Rabinder Singh (judge)

Early life and education

Rabinder Singh was born in 1964 in Delhi to a Sikh family. He grew up in a working-clas part of Bristol and attended Bristol Grammar School. From an early age Singh had an interest in law and liked the thought of one day becoming an advocate. At Trinity College, Cambridge, he earned a double first in law in 1985. Between 1985 and 1986 Singh spent a year at the University of California at Berkeley studying for his LL.M. During his time at Berkeley he became interested in constitutional law, particularly misuse of power and how the law holds those in power to account. This interest was partly fuelled by the late Professor Frank Newman at Berkeley, a pioneer in the field of human rights law and by his studies on the United States Constitution at Berkeley. In 1988 he attended the Inns of Court School of Law to undertake his final examinations, and he was called to the Bar at Lincoln's Inn in July 1989.

4–5 Gray's Inn Square

Singh undertook pupillage at the barristers' chambers 4–5 Gray's Inn Square where he became a tenant in 1990. He remained there for 10 years specialising in public and administrative law, employment law, European Community law, human rights law, commercial law and media law. Soon after he was made a tenant, Cherie Booth QC also joined 4–5 Grays Inn Square as a tenant from another set. From 1997 to 2002 Singh was Additional Junior Counsel to the Inland Revenue.

Matrix Chambers

Singh, Booth and 5 other tenants from 4–5 Gray's Inn Square, together with 16 barristers from other chambers, set up Matrix Chambers in 2000. With the formation of Matrix, none of the five silks signed up to Matrix at the time was estimated to earn much more than £200,000 a year, Singh however was believed to be the biggest earner of them all. One senior clerk said: "The problem they will have is that Rabinder Singh is by far their biggest earner. He will be carrying the rent which could cause a lot of internal politics." Singh has since gone on to be named the Barrister of the Year by the Lawyer Magazine. In 2001 and was appointed Queen's Counsel in 2002 earning him the professional title of 'Silk' and being styled with the suffix QC. He is acknowledged as a Leading Silk in Administrative and Public law; Singh is described by Chambers & Partners Legal 500 2006 as being "known for his expertise in cross-disciplinary work" and as "one of the most impressive younger silks" in the area of Administrative and Public laws. Singh was the Chair of the Bar Council Equality and Diversity Committee (Race and Religion) from 2004 to 2006, also, from 2006 to 2008 Singh was the Chair of the Constitutional and Administrative Law Bar Association. In 2009 he was made a Bencher of Lincoln's Inn.

Judicial career

Singh was appointed a deputy High Court judge in 2003. Aged 39 when he was appointed, he was thought to be the youngest judge to sit in the High Court. In 2004 he became a Recorder (part-time judge) of the Crown Court. His appointment as a judge of the Queen's Bench Division of the High Court was announced on 29 July 2011. The appointment took effect on 3 October 2011, following the promotion of Mr Justice Kitchin to be a member of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales. He is the first Sikh to be made a High Court judge, and wears a turban rather than a wig while presiding. Singh was sworn in as a High Court Judge at Royal Courts of Justice on Monday 10 October 2011.

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said of Singh's appointment:

Academic career

When Singh returned to England from California in 1986, he became a law lecturer at the University of Nottingham for 2 years. In the late 1990s Singh was a visiting fellow at Queen Mary University of London. Singh was a Visiting Professor of Law at the London School of Economics (LSE) from 2003 – 2009. In 2004 he was granted an honorary Doctorate of Laws by the London Metropolitan University. In 2007 Appointed Special Professor of Law, University of Nottingham. Singh delivered the annual LexisNexis Butterworths Lecture on Law and Society at Queen Mary University of London on 16 March 2011. The lecture, entitled 'The Changing Nature of the Judicial Process' examined what judges actually do in practice and how this has changed over the last 100 years.

Public appointments and other positions

In 2000 Singh was appointed by then Foreign Secretary Robin Cook as 'Independent Monitor for Entry Clearance' between October 2000 and November 2002. The position was established in 1993 and requires a review of around 1000 randomly chosen entry clearance refusals without a right of appeal and looking at the overall quality of refusal decisions, paying particular attention to fairness, consistency and the procedures used to reach those decisions. He makes random checks on some 800-1,000 visa refusals a year to see whether decisions are consistent and fair, and makes an annual report to the Parliament of the United Kingdom suggesting any improvements he thinks necessary. Singh is the second person to hold the job – his predecessor was Dame Elizabeth Anson. Rabinder Singh QC was also an independent member on a three-strong panel commissioned in the wake of the race row which erupted on Big Brother UK 2007 where Jade Goody and fellow housemates were accused of racist bullying towards Indian actress Shilpa Shetty.

Reputation as counsel

Notable cases (as counsel)

Personal life

Singh has an interest in Greek poetry. He was asked in an interview, "If you were to choose a profession other than law, what would it be and why?". He responded "One thing I would have liked to be is an academic specialising in Greek poetry. I love Greek poetry. I can read Ancient Greek but never had the chance to develop my interest." Singh is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. Singh has also expressed his views writing in The Guardian on how 'Asians should not be prejudged because of the way we look' following a personal experience on the London Underground following the 7 July 2005 London bombings.

Publications

Styles