David Hacking, 3rd Baron Hacking (born 17 April 1938), is a British arbitrator,

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

and

hereditary peer The hereditary peers form part of the peerage in the United Kingdom. As of April 2025, there are 800 hereditary peers: 30 dukes (including six royal dukes), 34 marquesses, 189 earls, 108 viscounts, and 439 barons (not counting subsidiary ...

Education and military career

He was educated at Aldro preparatory school, Charterhouse and

Clare College, Cambridge Clare College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the Unive ...

, from where he graduated BA in 1961; he received his MA in 1968. His professional education was at the

Inns of Court School of Law The City Law School is a law school in London, England, and it is one of the six schools of City, University of London. The law school traces its origins to the Inns of Court School of Law (ICSL), which was founded in 1852. The ICSL became par ...

. He served in the

Royal Naval Reserve The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original ...

from 1954 to 1964, seeing active service 1956-8 and reaching the rank of Lieutenant.

Career in law

Hacking is a qualified barrister and solicitor in England and Wales as well as an Attorney in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. He has worked for over 40 years as an international arbitrator and mediator of commercial disputes.

House of Lords

Having inherited the title Baron Hacking from his father in 1971, Hacking sat in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

for over 20 years, contributing to reform of arbitration law and related areas. Having sat as a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

, in 1998 he defected to Labour over the European and law and order policies of then party leader

William Hague William Jefferson Hague, Baron Hague of Richmond (born 26 March 1961) is a British politician and life peer who was Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from 1997 to 2001 and Deputy Leader from 2005 to 2010. He was th ...

. He lost his automatic right to a seat under the

House of Lords Act 1999 The House of Lords Act 1999 (c. 34) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the House of Lords, one of the chambers of Parliament. The Act was given royal assent on 11 November 1999. For centuries, the House of Lords ...

. He sought to return to the House in the by-election caused by the death of Lord Milner of Leeds in 2003. From 2009 to 2014, he stood in several subsequent

by-elections A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

as a

crossbencher A crossbencher is a minor party or independent member of some legislatures, such as the Parliament of Australia. In the British House of Lords the term refers to members of the parliamentary group of non-political peers. They take their name fr ...

, but only succeeded in 2021 as a Labour candidate to replace Viscount Simon, 47 years after he first entered the Lords in 1974. He took the oath again on Thursday, 2 December 2021, Lord Hacking made his second maiden speech on 7 February 2022, reflecting on the number of Baronesses in the Lords compared to when he left in 1999, remembering his first maiden speech which he nearly made 50 years ago, on 26 April 1972 & the amount of amendments on legalisation going through the Lords. Lord Hacking is the oldest hereditary peer to have been elected during hereditary peers by elections.

Arms

References

External links

* Living people 1938 births People educated at Aldro People educated at Charterhouse School Alumni of Clare College, Cambridge 3 British barristers Conservative Party (UK) hereditary peers Labour Party (UK) hereditary peers 3 Royal Naval Reserve personnel {{UK-baron-stub Hacking Hacking