Sir Ian McColl Kennedy (born 14 September 1941) is a British academic lawyer who has specialised in the law and ethics of

health Health has a variety of definitions, which have been used for different purposes over time. In general, it refers to physical and emotional well-being, especially that associated with normal functioning of the human body, absent of disease, p ...

. He was appointed to chair the

Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) is a public body in the United Kingdom created by the Parliamentary Standards Act 2009, largely as a response to the parliamentary expenses scandal of 2009. It establishes and monitors t ...

in 2009.

Education and academic career

1952–1959: He attended

King Edward VI College, Stourbridge King Edward VI College (KEDST) is a selective state sixth form centre located in Stourbridge, England, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands area. It is situated in the centre of Stourbridge, to the north of the town centre, on the side ...

, Worcestershire where he spent four years in the sixth form. 1960–1963: He attended

University College In a number of countries, a university college is a college institution that provides tertiary education but does not have full or independent university status. A university college is often part of a larger university. The precise usage varies f ...

, London, graduated 1st class Hons. LLB. 1963–1965:

Fulbright Fellow The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people o ...

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

(LLM). 1965–1970: Sub-Dean, Tutor and Lecturer in Law at University College, London (LLD). 1966–1967:

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a $25,000 (about $550,000 in 2023) gift from Edsel Ford. ...

fellow of Yale University and Mexico University. In the summer of 1969 Kennedy visited

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

to study the administration of justice, supported by a Hayter Fellowship awarded by the

Institute of Latin American Studies The Institute of Latin American Studies (ILAS) was one of nine research institutes that comprised the School of Advanced Study at the University of London. It was located in the landmarked Senate House building in Bloomsbury, central London. F ...

, University of London (by Prof. R.A. Humphreys). In December/January 1970 – 1971 he returned to Cuba to gain information for his paper titled "Cuba's Ley Contra La Vagancia – The Law on Loafing". Kennedy was Dean of the Law School at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

, from 1986 to 1996. Kennedy is

Emeritus Professor ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". In some c ...

of Health Law, Ethics and Policy at

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

. He is an honorary

Bencher A bencher or Master of the Bench is a senior member of an Inn of Court in England and Wales or the Inns of Court in Northern Ireland, or the Honorable Society of King's Inns in Ireland. Benchers hold office for life once elected. A bencher c ...

of the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

. Kennedy was the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

's Reith lecturer (on the subject of "Unmasking Medicine") in 1980 and hosted many editions of '' After Dark'' on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

Committees and inquiries

Kennedy has been a member of numerous committees and inquiries. For nine years, he was a member of the

General Medical Council The General Medical Council (GMC) is a public body that maintains the official register of physician, medical practitioners within the United Kingdom. Its chief responsibility is to "protect, promote and maintain the health and safety of the pu ...

. In 1978, he founded the Centre of Medical Laws and Ethics, of which he later became president. He also served as member of the

Medicines Commission The Commission on Human Medicines (CHM) is a committee of the UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. It was formed in October 2005, and assumed the responsibilities of the Medicines Commission and the Committee on Safety of Medi ...

, and the

Department of Health A health department or health ministry is a part of government which focuses on issues related to the general health of the citizenry. Subnational entities, such as states, counties and cities, often also operate a health department of their o ...

advisory group on AIDS. He is a member of the board of the

UK Research Integrity Office The UK Research Integrity Office (UKRIO), established in 2006 is an independent body in the United Kingdom "which provides expert advice and guidance about the conduct of research". The UKRIO is a registered charity A charitable organization ...

. In 1997, he took part in a

UK Government His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

inquiry that gave cautious approval to

xenotransplantation Xenotransplantation (''xenos-'' from the Greek meaning "foreign" or strange), or heterologous transplant, is the transplantation of living cells, tissues or organs from one species to another.pet passport A pet passport is a document that officially records information related to a specific animal, as part of that procedure. The effect is to drastically speed up and simplify travel with and transport of animals between member countries, compar ...

s. Kennedy was a member of the

Nuffield Council on Bioethics The Nuffield Council on Bioethics is a UK-based independent charitable body, which examines and reports on bioethical issues raised by new advances in biological and medical research. Established in 1991, the Council is funded by the Nuffield F ...

1991–2002 and Chair during 1998–2002. Kennedy is a trustee of homeless health charity Pathway. He chaired the public inquiry into children's heart surgery at the

Bristol Royal Infirmary The Bristol Royal Infirmary (BRI) is a large teaching hospital in the centre of Bristol, England. It has links with the nearby University of Bristol and the Faculty of Health and Social Care at the University of the West of England, also in Brist ...

(1998–2001), which concluded that paediatric cardiac surgery services at Bristol were "simply not up to the task", because of shortages of key surgeons and nurses, and a lack of leadership, accountability, and teamwork. This resulted in his becoming chair of the

Healthcare Commission The Healthcare Commission was a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department of Health of the United Kingdom. It was set up to promote and drive improvement in the quality of health care and public health in England and Wales. It aime ...

