Fali Sam Nariman (born 10 January 1929) is an Indian

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyses and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal qualification in law and often a legal practitioner. In the U ...

. He is the senior advocate to the

Supreme Court of India The Supreme Court of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme judicial authority of India and is the highest court of the Republic of India under the constitution. It is the most senior constitutional court, has the final decision in all legal matters ...

since 1971 and was the President of the Bar Association of India from 1991 to 2010. Nariman is an internationally recognised jurist on international arbitration. He has been honored with the 19th Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award for Excellence in Public Administration 2018. He is one of India's most distinguished constitutional lawyers and he has argued several leading cases. He remained

Additional Solicitor General of India Additional Solicitor General of India abbreviated as Addl. SGI is a law officer of India who assists the Solicitor-General and the Attorney-General. Addl. SGI is governed by ''Law Officers (Conditions of Service) Rules, 1987''. List of incumben ...

May 1972- June 1975. He has been awarded the

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...

(1991),

Padma Vibhushan The Padma Vibhushan ("Lotus Decoration") is the second-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "exceptional and distinguished service". All persons without ...

(2007) and

Gruber Prize for Justice The Gruber Prize for Justice, established in 2001, was one of five international prizes worth US$500,000 awarded by The Peter and Patricia Gruber Foundation, an American non-profit organization. Recipients were selected by a distinguished panel ...

(2002) and has remained nominated member of the

Rajya Sabha The Rajya Sabha, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using si ...

, the Upper House of the

Parliament of India The Parliament of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the president of India and two houses: the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok Sabha (House of ...

for a term (1999–2005).

Early life and education

Born in 1929 in

Rangoon Yangon ( my, ရန်ကုန်; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government ...

Parsi Parsis () or Parsees are an ethnoreligious group of the Indian subcontinent adhering to Zoroastrianism. They are descended from Persians who migrated to Medieval India during and after the Arab conquest of Iran (part of the early Muslim conq ...

parents Sam Bariyamji Nariman and Banoo Nariman, Fali did his schooling from Bishop Cotton School,

Shimla Shimla (; ; also known as Simla, the official name until 1972) is the capital and the largest city of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared as the summer capital of British India. After independence, ...

. Thereafter he studied B.A. (Hon.), in Economics and History from St. Xavier's College,

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the secon ...

, followed by a law degree (LL.B.) from the

Government Law College, Mumbai The Government Law College, Mumbai, (GLC Mumbai), founded in 1855, is the one of the oldest law schools in Asia. The college, affiliated to the University of Mumbai, is run by the Government of Maharashtra. Bal Gangadhar Tilak ,Pratibha Pa ...

in, 1950, after standing first in the Advocate's Examination and been awarded the Kinlock Forbes Gold Medal and Prize for Roman Law & Jurisprudence.Member Official Biography - N

website. His father initially wanted him to write the Indian Civil Service Examination. Since he could not afford it at that time, he chose law as his last option.

Career

Nariman started his law practice at the

Bombay High Court The High Court of Bombay is the high court of the states of Maharashtra and Goa in India, and the union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. It is seated primarily at Mumbai (formerly known as Bombay), and is one of the ...

. After practicing for 22 years, he was appointed a Senior Advocate in the

in 1971, a position he retains to date. He said that "My senior's senior, Jamsetjee Kanga was my mentor. He was like a father figure to me. He died at 93 and he is the one who, at the age of 92, told me that he was still learning. He had a tremendous memory and so does my son Rohinton. He was an Ordained Priest and so is Rohinton." Bar&Bench Nariman was instrumental to the development of the Indian Constitution's Law. Nariman was

from May 1972 to 25 June 1975, resigning from that post upon the Declaration of Emergency on 26 June 1975. Nariman argued in favour of

Union carbide Union Carbide Corporation is an American chemical corporation wholly owned subsidiary (since February 6, 2001) by Dow Chemical Company. Union Carbide produces chemicals and polymers that undergo one or more further conversions by customers befo ...

in the infamous Bhopal gas disaster case, which he admitted as a mistake in recent times. He was instrumental in getting a deal between victims and the company outside court, which offered an amount of $470 million to the victims. He also argued in the famous case of the Supreme Court AoR Association, in which the Supreme Court took over the appointment of judges in the Higher Judiciary. He also appeared in many important cases like Golak Nath
S.P. GuptaT.M.A. Pai Foundation
etc. Nariman is the recipient of the

