Lord Bingham of Cornhill

Lord Bingham of Cornhill
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Name	Lord Bingham of Cornhill
Office	Senior Law Lord (2000–2008)
Term start	2000
Term end	2008
Predecessor	Lord Browne-Wilkinson
Successor	Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers
Office2	Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales (1996–2000)
Term start2	1996
Term end2	2000
Predecessor2	Lord Taylor of Gosforth
Successor2	Lord Woolf
Birth name	Thomas Henry Bingham
Birth date	13 October 1933
Birth place	London, England
Death date	11 September 2010
Death place	London, England
Spouse	Elizabeth Loxley, 1973
Education	Sedbergh School
Alma mater	Balliol College, Oxford (BA)
Profession	Barrister, Judge

Lord Bingham of Cornhill. Thomas Henry Bingham, Baron Bingham of Cornhill, was a pre-eminent British judge whose career culminated in his historic tenure as the first Senior Law Lord of the United Kingdom. Renowned for his formidable intellect, clarity of expression, and profound commitment to the rule of law, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest common law jurists of his generation. His judgments and extra-judicial writings left an indelible mark on English law, constitutional law, and international human rights law.

Early life and education

Thomas Henry Bingham was born in London to a medical family; his father was a doctor. He was educated at the independent Sedbergh School in Cumbria, where he excelled academically. He performed National Service as a Second Lieutenant in the King's Royal Rifle Corps, serving in West Germany after the Second World War. He then won a scholarship to Balliol College, Oxford, where he read History, graduating with a First in 1957 and later being elected an Honorary Fellow.

Legal career

Bingham was called to the Bar by Gray's Inn in 1959, joining the chambers of John May. He developed a highly successful practice in commercial law, appearing in many significant cases in the High Court and the Court of Appeal. He took silk in 1972, becoming one of the youngest Queen's Counsel of his era. His practice expanded to include prominent cases in administrative law and he served as the Chairman of the Bar Council from 1991 to 1992.

Judicial career and senior appointments

Bingham’s judicial ascent was rapid. He was appointed a High Court Judge in 1980, receiving the customary knighthood, and assigned to the Queen's Bench Division. He was promoted to the Court of Appeal in 1986 and became a Lord Justice of Appeal. In 1992, he was appointed Master of the Rolls, the head of civil justice in England and Wales. In 1996, he succeeded Lord Taylor of Gosforth as Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, the head of the judiciary. His most historic appointment came in 2000 when he became the first Senior Law Lord, presiding over the newly separated Appellate Committee of the House of Lords.

Key judgments and legal philosophy

Bingham’s jurisprudence was characterized by a powerful, principled defence of parliamentary sovereignty tempered by a deep commitment to fundamental rights. Landmark judgments include A v Secretary of State for the Home Department (the Belmarsh case), where he ruled that indefinite detention of foreign terror suspects was discriminatory and a violation of the European Convention on Human Rights. In R (Jackson) v Attorney General, he influentially commented on the limits of Parliament’s legislative power. His extra-judicial work, notably the book The Rule of Law, articulated a modern, substantive doctrine that influenced global legal thought. He was a staunch advocate for the incorporation of the European Convention on Human Rights via the Human Rights Act 1998.

Later life and death

After retiring as Senior Law Lord in 2008, Bingham remained active in public life. He served as a Crossbencher in the House of Lords and chaired the Iraq Inquiry (known as the Chilcot Inquiry) into the United Kingdom’s role in the Iraq War. He continued to write and lecture extensively on legal matters. Lord Bingham died from cancer at his home in London on 11 September 2010, survived by his wife, the author Elizabeth Loxley, whom he married in 1973, and their three children.

Honours and legacy

Bingham was appointed a Knight Bachelor in 1980, invested as a Privy Counsellor in 1986, and was created a life peer as Baron Bingham of Cornhill, of Boughrood in the County of Powys, upon his appointment as Lord Chief Justice. He received numerous honorary degrees from institutions including the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge. His legacy is profound; the Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law, part of the British Institute of International and Comparative Law, was established in his honour. He is frequently cited as the standard against which modern judges are measured. Category:1933 births Category:2010 deaths Category:English judges Category:Members of the House of Lords Category:Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford