David Philip Pannick, Baron Pannick, (born 7 March 1956) is a British
barrister
A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...
and a
crossbencher
A crossbencher is an independent or minor party member of some legislatures, such as the British House of Lords and the Parliament of Australia. They take their name from the crossbenches, between and perpendicular to the government and oppositi ...
in the
House of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...
. He practises mainly in the areas of
public law
Public law is the part of law that governs relations between legal persons and a government, between different institutions within a state, between different branches of governments, as well as relationships between persons that are of direct ...
and human rights. He has argued cases before the
Supreme Court of the United Kingdom
The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (initialism: UKSC or the acronym: SCOTUK) is the final court of appeal in the United Kingdom for all civil cases, and for criminal cases originating in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. As the Unite ...
, the
Appellate Committee of the House of Lords, the
European Court of Justice
The European Court of Justice (ECJ, french: Cour de Justice européenne), formally just the Court of Justice, is the supreme court of the European Union in matters of European Union law. As a part of the Court of Justice of the European Un ...
, and the
European Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that a ...
.
Early life and education
David Philip Pannick was born on 7 March 1956 in
Islington
Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ar ...
, London, England, to Maurice and Rita Pannick.
Having won a scholarship, he was educated at
Bancroft's School, an
independent school
An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British Eng ...
in
Woodford Green, London.
He studied law at
Hertford College, Oxford
Hertford College ( ), previously known as Magdalen Hall, is a colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It is located on Catte Street in the centre of Oxford, directly opposite the main ga ...
, from which he graduated with a
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
(BA) and a
postgraduate
Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate ( bachelor's) degree.
The organization and stru ...
Bachelor of Civil Law (BCL) degree: as per tradition, his BA was promoted to a
Master of Arts
A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...
(MA) degree.
Career
He was called to the Bar at
Gray's Inn
The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...
in 1979, and was one of the panel of Junior Counsel to the Crown (Common Law) from 1988 to 1992, when he was appointed
Queen's Counsel
In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...
,
as the title was known during the reign of
Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...
. He was also appointed a
Recorder
Recorder or The Recorder may refer to:
Newspapers
* ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper
* ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US
* ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a news ...
on the
South Eastern Circuit in 1995,
and a deputy
High Court judge in 1998. He stopped sitting as a judge in 2005.
Pannick has appeared in the courts of
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
,
Brunei
Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely sur ...
,
Gibraltar
)
, anthem = " God Save the King"
, song = " Gibraltar Anthem"
, image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg
, map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe
, map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green
, mapsize =
, image_map2 = Gib ...
,
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...
, the
British Virgin Islands
)
, anthem = "God Save the King"
, song_type = Territorial song
, song = "Oh, Beautiful Virgin Islands"
, image_map = File:British Virgin Islands on the globe (Americas centered).svg
, map_caption =
, mapsize = 290px
, image_map2 = Brit ...
,
Bermuda
)
, anthem = "God Save the King"
, song_type = National song
, song = " Hail to Bermuda"
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, mapsize2 =
, map_caption2 =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name =
, e ...
and the
Cayman Islands
The Cayman Islands () is a self-governing British Overseas Territory—the largest by population in the western Caribbean Sea. The territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, which are located to the ...
. He appeared in 100 cases before the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords before its jurisdiction was transferred to the new Supreme Court in October 2009.
As an academic
He was elected as an examination fellow of
All Souls College, Oxford
All Souls College (official name: College of the Souls of All the Faithful Departed) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full members of t ...
, in 1978. He became an honorary fellow of Hertford College, Oxford, in September 2004. He has written on legal matters for ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'', and was co-author with the late
Lord Lester of Herne Hill QC of ''Human Rights Law and Practice'' (1st edition 1999; 2nd edition 2004, 3rd edition 2009).
Peerage
On 29 September 2008, the
House of Lords Appointments Commission announced that Pannick had been nominated for a
life peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...
age as a
crossbencher
A crossbencher is an independent or minor party member of some legislatures, such as the British House of Lords and the Parliament of Australia. They take their name from the crossbenches, between and perpendicular to the government and oppositi ...
.