(in 2007) and

(in 1991), respectively the second and third highest honors granted to civilians by the President of India. Both awards were for Nariman's contributions to jurisprudence and public affairs. Nariman was awarded the

in 2002.2002 Gruber Justice Prize Press Release: LIFETIME CHAMPION FOR HUMAN RIGHTS WINS PRIZE FOR JUSTICE

website. He dedicated his awards to his alma mater Bishop Cotton School in Shimla. Nariman was a President-appointee member of the

(the upper house of the

) between 1999 and 2005. He has served as President of International Council for Commercial Arbitration since 1994, President of the Bar Association of India since 1991, Vice-Chairman of the Internal Court of Arbitration of the

International Chamber of Commerce The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC; French: ''Chambre de commerce internationale'') is the largest, most representative business organization in the world. Its over 45 million members in over 100 countries have interests spanning every sec ...

since 1989, honorary member of the International Commission of Jurists since 1988, member of the

London Court of International Arbitration The London Court of International Arbitration is a British private company limited by guarantee with a head office in London. It offers dispute resolution through arbitration and mediation. History The City of London Chamber of Arbitration w ...

since 1988. He was appointed to the Advisory Board of the

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) is an intergovernmental organization within the United Nations Secretariat that promotes the interests of developing countries in world trade. It was established in 1964 by the ...

in November 1999, and served as Chairman of the Executive Committee of the

International Commission of Jurists The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) is an international human rights non-governmental organization. It is a standing group of 60 eminent jurists—including senior judges, attorneys and academics—who work to develop national and inte ...

from 1995 to 1997. He represented the

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

Government in the matter of the Narmada rehabilitation but resigned shortly after attacks on Christians in the area and the burning of copies of the Bible. In December 2009 the Committee on Judicial Accountability stated that it considered that recommendations for judicial appointments should only be made after a public debate, including review by members of the bar of the affected high courts. This statement was made in relation to controversy about the appointments of justices C. K. Prasad and P. D. Dinakaran. The statement was signed by

Ram Jethmalani Ram Boolchand Jethmalani (14 September 1923 – 8 September 2019) was an Indian lawyer and politician. He served as India's Union minister of law and justice, as chairman of the Indian Bar Council, and as the president of the Supreme Court B ...

Shanti Bhushan Shanti Bhushan (born 11 November 1925) is an Indian politician and lawyer. He served as the Law Minister of India holding office at the Ministry of Law and Justice from 1977 to 1979 in the Morarji Desai Ministry. He is a senior advocate of the ...

, Fali Sam Nariman, Anil B. Divan, Kamini Jaiswal and

Prashant Bhushan Prashant or Prasant is a common male name in South Asia. It is derived from the word "shanth" which means patience, calm, quiet, or tranquil. People with the given name * Prashant Bose - Indian politician * Prashant Bhushan - Indian lawyer, ...

. On 17.10.2014, he appeared for the former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu J Jayalalitha in a conviction and obtained bail for her, which was earlier rejected.

Personal life

Nariman is married to Bapsi F. Nariman, since 1955, and the couple have two children, a son and a daughter and live in

Colaba Colaba (; or ISO: Kolābā) is a part of the city of Mumbai, India. It is one of the four peninsulas of Mumbai while the other three are Worli, Bandra and Malabar Hill. During Portuguese rule in the 16th century, the island was known as Kolbh ...

. His son Rohinton Nariman was a Judge of the Supreme Court of India, who had also held the post of the

Solicitor General of India The Solicitor General of India (SGI) is subordinate to the Attorney General for India. They are the second-highest law officer of the country, assists the Attorney General, and is assisted by Additional Solicitor Generals of India (Addl. SGIs ...

from 2011 to 2013. The Vis Moot East's '' Fali Nariman Award'' for 'Best Respondent's Memorandum' is named after Nariman.

Autobiography

Nariman's autobiography is called "Before Memory Fades".

References

External links

Peter Gruber Foundation Honors India's Fali Sam Nariman
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nariman, Fali Sam 1929 births Living people Indian barristers Indian solicitors Parsi people from Mumbai St. Xavier's College, Mumbai alumni University of Mumbai alumni Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in public affairs Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan in public affairs Nominated members of the Rajya Sabha Scholars from Mumbai Senior Advocates in India 20th-century Indian lawyers Parsi people