David Pannick
Encyclopedia
David Philip Pannick, Baron Pannick QC
(born 7 March 1956) is a leading barrister
in the United Kingdom
, and crossbencher in the House of Lords
. He practises mainly in the areas of public law
and human rights
. He argued 100 cases before the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords before its replacement by the new Supreme Court of the United Kingdom in October 2009, has argued more than 30 cases in the European Court of Justice
, and more than 30 cases before the European Court of Human Rights
.
and Hertford College, Oxford
, where he graduated as a MA
and a BCL
. He was called to the Bar at Gray's Inn
in 1979, and was a Junior Counsel to the Crown
in Common Law
from 1988 to 1992. He became a Queen's Counsel
in 1992, a Recorder
on the South Eastern Circuit in 1995, and a deputy High Court judge
in 1998. Pannick has appeared in the courts of Hong Kong, Brunei, Gibraltar and the Cayman Islands. He appeared in 100 cases in the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords before its jurisdiction was transferred to the new Supreme Court in October 2009. In his first case, in 1980, in the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (led by Anthony Lester QC), his client - a convicted drug trafficker - was hanged.
case; represented Camelot in the High Court in 2000 and established that the National Lottery Commission had treated it unfairly in rejecting its application to renew its licence to run the National Lottery; acted for the League Against Cruel Sports
in defending a challenge to the validity of the Hunting Act 2004
; represented a woman who established that she was entitled to be prescribed with the breast cancer
drug Herceptin; was briefed by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in its claim to state immunity
against claims of torture
; and he appeared for BBC
director-general Mark Thompson
when an attempt was made to prosecute the BBC for blasphemy for broadcasting Jerry Springer: The Opera
. "
of All Souls College, Oxford
since 1978, and became an Honorary Fellow of Hertford College, Oxford
in September 2004. He writes a fortnightly column on legal matters for The Times
, and is co-author with Lord Lester of Herne Hill QC
of Human Rights Law and Practice (1st edition 1999; 2nd edition 2004, 3rd edition 2009).
that Pannick had been nominated for a life peer
age as a Crossbencher. His title was gazetted
as Baron Pannick, of Radlett in the county of Hertfordshire, dated 3 November 2008.
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...
(born 7 March 1956) is a leading barrister
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, and crossbencher in 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 practises mainly in the areas of public law
Public law
Public law is a theory of law governing the relationship between individuals and the state. Under this theory, constitutional law, administrative law and criminal law are sub-divisions of public law...
and human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
. He argued 100 cases before the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords before its replacement by the new Supreme Court of the United Kingdom in October 2009, has argued more than 30 cases in 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 more than 30 cases before the European Court of Human Rights
European Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is a supra-national court established by the European Convention on Human Rights and hears complaints that a contracting state has violated the human rights enshrined in the Convention and its protocols. Complaints can be brought by individuals or...
.
Career
Pannick was educated at Bancroft's SchoolBancroft's School
Bancroft's School is a co-educational independent school in Woodford Green, London. The school has around 1,000 pupils aged between 7 and 18...
and Hertford College, Oxford
Hertford College, Oxford
Hertford College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is located in Catte Street, directly opposite the main entrance of the original Bodleian Library. As of 2006, the college had a financial endowment of £52m. There are 612 students , plus various visiting...
, where he graduated as a MA
Master of Arts (Oxbridge)
In the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge and Dublin, Bachelors of Arts of these universities are admitted to the degree of Master of Arts or Master in Arts on application after six or seven years' seniority as members of the university .There is no examination or study required for the degree...
and a BCL
Bachelor of Civil Law
Bachelor of Civil Law is the name of various degrees in law conferred by English-language universities. Historically, it originated as a postgraduate degree in the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, but many universities now offer the BCL as an undergraduate degree...
. He was called to the Bar at Gray's Inn
Gray's Inn
The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these Inns...
in 1979, and was a Junior Counsel to the Crown
The Crown
The Crown is a corporation sole that in the Commonwealth realms and any provincial or state sub-divisions thereof represents the legal embodiment of governance, whether executive, legislative, or judicial...
in Common Law
Common law
Common law is law developed by judges through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive branch action...
from 1988 to 1992. He became a Queen's Counsel
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 1992, a Recorder
Recorder (judge)
A Recorder is a judicial officer in England and Wales. It now refers to two quite different appointments. The ancient Recorderships of England and Wales now form part of a system of Honorary Recorderships which are filled by the most senior full-time circuit judges...
on the South Eastern Circuit in 1995, and a deputy High Court judge
High 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...
in 1998. Pannick has appeared in the courts of Hong Kong, Brunei, Gibraltar and the Cayman Islands. He appeared in 100 cases in the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords before its jurisdiction was transferred to the new Supreme Court in October 2009. In his first case, in 1980, in the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (led by Anthony Lester QC), his client - a convicted drug trafficker - was hanged.
