Sir Brian Thomas Neill PC QC (2 August 1923 – 24 December 2017) was a British jurist. He was the son of Sir Thomas Neill, JP and the elder brother of Patrick Neill, Baron Neill of Bladen. He was educated at

Highgate School Highgate School, formally Sir Roger Cholmeley's School at Highgate, is an English co-educational, fee-charging, independent day school, founded in 1565 in Highgate, London, England. It educates over 1,400 pupils in three sections – Highgat ...

, where he later served as a Governor for 21 years. After serving as a Captain in the Rifle Brigade in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

he attended

Corpus Christi College, Oxford Corpus Christi College (formally, Corpus Christi College in the University of Oxford; informally abbreviated as Corpus or CCC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1517, it is the 12t ...

, where he was later elected an Honorary Fellow in 1986. He was called to the Bar at the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and ...

in 1949, eventually becoming a

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister o ...

in 1968. In 1972 he became a Recorder of the

Crown Court The Crown Court is the court of first instance of England and Wales responsible for hearing all indictable offences, some either way offences and appeals lied to it by the magistrates' courts. It is one of three Senior Courts of England and W ...

. From 1980–81 he served as Master of the Turners' Company. As is customary with such judicial appointments, Neill became a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are ...

in 1978 on being named to the

High Court of Justice The High Court of Justice in London, known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Senior Courts of England and Wales. Its name is abbreviated as EWHC ( Engl ...

Queen's Bench Division The King's Bench Division (or Queen's Bench Division when the monarch is female) of the High Court of Justice deals with a wide range of common law cases and has supervisory responsibility over certain lower courts. It hears appeals on point ...

and was sworn of the

Privy Council of the United Kingdom The Privy Council (PC), officially His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its membership mainly comprises senior politicians who are current or former members of ei ...

in 1985 on being named a

Lord Justice of Appeal A Lord Justice of Appeal or Lady Justice of Appeal is a judge of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, the court that hears appeals from the High Court of Justice, the Crown Court and other courts and tribunals. A Lord (or Lady) Justic ...

. From 1985 to 1992 he was president of the Society for Computers and Law and from 2009 to 2012 chairman of the Slynn Foundation. On concluding his service on the Court of Appeal in 1996 he joined the Judiciary of Gibraltar, becoming a Lord Justice, in 1997, and President, in 1998, of the Court of Appeal there before retiring in 2003. In 2015 he was appointed a

Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon B ...

Reading

* ''Essays in Honour of Sir Brian Neill: The Quintessential Judge'', edited by

Lord Saville Mark Oliver Saville, Baron Saville of Newdigate, (born 20 March 1936) is a British judge and former Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. Early life Saville was born on 20 March 1936 to Kenneth Vivian Saville and Olivia Sarah Fran ...

and

Richard Susskind Richard Eric Susskind OBE FRSE (born 28 March 1961) is a British author, speaker, and independent adviser to international professional firms and national governments. He is the IT adviser to the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, holds ...

, foreword by

Lord Woolf Harry Kenneth Woolf, Baron Woolf, (born 2 May 1933) is a British life peer and retired barrister and judge. He was Master of the Rolls from 1996 until 2000 and Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales from 2000 until 2005. The Constitutional ...

and Lord Bingham, LexisNexis Butterworths, 2003.PDF version
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Telegraph obituary (subscription required)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Neill, Brian 1923 births 2017 deaths Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Oxford British Army personnel of World War II English King's Counsel Knights Bachelor Lords Justices of Appeal Members of the Inner Temple Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom People educated at Highgate School Rifle Brigade officers Queen's Bench Division judges English people of Irish descent 20th-century English lawyers