Gordon Slynn, Baron Slynn of Hadley
Encyclopedia
Gordon Slynn, Baron Slynn of Hadley, GBE
, PC
, QC
(17 February 1930 – 7 April 2009) was a British jurist specialising in European and International Law, and a former judge of the European Court of Justice
and Lord of Appeal in Ordinary
.
, Goldsmiths, University of London, and Trinity College, Cambridge
. He was called to the Bar at Gray’s Inn in 1956, becoming a Bencher in 1970 and Treasurer in 1988. He served as Junior Counsel to the Ministry of Labour
between 1967–68, and as First Junior Treasury Counsel (Common Law) from 1968 to 1974. He took silk
in 1974,
thereupon becoming the first holder of the appointment of Leading Counsel to the Treasury.
of the Queen's Bench Division of the High Court
in 1976, serving additionally as President of the Employment Appeal Tribunal
from 1978. In 1981, he left both these positions to become an Advocate General at the European Court of Justice
(ECJ), and was appointed a Judge in 1988, a position he held until 1992.
He was appointed a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary
in 1992, becoming a life peer
as Baron Slynn of Hadley, of Eggington in the County of Bedfordshire
, and being sworn of the Privy Council. He was a dissenter in the case R v. Brown, which upheld the legality of the criminal convictions resulting from Operation Spanner
. As a member of the House of Lords
, he served as Chairman of the House of Lords Select Sub-Committee on European Law and Institutions (1992–95), and as a member of the House of Lords Select Committee on Public Service (1996–98) and the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Corruption Bill (2003). He retired as a Law Lord in 2002.
He was appointed President of the Court of Appeal of the Solomon Islands in 2001 and was life President of the Lord Slynn of Hadley European Law Foundation and President of the Civil Mediation Council
s from numerous institutions, and was Visitor
of Mansfield College
, Oxford
from 1995–2002 and of the University of Essex
from 1995–2000. He was Chief Steward
of Hereford between 1978–2008 and received the Freedom of the City
in 1996, and was President of the Bentham Club in 1992 and of the Holdsworth Club in 1993. He was knighted
in 1976. He was made a Knight of the Order of St John
in 1998, having received the Order of St John in 1992, and received the Grande Croix de l’Ordre de Mérite (Luxembourg) in 1998; appointed a Knight Cross, Order of Merit (Poland) in 1999; Grand Cross, Order of Merit (Malta) in 2001; Officer’s Cross, Order of Merit (Hungary) in 2002; and the Cross of Solomon Islands in 2007. He was appointed Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire
(GBE) in the 2009 New Year Honours
for his services to the International Law Association
which he served as Chairman of the Executive Committee.
In 2000 he was presented with a 2-volume Liber Amicorum: Vol I, entitled Judicial Review in European Union Law, was edited by Professor David O'Keeffe and Antonio Bavasso; Vol 2, entitled Judicial Review in International Perspective, was edited by Mads Andenas and Duncan Fairgrieve; both volumes were published by Kluwer Law International (ISBN 90-411 1373-8 (set)).
, and has written a foreword to the book, How to Moot: a Student Guide to Mooting and has sat as a judge in the Central and East European Moot Court. He was Honorary President of the Durham Mooting Society and an honorary member of the Jefferson Literary and Debating Society
at the University of Virginia
.
(CINI UK), founded by his wife Odile Slynn
to help poor mothers and children in India.
He was a Trustee of The Loomba Trust
, which cares for widows around the world, and Patron of the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Institute for India
n art and culture.
Lord Slynn led a campaign to remove People's Mujahedin of Iran
from the British and EU's blacklists. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/law-obituaries/5127036/Lord-Slynn-of-Hadley.html
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
, PC
Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign in the United Kingdom...
, QC
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...
(17 February 1930 – 7 April 2009) was a British jurist specialising in European and International Law, and a former judge of the European Court of Justice
European Court of Justice
The Court can sit in plenary session, as a Grand Chamber of 13 judges, or in chambers of three or five judges. Plenary sitting are now very rare, and the court mostly sits in chambers of three or five judges...
and Lord of Appeal in Ordinary
Lord of Appeal in Ordinary
Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, commonly known as Law Lords, were appointed under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 to the House of Lords of the United Kingdom in order to exercise its judicial functions, which included acting as the highest court of appeal for most domestic matters...
.
Early life
Slynn was born on 17 February 1930 to John and Edith Slynn and educated at Sandbach SchoolSandbach School
Founded in 1677, Sandbach School has been located on Crewe Road in Sandbach, Cheshire for almost 150 years.It is an all-boys school offering admission from the age of 11. In years 10 and 11 a range of GCSE's and Vocational subjects are offered. The school has its own Sixth Form and so offers...
, Goldsmiths, University of London, and Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
. He was called to the Bar at Gray’s Inn in 1956, becoming a Bencher in 1970 and Treasurer in 1988. He served as Junior Counsel to the Ministry of Labour
Ministry of Labour
The Ministry of Labour was a British civil service department established by the New Ministries and Secretaries Act 1916. It was renamed the Employment Department in 1988, and finally abolished in 1995...
between 1967–68, and as First Junior Treasury Counsel (Common Law) from 1968 to 1974. He took silk
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...
in 1974,
thereupon becoming the first holder of the appointment of Leading Counsel to the Treasury.
Judicial career
He was appointed Recorder of Hereford in 1971 and as a judgeHigh Court judge
A High Court judge is a judge of the High Court of Justice, and represents the third highest level of judge in the courts of England and Wales. High Court judges are referred to as puisne judges...
of the Queen's Bench Division of the High Court
High Court of Justice
The High Court of Justice is, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, one of the Senior Courts of England and Wales...
in 1976, serving additionally as President of the Employment Appeal Tribunal
Employment Appeal Tribunal
The Employment Appeal Tribunal is a tribunal non-departmental public body in England and Wales and Scotland, and is a superior court of record. Its primary role is to hear appeals from Employment Tribunals in England, Scotland and Wales...
from 1978. In 1981, he left both these positions to become an Advocate General at the European Court of Justice
European Court of Justice
The Court can sit in plenary session, as a Grand Chamber of 13 judges, or in chambers of three or five judges. Plenary sitting are now very rare, and the court mostly sits in chambers of three or five judges...
(ECJ), and was appointed a Judge in 1988, a position he held until 1992.
He was appointed a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary
Lord of Appeal in Ordinary
Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, commonly known as Law Lords, were appointed under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 to the House of Lords of the United Kingdom in order to exercise its judicial functions, which included acting as the highest court of appeal for most domestic matters...
in 1992, becoming a life peer
Life peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the Peerage whose titles cannot be inherited. Nowadays life peerages, always of baronial rank, are created under the Life Peerages Act 1958 and entitle the holders to seats in the House of Lords, presuming they meet qualifications such as...
as Baron Slynn of Hadley, of Eggington in the County of Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....
, and being sworn of the Privy Council. He was a dissenter in the case R v. Brown, which upheld the legality of the criminal convictions resulting from Operation Spanner
Operation Spanner
Operation Spanner was the name of an operation carried out by police in the United Kingdom city of Manchester in 1987, as a result of which a group of homosexuals were convicted of assault occasioning actual bodily harm for their involvement in consensual sadomasochism over a ten year period.The...
. As a member of the House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
, he served as Chairman of the House of Lords Select Sub-Committee on European Law and Institutions (1992–95), and as a member of the House of Lords Select Committee on Public Service (1996–98) and the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Corruption Bill (2003). He retired as a Law Lord in 2002.
He was appointed President of the Court of Appeal of the Solomon Islands in 2001 and was life President of the Lord Slynn of Hadley European Law Foundation and President of the Civil Mediation Council
Civil Mediation Council
The Civil Mediation Council was established in the UK in 2003 under the chairmanship of Lord Justice Sir Brian Neill to be the neutral and independent body to represent and to promote civil and commercial mediation as alternatives to litigation and thereby to further law reform and access to...
Honours
Lord Slynn of Hadley received honorary degreeHonorary degree
An honorary degree or a degree honoris causa is an academic degree for which a university has waived the usual requirements, such as matriculation, residence, study, and the passing of examinations...
s from numerous institutions, and was Visitor
Visitor
A Visitor, in United Kingdom law and history, is an overseer of an autonomous ecclesiastical or eleemosynary institution , who can intervene in the internal affairs of that institution...
of Mansfield College
Mansfield College, Oxford
Mansfield College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Of the colleges that accept both undergraduate and graduate students Mansfield College is one of the smallest, comprising approximately 210 undergraduates, 130 graduates, 35 visiting students and 50...
, Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
from 1995–2002 and of the University of Essex
University of Essex
The University of Essex is a British campus university whose original and largest campus is near the town of Colchester, England. Established in 1963 and receiving its Royal Charter in 1965...
from 1995–2000. He was Chief Steward
High steward (civic)
High steward is an honorary title bestowed by the councils or charter trustees of certain towns and cities in England. Originally a judicial office with considerable local powers, by the 17th century it had declined to a largely ceremonial role. The title is usually awarded for life, and in some...
of Hereford between 1978–2008 and received the Freedom of the City
Freedom of the City
Freedom of the City is an honour bestowed by some municipalities in Australia, Canada, Ireland, France, Italy, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom, Gibraltar and Rhodesia to esteemed members of its community and to organisations to be honoured, often for service to the community;...
in 1996, and was President of the Bentham Club in 1992 and of the Holdsworth Club in 1993. He was knighted
Knight Bachelor
The rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...
in 1976. He was made a Knight of the Order of St John
Venerable Order of Saint John
The Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem , is a royal order of chivalry established in 1831 and found today throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, Hong Kong, Ireland and the United States of America, with the world-wide mission "to prevent and relieve sickness and...
in 1998, having received the Order of St John in 1992, and received the Grande Croix de l’Ordre de Mérite (Luxembourg) in 1998; appointed a Knight Cross, Order of Merit (Poland) in 1999; Grand Cross, Order of Merit (Malta) in 2001; Officer’s Cross, Order of Merit (Hungary) in 2002; and the Cross of Solomon Islands in 2007. He was appointed Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(GBE) in the 2009 New Year Honours
New Year Honours 2009
The New Year Honours 2009 principally for the United Kingdom as well as the Commonwealth Realms were announced on 31 December 2008, to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginning of 2009....
for his services to the International Law Association
International Law Association
The International Law Association is a non-profit organization based in Great Britain that — according to its 2004 constitution — promotes "the study, clarification and development of international law" and "the furtherance of international understanding and respect for international law."The ILA...
which he served as Chairman of the Executive Committee.
In 2000 he was presented with a 2-volume Liber Amicorum: Vol I, entitled Judicial Review in European Union Law, was edited by Professor David O'Keeffe and Antonio Bavasso; Vol 2, entitled Judicial Review in International Perspective, was edited by Mads Andenas and Duncan Fairgrieve; both volumes were published by Kluwer Law International (ISBN 90-411 1373-8 (set)).
Mooting
Lord Slynn of Hadley was a supporter of mootingMoot court
A moot court is an extracurricular activity at many law schools in which participants take part in simulated court proceedings, usually to include drafting briefs and participating in oral argument. The term derives from Anglo Saxon times, when a moot was a gathering of prominent men in a...
, and has written a foreword to the book, How to Moot: a Student Guide to Mooting and has sat as a judge in the Central and East European Moot Court. He was Honorary President of the Durham Mooting Society and an honorary member of the Jefferson Literary and Debating Society
Jefferson Literary and Debating Society
The Jefferson Literary and Debating Society is a debating and literary society at the University of Virginia. Founded in 1825, it is the oldest organization at The University and one of the oldest continuously existing debating societies in North America....
at the University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
.
Charitable work
Lord Slynn was Patron of the UK wing of the Child In Need Institute (CINI)Child In Need Institute (CINI)
CINI, known internationally as Child In Need India and in India as the Child In Need Institute, is an international humanitarian organisation aimed at promoting "sustainable development in health, nutrition and education of child, adolescent and woman in need" in India...
(CINI UK), founded by his wife Odile Slynn
Odile Slynn
Odile Slynn, Lady Slynn of Hadley is a French-born British humanitarian and philanthropist, involved in several organisations advocating children's rights and wildlife preservation...
to help poor mothers and children in India.
He was a Trustee of The Loomba Trust
The Loomba Trust
The Loomba Trust is an NGO that supports widows and their children around the world. It is named after Pushpa Wati Loomba, after whom the trust was started.-The organisation:...
, which cares for widows around the world, and Patron of the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Institute for India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n art and culture.
Lord Slynn led a campaign to remove People's Mujahedin of Iran
People's Mujahedin of Iran
The People's Mujahedin of Iran is a terrorist militant organization that advocates the overthrow of the Islamic Republic of Iran....
from the British and EU's blacklists. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/law-obituaries/5127036/Lord-Slynn-of-Hadley.html