, from its creation (in shadow form) in 2003, until it was merged with other regulatory bodies to form the

Care Quality Commission The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department of Health and Social Care of the United Kingdom. It was established in 2009 to regulate and inspect health and social care providers in England. It ...

in 2009. In October 2009, Kennedy became chair of the

King's Fund The King's Fund is an independent think tank, which is involved with work relating to the health system in England. It organises conferences and other events. Since 1997, they have jointly funded a yearly award system with GlaxoSmithKline. Th ...

’s inquiry into the quality of general practice in England, replacing

Niall Dickson Niall Forbes Ross Dickson CBE (born 5 November 1953) was chair of East Kent Hospitals University Foundation Trust between April 2021 and December 2023. He was chief executive of the NHS Confederation, between February 2017 and October 2020. Be ...

. He led an inquiry into the work of breast surgeon

Ian Paterson Spire Healthcare Group plc is the second-largest provider of private healthcare in the United Kingdom. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. History Spire Healthcare was formed from the sale of Bu ...

in Birmingham in 2013.

Involvement in medicine and alternative medicine

In 2010, he was elected inaugural Vice-President of the '' College of Medicine,'' an organisation set up to bring together patients and clinicians on an equal footing. Several commentators, writing in

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

and

The British Medical Journal ''The BMJ'' is a fortnightly peer-reviewed medical journal, published by BMJ Publishing Group Ltd, which in turn is wholly-owned by the British Medical Association (BMA). ''The BMJ'' has editorial freedom from the BMA. It is one of the world' ...

claim that this organisation is simply a re-branding of Prince Charles'

alternative medicine Alternative medicine refers to practices that aim to achieve the healing effects of conventional medicine, but that typically lack biological plausibility, testability, repeatability, or supporting evidence of effectiveness. Such practices are ...

lobbying group the '' Foundation for Integrated Health.'' This has been denied by the College of Medicine whose President is

Graeme Catto Sir Graeme Robertson Dawson Catto FRSE, Hon FRCSE, FRCP(Lon, Edin & Glasg), FRCGP, FFPM, FAoP, FMedSci FKC (born 24 April 1945) is a Scottish doctor who was president, later chair, of the General Medical Council until April 2009. He is als ...

, for seven years the President of the

Awards

Kennedy was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a 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. The concept of a knighthood ...

in 2002 for services to medical law and

bioethics Bioethics is both a field of study and professional practice, interested in ethical issues related to health (primarily focused on the human, but also increasingly includes animal ethics), including those emerging from advances in biology, me ...

. He is an

Honorary Fellow Honorary titles (professor, president, reader, lecturer) in academia may be conferred on persons in recognition of contributions by a non-employee or by an employee beyond regular duties. This practice primarily exists in the UK and Germany, as ...

of: *

British Academy The British Academy for the Promotion of Historical, Philosophical and Philological Studies is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the sa ...

(2002) *

Royal College of General Practitioners The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) is the professional body for general (medical) practitioners (GPs/ Family Physicians/ Primary Care Physicians) in the United Kingdom. The RCGP represents and supports GPs on key issues including ...

(2002) *

Royal College of Physicians The Royal College of Physicians of London, commonly referred to simply as the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of ph ...

(2003) *

Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, often referred to as the RCPCH, is the professional body for paediatricians (doctors specialising in child health) in the United Kingdom. It is responsible for the postgraduate training of pa ...

(2004) *

Royal College of Anaesthetists The Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCoA) is the professional body responsible for the specialty of anaesthesia throughout the United Kingdom. It sets standards in anaesthesia, critical care, pain management, and for the training of anaesth ...

(2004) *

Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd) is a professional organisation of surgeons. The RCSEd has five faculties, covering a broad spectrum of surgical, dental, and other medical and healthcare specialities. Its main campus is locate ...

(2005) *

Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors Chartered may refer to: * Charter, a legal document conferring rights or privileges ** University charter ** Chartered company * Chartered (professional), a professional credential * Charter (shipping) * Charter (airlines) * Charter (typeface) * Cha ...

(2009) He was also awarded an Honorary

DSc DSC or Dsc may refer to: Education * Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) * District Selection Committee, an entrance exam in India * Doctor of Surgical Chiropody, superseded in the 1960s by Doctor of Podiatric Medicine Educational institutions * Dyal Sin ...

degree by the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

in 2003.

Publications

* * * * *

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, Ian 1941 births Living people English barristers English people of Scottish descent Alumni of University College London Academics of University College London Academics of King's College London Fellows of King's College London Fellows of the Royal College of General Practitioners Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians Fellows of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health Fellows of the Royal College of Anaesthetists Health law in the United Kingdom Knights Bachelor Lawyers awarded knighthoods People educated at King Edward VI College, Stourbridge Alumni of the UCL Faculty of Laws