[House of Lords Appointments Commission publishes 2007–08 report and announces two new non party political peers](_blank)
House of Lords Appointments Commission. Retrieved 2 October 2008. His title was
gazetted as Baron Pannick, of
Radlett
Radlett is a village in Hertfordshire, England, between Elstree and St Albans on Watling Street, with a population of 8,042. It is in the council district of Hertsmere in the south of the county, and is covered by two wards; Aldenham East and ...
in the county of
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...
, dated 3 November 2008.
Noted cases
In the 1980s Pannick appeared for the Sunday Times in the ''
Spycatcher
''Spycatcher: The Candid Autobiography of a Senior Intelligence Officer'' (1987) is a memoir written by Peter Wright, former MI5 officer and Assistant Director, and co-author Paul Greengrass. He drew on his own experiences and research into ...
'' case. He acted for the gay servicemen who established in the European Court of Human Rights in 1999 a finding of unlawful dismissal because of his sexual orientation; represented
Camelot PLC in the High Court in 2000 and established that the
National Lottery Commission
The National Lottery Commission was an organisation set up on 1 April 1999 under the National Lottery Act 1998 to regulate the United Kingdom's National Lottery. It replaced the Director General and the Office of the National Lottery (Oflot). On ...
had treated it unfairly in rejecting its application to renew its licence to run the National Lottery; acted for the
League Against Cruel Sports
The League Against Cruel Sports, formerly known as the League for the Prohibition of Cruel Sports, is a UK-based animal welfare charity which campaigns to stop blood sports such as fox hunting, hare and deer hunting; game bird shooting; and anim ...
in defending a challenge to the validity of the
Hunting Act 2004
The Hunting Act 2004 (c 37) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which bans the hunting of most wild mammals (notably foxes, deer, hares and mink) with dogs in England and Wales, subject to some strictly limited exemptions; the ...
; represented a woman who established that she was entitled to be prescribed with the breast cancer drug
Herceptin; and was briefed by the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the Ara ...
in its claim to
state immunity against claims of
torture
Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts c ...
.
In 2007, Pannick appeared for
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
director-general
Mark Thompson when an attempt was made to prosecute the BBC for blasphemy for broadcasting ''
Jerry Springer: The Opera''.
In July 2008, he represented the
British Olympic Committee
The British Olympic Association (BOA) is the National Olympic Committee for the United Kingdom. It is responsible for organising and overseeing the participation of athletes from the Great Britain and Northern Ireland Olympic Team, at both t ...
in successfully resisting in the High Court the claim by athlete
Dwain Chambers
Dwain Anthony Chambers (born 5 April 1978) is a British track sprinter. He has won international medals at World and European levels and is one of the fastest European sprinters in the history of athletics. His primary event is the 100 me ...
about the refusal to select him for the Beijing Olympics because of the earlier finding of doping. Later that year he represented
Debbie Purdy
Debbie Purdy (4 May 1963 – 23 December 2014) was a British music journalist and political activist from Bradford, West Yorkshire, with primary progressive multiple sclerosis, notable for her challenge to the law in England and Wales as rela ...
in the Appellate Committee of the Lords (the last judgement given in the
House of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...
) to establish the duty of the
Director of Public Prosecutions
The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is the office or official charged with the prosecution of criminal offences in several criminal jurisdictions around the world. The title is used mainly in jurisdictions that are or have been members o ...
to publish guidelines on prosecuting for assisting a suicide.
More recently Pannick acted for AF, a man subject to a control order, establishing that the
Home Secretary
The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all national ...
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
Parliamentary privilege is a legal immunity enjoyed by members of certain legislatures, in which legislators are granted protection against civil or criminal liability for actions done or statements made in the course of their legislative duties. ...
. 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
An injunction is a legal and equitable remedy in the form of a special court order that compels a party to do or refrain from specific acts. ("The court of appeals ... has exclusive jurisdiction to enjoin, set aside, suspend (in whole or in pa ...
. He appeared for a school (
JFS) in the first hearing before the new Supreme Court on 2 October 2009,
about the school's admissions policy. In 2011 and 2012, Pannick also represented the
Government of Hong Kong
The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, commonly known as the Hong Kong Government or HKSAR Government, refers to the executive authorities of Hong Kong SAR. It was formed on 1 July 1997 in accordance with the Sino-Br ...
in ''
Vallejos v. Commissioner of Registration
''Vallejos and Domingo v. Commissioner of Registration'' was a court case against the government of Hong Kong by two foreign domestic helpers (FDHs) seeking permanent residence and the right of abode in Hong Kong. Because of its subject matter ...
