Biography

Harpreet Singh Giani was educated at the DAV College, Chandigarh and after obtaining a law degree from the Panjab University at Chandigarh

Chandigarh

Chandigarh is a union territory of India that serves as the capital of two states, Haryana and Punjab. The name Chandigarh translates as "The Fort of Chandi". The name is from an ancient temple called Chandi Mandir, devoted to the Hindu goddess Chandi, in the city...

, was admitted to the bar in 1999. He also received a Master of Business Laws degree from the National Law School of India University

National Law School of India University

The National Law School of India University is the leading institution for undergraduate and graduate legal education in India. By popular estimates, the school consistently ranks as the most prestigious law school in India...

, Bangalore

Bangalore

Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...

 (2004) as well as a Master of Laws (International Law) from the London School of Economics

London School of Economics

The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...

 (2006).

Giani was called to the Bar in India in 1999. Thereafter he was called to the Bar of England and Wales in 2006 at the Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, London.

He is also an alumnus of the Hague Academy of International Law

Hague Academy of International Law

The Hague Academy of International Law is a center for high-level education in both public and private international law housed in the Peace Palace in The Hague, The Netherlands...

 (2003) and the International Institute for Higher Studies in Criminal Sciences, Siracusa, Italy (2008) where he studied Shariat (Islamic) law.

Giani is the son of noted Chandigarh

Chandigarh

Chandigarh is a union territory of India that serves as the capital of two states, Haryana and Punjab. The name Chandigarh translates as "The Fort of Chandi". The name is from an ancient temple called Chandi Mandir, devoted to the Hindu goddess Chandi, in the city...

 lawyer Harinder Singh Giani

Harinder Singh Giani

Harinder Singh Giani was an eminent jurist, who practiced at the bar of the Punjab and Haryana High Court at Chandigarh for over 42 years. He was the Senior Central Government Standing Counsel in the mid-nineties...

 and the grand-son of the renowned Sikh

Sikh

A Sikh is a follower of Sikhism. It primarily originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region of South Asia. The term "Sikh" has its origin in Sanskrit term शिष्य , meaning "disciple, student" or शिक्ष , meaning "instruction"...

 scholar and calligraphist, Pratap Singh Giani

Pratap Singh Giani

Pratap Singh Giani was a Sikh academician, scholar and calligraphist.He was born in 1855, the son of Bhai Bhag Singh Giani of Lahore. As a young boy, Partap Singh learnt Punjabi, Urdu and Sanskrit and studied Sikh scriptures...

.

Giani was also the first ever Indian to intern in the International Criminal Court

International Criminal Court

The International Criminal Court is a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression .It came into being on 1 July 2002—the date its founding treaty, the Rome Statute of the...

 at The Hague.

Publications

• Books
  • The Blood Bankers' Legal Handbook (2003)
• Newspaper Columns
  • Byte by Byte, Weekly Column in the Indian Express, 1994–1998
• Newspaper Op-Eds
  • Dispensing Justice- Lawyers to blame for judicial mess.
  • Different strokes - Curious stance against French secular initiative.
  • The right to be born - State must take care of its citizens.
  • Why court cases pile up - Giving stay orders as a routine is to blame.
  • Whither rule of law? - Each acquittal is a blot.

Liberhan Ayodhya Commission of Inquiry

Giani was the Commission's Counsel for the Liberhan Ayodhya Commission of Inquiry. He joined the Commission in 1998, after the previous Counsel had resigned. Giani worked on the final report which was handed over to the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Home Minister P. Chidambaram by Justice Liberhan and Giani on the 30th of June 2009. Giani remained the Commission's Counsel for over a year and a half, till the Commission was wound up with the submission of the report.

Controversy over authorship of the report

In the parliamentary debate in the lower house of the Indian Parliament, Members of Parliament Pinaki Mishra and Sushma Swaraj

Sushma Swaraj

Sushma Swaraj is an Indian politician of the Bharatiya Janata Party and Member of Parliament. She is currently the Leader of the Opposition in the 15th Lok Sabha. She is a former union cabinet minister of India and a former Chief Minister of Delhi. Also she served as the Chairperson of the BJP's...

 stated that they believed that the report had in fact been written by Giani rather than Chief Justice Manmohan Singh Liberhan.

In the upper house of parliament, Member of Parliament Arun Jaitley

Arun Jaitley

Arun Jaitley is a prominent Indian politician and a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party , which is currently the largest Opposition party in India...

similarly claimed that