Johan Steyn, Baron Steyn
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Johan van Zyl Steyn, Baron Steyn, PC (15 August 1932 – 28 November 2017) was a
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
n-
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
judge, until September 2005 a
Law Lord Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, commonly known as Law Lords, were judges appointed under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 to the British House of Lords, as a committee of the House, effectively to exercise the judicial functions of the House of ...
. He sat in the
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as a crossbencher.


Early life and education

Steyn was born in
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Thomas Baldwin ...
in the
Union of South Africa The Union of South Africa (; , ) was the historical predecessor to the present-day South Africa, Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the British Cape Colony, Cape, Colony of Natal, Natal, Tra ...
, the son of Janet Lacey Blignaut and Izak van Zyl Steyn, a professor of law at the University of Stellenbosch. His father died before he was three years old and he subsequently were sent to live with his paternal grandparents. He received his schooling at the Hoërskool Jan van Riebeeck in
Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...
where he matriculated in 1950. He studied law at the University of Stellenbosch before reading Law as a
Rhodes Scholar The Rhodes Scholarship is an international Postgraduate education, postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford in Oxford, United Kingdom. The scholarship is open to people from all backgrounds around the world. Esta ...
at University College, Oxford.


Career

He was called to the Bar in South Africa in 1958 and appointed a Senior Counsel of the Supreme Court of South Africa in 1970. As a result of his opposition to
apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English:  , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...
in his native South Africa, he settled in the UK in 1973, joining the English Bar and building a distinguished
international commercial law International commercial law is a body of legal rules, conventions, treaties, domestic legislation and commercial customs or usages, that governs international commercial or business transactions. A transaction will qualify to be international if ...
practice. He was appointed
Queen's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...
in 1979 and was appointed a High Court Judge in 1985, receiving the customary knighthood, a surprise appointment by the then
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 ...
Lord Chancellor The Lord Chancellor, formally titled Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom. The lord chancellor is the minister of justice for England and Wales and the highest-ra ...
Lord Hailsham. He served as presiding judge of the Northern Circuit from 1989 to 1991 and was appointed
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) Just ...
in 1992. On 11 January 1995 he was elevated to a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary and was created 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. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...
as Baron Steyn, of Swafield in the County of Norfolk. As a Law Lord he achieved prominence for his liberal views and espousal of
human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...
. He was a fierce critic of
Augusto Pinochet Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (25 November 1915 – 10 December 2006) was a Chilean military officer and politician who was the dictator of Military dictatorship of Chile, Chile from 1973 to 1990. From 1973 to 1981, he was the leader ...
's claim to stand immune from prosecution. His record of open criticism of Camp X-Ray at Guantanamo Bay led to pressure from the
UK government His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
that he make himself unavailable for the hearing on the indefinite detention of suspects under the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 that began on 4 October 2004. The decision in the latter case caused the government to review its policy of indefinite detention of terror suspects and led to the equally controversial Terrorism Act 2006. His judicial work in the House of Lords has been instrumental in weaving the
Human Rights Act 1998 The Human Rights Act 1998 (c. 42) is an Act of Parliament (United Kingdom), Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom which received royal assent on 9 November 1998, and came into force on 2 October 2000. Its aim was to incorporate into UK law the ...
into the fabric of English law. He also drew upon his background as a commercial lawyer. His Hart Lecture of May 2000 was influential in its criticism of '' Pepper (Inspector of Taxes) v Hart'', a landmark decision of the House of Lords on the use of
legislative history Legislative history includes any of various materials generated in the course of creating legislation, such as committee reports, analysis by legislative counsel, committee hearings, floor debates, and histories of actions taken. Legislative his ...
in
statutory interpretation Statutory interpretation is the process by which courts interpret and apply legislation. Some amount of interpretation is often necessary when a case involves a statute. Sometimes the words of a statute have a plain and a straightforward meani ...
. He was one of the few senior judges to support calls for modernisation of the English legal system and abolition of the role of
Lord Chancellor The Lord Chancellor, formally titled Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom. The lord chancellor is the minister of justice for England and Wales and the highest-ra ...
. While a Lord of Appeal he refrained from speaking in the House, instead expressing his views on democracy and human rights through judgments and lectures. He retired as a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary on 30 September 2005. Jonathan Mance was elevated from Lord Justice of Appeal on 1 October 2005 to replace him. After his retirement he was for a period the chairman of the human rights organisation
JUSTICE In its broadest sense, justice is the idea that individuals should be treated fairly. According to the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', the most plausible candidate for a core definition comes from the ''Institutes (Justinian), Inst ...
and was vocal in his criticism of
Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...
's government and its approach to
human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...
. He had expressed grave misgivings over the proposed powers to allow detention without trial and about the use of existing anti-terror powers.


Personal life

Steyn married Jean Pollard (1933–2023) in 1958. The couple had four children, Martin, Deon, Linda and Karen Steyn. Their daughter Dame Karen Steyn was appointed a High Court judge in 2019. After his first marriage ended in divorce in 1976, Steyn married Susan Heard (née Lewis) in 1977. Steyn had eight grandchildren (from his first marriage) and three stepgrandchildren (from his second marriage). He died in 2017. On 10 October 2021 as part of the traditional 'Wigs and Mitres Service' lecture at
Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...
Chapel his ashes were interred there.


Notable judgments

* ''In re L'' 9991 AC 458, also called the ''Bournewood'' judgment – held that a compliant but incapacitated adult informally admitted to a psychiatric hospital was not detained unlawfully (later contradicted by the European Court of Human Rights) * '' R (Jackson) v Attorney General'' 0061 AC 262 – controversial comments on parliamentary supremacy and its common law foundations (and the possibility for the courts to invalidate unconstitutional statutes) * '' MacLean v Arklow Investments Ltd'' 0001 WLR 594 ( Privy Council) –
fiduciary duty A fiduciary is a person who holds a legal or ethical relationship of trust with one or more other parties (legal person or group of persons). Typically, a fiduciary prudently takes care of money or other assets for another person. One party, fo ...
arising from the purchase of Matakana Island * '' Barclays Bank plc v Quincecare Ltd'' 9924 All ER 363 * '' R v Secretary of State for the Home Department, ex parte Pierson'' 998AC 539 – the Home Secretary cannot impose a harsher punishment than what was originally imposed, had it been done on the correct basis


References


External links


Profile in ''The Guardian''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Steyn, Johan Steyn, Baron 1932 births 2017 deaths Afrikaner people English King's Counsel South African Rhodes Scholars Law lords Crossbench life peers South African members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Alumni of University College, Oxford 20th-century King's Counsel Stellenbosch University alumni South African members of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council South African Knights Bachelor South African Senior Counsel South African emigrants to the United Kingdom White South African anti-apartheid activists South African anti-apartheid activists 20th-century English lawyers Alumni of Hoërskool Jan van Riebeeck