'', a case in which a
foreign domestic helper sought judicial review to determine whether it was constitutional for the government to deny her the
right of abode in the territory.
In October 2016, he co-wrote a legal opinion commissioned by businessman
Philip Green
Sir Philip Nigel Ross Green (born 15 March 1952) is a British businessman who was the chairman of the retail company the Arcadia Group. He owned the high street clothing retailers Topshop, Topman and Miss Selfridge from 2002 to 2020. As of Ma ...
to challenge the conclusions of a parliamentary inquiry which criticised Green's conduct over the collapse of retailer
British Home Stores.
Also in 2016, Pannick successfully represented
Gina Miller in ''
R (Miller) v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union,'' an action against the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union on whether approval by Parliament was required before the Prime Minister could initiate proceedings under Article 50 of the
Treaty of the European Union
The Treaty on European Union, commonly known as the Maastricht Treaty, is the foundation treaty of the European Union (EU). Concluded in 1992 between the then-twelve member states of the European Communities, it announced "a new stage in the pr ...
to take the UK out of the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
.
Pannick successfully led the team working on behalf of Gina Miller in ''R (on the application of Miller) (Appellant) v The Prime Minister (Respondent)'', arguing against the legality of the Government's
prorogation of Parliament in September 2019. In the ruling on the morning of 24 September 2019, the UK supreme court unanimously judged that the Prime Minister
Boris Johnson
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as F ...
had given unlawful advice to the Queen.
In November 2020, Pannick appeared on behalf of
Shamima Begum
Shamima Begum (born 25 August 1999) is a British born woman, who left the UK in 2015 aged 15. She obtained entry to Syria to join the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). In February 2019, Sajid Javid, the Home Secretary, acting for th ...
in the Supreme Court in ''
Begum v Home Secretary
''Begum v Home Secretary'' 021 UKSC 7 is the short name of three closely connected proceedings considered together in the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom,
''R (on the application of Begum) v Special Immigration Appeals Commission; R (on ...
'', judicial review proceedings brought against the then
Home Secretary
The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all national ...
Sajid Javid
Sajid Javid (; born 5 December 1969) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care from June 2021 to July 2022, having previously served as Home Secretary from 2018 to 2019 and Chancellor of the Exchequer f ...
’s decision not to allow her to return to Britain for legal proceedings regarding the removal of her
British citizenship.
Small house policy
Pannick represented the
Heung Yee Kuk village organization in
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
, in a court case to defend the
small house policy.
The controversial policy allows male villagers, but not female villagers, the right to build their own house on government land in the
New Territories
The New Territories is one of the three main regions of Hong Kong, alongside Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula. It makes up 86.2% of Hong Kong's territory, and contains around half of the population of Hong Kong. Historically, it ...
. Pannick challenged
Martin Lee, the "Father of Democracy," who represented the plaintiffs.
Lee said that "Hong Kong has been waiting for so many years for someone to challenge this policy."
However, Pannick argued that the plaintiff was "simply a busybody."
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: Tales of Unpersuasive Advocates and Injudicious Judges'' (2008, Hart Publishing)
Personal life
He married Denise Sloam in 1978. The couple had two sons and one daughter. She died of cancer in 1999. Pannick married Israeli-born lawyer Nathalie Trager-Lewis in 2003. The couple have two daughters and a son.
[ He is Jewish.
]
Hamlyn lecture
In 2021, he delivered the Hamlyn lecture series on the subject of Advocacy.
References
External links
Professional biography
at Blackstone Chambers
Bookfinder.com, Books by David Pannick, KC
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pannick, David
1956 births
Living people
People from Ilford
English Jews
People educated at Bancroft's School
Alumni of Hertford College, Oxford
Members of Gray's Inn
English King's Counsel
People's peers
Crossbench life peers
Fellows of All Souls College, Oxford
Jewish British politicians
Life peers created by Elizabeth II