Johan Steyn, Baron Steyn

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Johan van Zyl Steyn, Baron Steyn PC (born August 15, 1932 in Cape Town ; † November 28, 2017 ) was a South African - British lawyer and until September 2005 Law Lord .

Life and legal career

Johan Steyn studied law at Stellenbosch University before studying English as a Rhodes Scholar at University College .

He was admitted to the bar in South Africa in 1958 and was appointed Senior Counsel to the Supreme Court of South Africa in 1970. As a result of his opposition to the apartheid regime , he left his homeland in 1973 and moved to the United Kingdom. There he again worked as a lawyer and built up a respected legal practice. He became Crown Attorney in 1979 and High Court Judge in 1985 , a surprising appointment by then Lord Chancellor Quintin McGarel Hogg . From 1989 to 1991 he was chief judge of the northern English court parish Northern Circuit . In 1992 he was appointed Lord Justice of Appeal .

At the Lincoln's Inn Bar Association , Steyn was appointed presiding judge (Bencher) in 1985 . From 1987 to 1988 he was Chairman of the Race Relations Committee of Bar and from 1990 to 1994 he held this position on the Departmental Advisory Committee on Arbitration Law . From 1994 to 1996 he was chairman of Lord Chancellor's Advisory Committee on Legal Education and Conduct (ACLEC). Since 2005 he has been a member of the Essex Court Chambers . He was Chairman of the Takeover Panel Appeal Board .

Membership in the House of Lords

In 1995 Steyn was appointed Lord of Appeal in Ordinary and thus also a Life Peer as Baron Steyn, of Swafield in the County of Norfolk . As Law Lord he achieved prominence for his liberal views and his commitment to human rights. In the Pinochet case , he doubted that he had political immunity .

He publicly criticized Camp X-ray in Guantanamo Bay . The British government then pressured him to stay away from the hearing, which began on October 4, 2004, on the indefinite detention of suspects under the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 .

His legal work in the House of Lords was instrumental in transposing the Human Rights Act 1998 into British law. He was one of the few senior lawyers who supported calls for the modernization of the English judicial system and the abolition of the role of Lord Chancellor.

Steyn retired as Lord of Appeal in Ordinary on September 30, 2005. Lord Mance succeeded him on October 1, 2005. Since his retirement, he has chaired the human rights organization Justice and attracted attention through critical statements on the human rights policy of the government of Tony Blair .

His presence on meeting days was in the sporadic range.

family

Steyn married Susan Leonore in 1977. His previous marriage to Jean Pollard had two sons and two daughters.

Honors

In 1985 Steyn Knight became a Bachelor . In 1992 he was accepted into the Privy Council .

In 1999 he became an honorary member of the American Law Institute and in 2002 of the Society of Legal Scholars . The Queen Mary College of the University of London awarded him an honorary doctorate in law (Hon LLD), and in 1998 the University of East Anglia . Steyn became an Honorary Fellow at University College London in 2005 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Lord Steyn . Death report on the UK Parliament website, accessed December 1, 2017.
  2. ^ Law lord known for liberal outlook . BBC News , November 26, 2003, accessed December 1, 2017.
  3. ↑ Giampiero Buonomo: Obietivo, l'ordinamento giuridico internazionale dopo Guantanamo . In: Questione Giustizia 2/2005, p. 314, accessed on December 1, 2017 (pdf, 18 MB; Italian).
  4. ^ House of Lords: Members' expenses . Members' expenses on the House of Lords website , accessed December 14, 2012
personal data
SURNAME Steyn, Johan, Baron Steyn
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Steyn, Johan van Zyl, Baron Steyn (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION South African-British lawyer
DATE OF BIRTH August 15, 1932
PLACE OF BIRTH Cape Town
DATE OF DEATH November 28, 2017