-sentencing the Appellant to a total of 28 weeks’ custody (representing a 53.3% reduction in sentence). The Court held that given the time that the Appellant had already served, he would not return to custody.

Human Rights

Neil leads the Human Rights Law Practice of ISOLAS LLP.

Neil advises on a wide range of legal issues arising from human rights law and on the human rights implications that flow from different areas of law.

Neil obtained a Master of Laws with Distinction from the University of Edinburgh during which time he predominantly focused on human rights law studies.

In November 2021, Neil graduated from Oxford University, New College, with Distinction in his Master of Studies in International Human Rights Law. Neil was awarded the Morris Prize for the highest overall grade for the year and for the highest grade in the dissertation.

Employment

Neil advises employers on matters relating to employment law, including employment disputes in respect of non-discrimination, protected disclosures, and equal opportunities. Neil also advises employers on employment contracts, staff handbooks, and data protection matters.

Neil regularly assists employers on how to conduct internal investigations and disciplinary proceedings in accordance with Gibraltar laws, including advising employers on matters relating to employees’ human rights.

Commercial and civil litigation

Neil frequently advises clients on contractual and civil disputes both before and after proceedings are commenced representing clients in a wide range of litigious matters, including personal injury claims, debt recoveries, negligence claims, and breach of contract matters.

Private Client

Neil advises clients on a range of non-contentious matters, including drafting commercial contracts and lasting powers of attorney and represents clients before statutory boards.

Criminal

Neil is listed in the Senior Practitioner Legal Aid Panel in Gibraltar and represents clients who are arrested and/or charged by law enforcement officers. Since his return to private practice, Neil has represented various clients facing different criminal charges in the Magistrates’ Court and the Supreme Court, including for possession and intent to supply controlled substances, driving when under the influence of alcohol, and assault.

Languages Spoken

English and Spanish