Gordon Slynn, Baron Slynn of Hadley (17 February 1930 – 7 April 2009) was a British judge and Advocate General of the European Court of Justice. He particularly specialised in European law. He was a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary.

Early life

Slynn was born on 17 February 1930 to John and Edith Slynn and educated at

Sandbach School Sandbach School is a free school in Sandbach, Cheshire, north-west England. It was established in 1677 by local philanthropists, including Richard Lea, who donated the land for the school, and Francis Welles, who helped to fund the schoolhouse. I ...

Goldsmiths, University of London Goldsmiths, University of London, officially the Goldsmiths' College, is a constituent research university of the University of London in England. It was originally founded in 1891 as The Goldsmiths' Technical and Recreative Institute by the Wo ...

, and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

. 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 W ...

in 1956 before moving to One Hare Court alongside Fisher, Neil, Parker, and

Richard Southwell QC Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'strong ...

, becoming a bencher in 1970 and Treasurer in 1988. He served as Junior Counsel to the

Ministry of Labour The Ministry of Labour ('' UK''), or Labor ('' US''), also known as the Department of Labour, or Labor, is a government department responsible for setting labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, training, a ...

between 1967 and 1968. He was the

First Junior Treasury Counsel (Common Law) Devilling is the period of training, pupillage or junior work undertaken by a person wishing to become an advocate in one of the English-speaking common law systems of the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hong Kong, and Australia. Etymology While there ...

, or "Treasury Devil", from 1968 to 1974. Lord Denning said about Slynn in his capacity as such: "He was outstanding. The best I have ever known. He will go far." His successful application to take silk in 1974 coincided with his becoming the first Leading Counsel to the Treasury.

Marriage

He married Odile Marie Henriette Boutin in 1962.

Judicial career

He was appointed Recorder of Hereford in 1971 and as a judge of the

Queen's Bench Division The King's Bench Division (or Queen's Bench Division when the monarch is female) of the High Court of Justice deals with a wide range of common law cases and has supervisory responsibility over certain lower courts. It hears appeals on point ...

of the High Court in 1976, receiving the customary

knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the ...

, serving additionally as President of the

Employment Appeal Tribunal The Employment Appeal Tribunal is a tribunal in England and Wales and Scotland, and is a superior court of record. Its primary role is to hear appeals from Employment Tribunals in England, Scotland and Wales. It also hears appeals from decisions ...

from 1978. In 1981, he left both these positions to become an Advocate General at the European Court of Justice (ECJ), and was appointed a Judge in 1988, a position he held until 1992. He was appointed a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary on 11 March 1992, becoming a life peer as Baron Slynn of Hadley, of

Eggington Egginton – or Eggington as it is now known – is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England, about three miles east of Leighton Buzzard. Apart from the village itse ...

in the County of Bedfordshire, and being sworn of the Privy Council. He was a dissenter in the case ''R v. Brown'', which upheld the legality of the criminal convictions resulting from

Operation Spanner Operation Spanner was a police investigation into same-sex male sadomasochism across the United Kingdom in the late 1980s. The investigation, led by the Obscene Publications Squad of the Metropolitan Police, began in 1987 and ran for three year ...

. As a member of the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

, he served as Chairman of the House of Lords Select Sub-Committee on European Law and Institutions (1992–95), and as a member of the House of Lords Select Committee on Public Service (1996–98) and the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Corruption Bill (2003). He retired as a Law Lord in 2002. He was appointed President of the Court of Appeal of the Solomon Islands in 2001 and was life President of the Lord Slynn of Hadley European Law Foundation and President of the Civil Mediation Council. From 1992-1996 he was President of The Academy of Experts. Ster Orde van het Britse Rijk

Legal education

Slynn was a supporter of legal education. He wrote a foreword to the book, ''How to Moot: a Student Guide to Mooting'' and sat as a judge in the Central and East European Moot Court. He was Honorary President of the Durham Mooting Society and an honorary member of the

Jefferson Literary and Debating Society The Jefferson Literary and Debating Society (commonly known "Jeff Soc") is the oldest continuously existing collegiate debating society in North America, having been founded on July 14, 1825, in Room Seven, West Lawn. Named after founder of the U ...

at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...

. He was a patron of Staffordshire University's Law School.

Charitable work

Slynn was Patron of the UK wing of the

Child in Need Institute (CINI) Child in Need Institute (CINI; also Child in Need India) is a humanitarian organisation promoting "Sustainable development in health, nutrition and education of children, adolescents and women in need" in India. With its headquarters based in ...

(CINI UK), founded by his wife Odile Slynn to help poor mothers and children in India. He was a Trustee of The Loomba Trust, which cares for widows around the world, and Patron of the

Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Institute Indians or Indian people are the citizens and nationals of India. In 2022, the population of India stood at over 1.4 billion people, making it the world's second-most populous country, containing 17.7 percent of the global population. In a ...

for Indian art and culture. Slynn led a campaign to remove

People's Mujahedin of Iran The People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI), also known as Mojahedin-e-Khalq (MEK) or Mojahedin-e-Khalq Organization (MKO) ( fa, سازمان مجاهدين خلق ايران, sâzmân-e mojâhedīn-e khalq-e īrân), is an Iranian pol ...

from the British and EU's blacklists.

Honours & Arms

Slynn received honorary degrees from numerous institutions, and was Visitor of Mansfield College,

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

from 1995–2002 and of the

University of Essex The University of Essex is a public research university in Essex, England. Established by royal charter in 1965, Essex is one of the original plate glass universities. Essex's shield consists of the ancient arms attributed to the Kingdom of Es ...

from 1995–2000. He was Chief Steward of Hereford between 1978–2008 and received the Freedom of the City in 1996, and was President of the Bentham Club in 1992 and of the Holdsworth Club in 1993. He was knighted in 1976. He was made a

Knight of the Order of St John The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headq ...

in 1998, having received the Order of St John in 1992, and received the Grande Croix de l'Ordre de Mérite (Luxembourg) in 1998; appointed a Knight Cross, Order of Merit (Poland) in 1999; Grand Cross, Order of Merit (Malta) in 2001; Officer's Cross, Order of Merit (Hungary) in 2002; and the Cross of Solomon Islands in 2007. He was appointed

Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(GBE) in the

2009 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2009 were announced on 31 December 2008 in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Cook Islands, Barbados, Grenada, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, and Saint Christopher and Nevis,Saint Christopher. to ...

for his services to the

International Law Association The International Law Association (ILA) is a non-profit organisation based in Great Britain that — according to its constitution — promotes "the study, clarification and development of international law" and "the furtherance of international ...

which he served as Chairman of the Executive Committee. In 2000 he was presented with a 2-volume Liber Amicorum: Vol I, entitled ''Judicial Review in European Union Law'', was edited by Professor David O'Keeffe and Antonio Bavasso; Vol 2, entitled ''Judicial Review in International Perspective'', was edited by Mads Andenas and Duncan Fairgrieve; both volumes were published by Kluwer Law International ( (set)).

Sources

''Who's Who 2009''