Sir William David Baragwanath (born 3 August 1940) is a New Zealand lawyer and jurist. He served as president of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

Special Tribunal for Lebanon The Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), also referred to as the Lebanon Tribunal or the Hariri Tribunal, was a tribunal of international character that was active between 2009 and 2023. It applied Lebanese criminal law under the authority of ...

between 2011 and 2015.

Early life and education

Baragwanath was born in Balclutha on 3 August 1940, the son of Eileen Baragwanath (née Richards) and

The Very Rev. The Very Reverend (abbreviated as The Very Revd or The Very Rev) is an honorific style given to certain (primarily Western) Christian clergy and ministers. The definite article "the" should always precede "Reverend" when used before a name (e ...

Owen Baragwanath , who served as Moderator of the

Presbyterian Church Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Christianity, Reformed Protestantism, Protestant tradition named for its form of ecclesiastical polity, church government by representative assemblies of Presbyterian polity#Elder, elders, known as ...

in New Zealand. He attended

Auckland Grammar School Auckland Grammar School (often simplified to Auckland Grammar, or Grammar), established in 1869, is a State school, state, Day school, day and Boarding school, boarding secondary school for Single-sex education, boys in Auckland, New Zealand. ...

, followed by

University of Auckland Law School Auckland Law School is one of the eight faculties that make up the University of Auckland. Auckland Law School is located at the City Campus, between Waterloo Quadrant and Eden Crescent. It is in close proximity to the Auckland High Court of ...

. 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 ...

, he earned a

Bachelor of Civil Law Bachelor of Civil Law (abbreviated BCL or B.C.L.; ) is the name of various degrees in law conferred by English-language universities. The BCL originated as a postgraduate degree in the universities of Oxford and Cambridge; at Oxford, the BCL contin ...

from the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

Career

Baragwanath began his legal career as a member of the lawyers’ syndicate in New Zealand. He acted for both the prosecution and defence in major criminal cases, including murder and fraud trials. 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 1983 and is a former president of the

New Zealand Law Commission New Zealand's Law Commission () was established in 1986 by the ''Law Commission Act 1985''. The commission is an independent Crown entity as defined in the Crown Entities Act 2004. The main objective of the Law Commission, as declared in its fo ...

. At the time of his appointment to the Court of Appeal, he was the second-longest-serving high court judge based at the High Court at

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

, behind

Hugh Williams Hugh Anthony Glanmor Williams (6 March 1904 – 7 December 1969) was a British actor and dramatist of Welsh descent. Early life and career Hugh Anthony Glanmor Williams (nicknamed "Tam") was born at Bexhill-on-Sea, Sussex to Hugh Dafydd Antho ...

. Baragwanath is also a New Zealand member of the

Permanent Court of Arbitration The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) is an intergovernmental organization headquartered at the Peace Palace, in The Hague, Netherlands. Unlike a judicial court in the traditional sense, the PCA provides administrative support in international ...

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

, and has also been a member of the Court of Appeal of Samoa. Baragwanath became a member of the United Nations Special Tribunal for Lebanon in March 2009. In October 2010, he was appointed one of four appeals judges to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, and he was elected president of the tribunal on 10 October 2011, following the death of Judge

Antonio Cassese Antonio Cassese (1 January 1937 – 21 October 2011) was an Italian jurist who specialized in public international law. He was the first President of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the first President of the S ...

. He is an overseas bencher of the Inner Temple in London. He was succeeded as tribunal president by

Ivana Hrdličková Ivana is a feminine given name of Slavic origin that is also popular in southern Ireland, France, French-speaking Canada, the Mediterranean and Latin America. It is the feminine form of the name Ivan, which are both the Slavic cognates of the n ...

on 1 March 2015, but remained an appeals judge.

Honours and awards

In 1990, Baragwanath was awarded the

New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal The New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal was a commemorative medal awarded in New Zealand in 1990 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, and was awarded to 3,632 people. Background The New Zealand 1990 Com ...

. In the

2011 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2011 were announced on 31 December 2010 in the United Kingdom,United Kingdom: New Zealand,New Zealand"New Year Honours 2011"(14 January 2011) 2 '' New Zealand Gazette'' 55. The Cook IslandsThe Cook Islands: Grenada,Grenada: ...

, he was appointed a

Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit () is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant (document), royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Monarchy of New Zealand, Queen of New Zealand, "for th ...

for services as a judge of the Court of Appeal.

Other activities

In addition to his judicial work, Baragwanath has published articles on both national and international human rights issues, constitutional matters, the rule of law, and international judicial cooperation. He has also taught at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

Queen Mary University of London Queen Mary University of London (QMUL, or informally QM, and formerly Queen Mary and Westfield College) is a public university, public research university in Mile End, East London, England. It is a member institution of the federal University ...

University of Hong Kong The University of Hong Kong (HKU) is a public research university in Pokfulam, Hong Kong. It was founded in 1887 as the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese by the London Missionary Society and formally established as the University of ...

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Founded in 1877, it is the first university of Western Canada. Both by total student enrolment and campus area, the University of ...

and the Netherlands Institute of Advanced Studies as a visiting scholar.

Personal life

Baragwanath has been married twice, and has four children. His current and second wife is the educationalist Susan Baragwanath.

References

Sources

NZ Herald
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baragwanath, David 1940 births Living people People from Balclutha, New Zealand People educated at Auckland Grammar School University of Auckland alumni New Zealand Rhodes Scholars Alumni of the University of Oxford 20th-century New Zealand lawyers Court of Appeal of New Zealand judges High Court of New Zealand judges 21st-century New Zealand lawyers New Zealand people of Cornish descent New Zealand King's Counsel 20th-century King's Counsel Members of the Permanent Court of Arbitration Special Tribunal for Lebanon judges New Zealand judges on the courts of Samoa Knights Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit New Zealand judges of United Nations courts and tribunals New Zealand judges of international courts and tribunals