Noted cases
He has acted in a wide range of high-profile cases, recently representing Debbie Purdy in the Appellate Committee of the Lords (the last judgment given in the House of Lords) to establish the duty of the DPP to publish guidelines on prosecuting for assisting a suicide; and acting for AF, a man subject to a control order, establishing that the Home Secretary had a duty to inform him of the essence of the case against him. He represented the Crown in the Supreme Court in establishing in 2010 that MPs accused of dishonestly claiming expenses were not entitled to the benefit of parliamentary privilege. In January 2011, he represented Max Mosley before the European Court of Human Rights in his claim that the right to privacy obliged the United Kingdom to impose duties on newspapers to give prior notice of a publication invading privacy so the subject could seek an injunction. He appeared for a school (JFS) in the first hearing before the new Supreme Court on 2 October 2009. He acted for the gay servicemen who established in the European Court of Human Rights in 1999 that it was unlawful for the Ministry of Defence to dismiss them because of their sexual orientation; represented the British Olympic Committee in July 2008 in successfully resisting in the High Court the claim by athlete Dwain Chambers about the refusal to select him for the Beijing Olympics because of the earlier finding of doping; appeared for the Sunday Times in the SpycatcherSpycatcher
Spycatcher: The Candid Autobiography of a Senior Intelligence Officer , is a book written by Peter Wright, former MI5 officer and Assistant Director, and co-author Paul Greengrass. It was published first in Australia...
case; represented Camelot in the High Court in 2000 and established that the National Lottery Commission had treated it unfairly in rejecting its application to renew its licence to run the National Lottery; acted for the League Against Cruel Sports
League Against Cruel Sports
The League Against Cruel Sports are an animal welfare organisation that campaigns against all blood sports including bull fighting, fox hunting and hare coursing. It also campaigns to ban the manufacture, sale and use of snares, for the regulation of greyhound racing and for an end to commercial...
in defending a challenge to the validity of the Hunting Act 2004
Hunting Act 2004
The Hunting Act 2004 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The effect of the Act is to outlaw hunting with dogs in England and Wales from 18 February 2005...
; represented a woman who established that she was entitled to be prescribed with the breast cancer
Breast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas; those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas...
drug Herceptin; was briefed by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in its claim to state immunity
State immunity
The doctrine and rules of state immunity concern the protection which a state is given from being sued in the courts of other states. The rules relate to legal proceedings in the courts of another state, not in a state's own courts...
against claims of torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
; and he appeared for BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
director-general Mark Thompson
Mark Thompson
Mark John Thompson is Director-General of the BBC, a post he has held since 2004, and a former chief executive of Channel 4...
when an attempt was made to prosecute the BBC for blasphemy for broadcasting Jerry Springer: The Opera
Jerry Springer: The Opera
Jerry Springer: The Opera is a British musical written by Richard Thomas and Stewart Lee, based on the television show The Jerry Springer Show. The musical is notable for its profanity, its irreverent treatment of Judeo-Christian themes, and surreal images such as a troupe of tap-dancing Ku Klux...
. "
Academic career and publications
He has been a FellowFellow
A fellow in the broadest sense is someone who is an equal or a comrade. The term fellow is also used to describe a person, particularly by those in the upper social classes. It is most often used in an academic context: a fellow is often part of an elite group of learned people who are awarded...
of All Souls College, Oxford
All Souls College, Oxford
The Warden and the College of the Souls of all Faithful People deceased in the University of Oxford or All Souls College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England....
since 1978, and became an Honorary Fellow of Hertford College, Oxford
Hertford College, Oxford
Hertford College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is located in Catte Street, directly opposite the main entrance of the original Bodleian Library. As of 2006, the college had a financial endowment of £52m. There are 612 students , plus various visiting...
in September 2004. He writes a fortnightly column on legal matters for The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, and is co-author with Lord Lester of Herne Hill QC
Anthony Lester, Baron Lester of Herne Hill
Anthony Paul Lester, Baron Lester of Herne Hill, QC is a British politician and member of the House of Lords, and a member of the Liberal Democrats....
of Human Rights Law and Practice (1st edition 1999; 2nd edition 2004, 3rd edition 2009).
Peerage
On 29 September 2008, it was announced by the House of Lords Appointments CommissionHouse of Lords Appointments Commission
The House of Lords Appointments Commission is a non-partisan, non-statutory, independent body in the United Kingdom. It has three roles:*to recommend people for appointment as non-party-political life peers;...
that Pannick had been nominated for 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...
age as a Crossbencher. His title was gazetted
London Gazette
The London Gazette is one of the official journals of record of the British government, and the most important among such official journals in the United Kingdom, in which certain statutory notices are required to be published...
as Baron Pannick, of Radlett in the county of Hertfordshire, dated 3 November 2008.
Publications
- Judicial Review of the Death Penalty (1982, Duckworth),
- Sex Discrimination Law (1985, Oxford University Press),
- Judges (1987, Oxford University Press),
- Advocates (1992, Oxford University Press)
- Human Rights Law and Practice (general editor with Lord Lester of Herne Hill QC, Butterworths, October 1999, second edition March 2004)
- I Have to Move My Car (2008, Hart Publishing).
External links
- Professional biography at Blackstone Chambers
- Bookfinder.com, Books by David Pannick, QC