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Rabinder Singh QC has created history after becoming the first Sikh to be appointed as a High Court judge. The 47-year-old is set to take up his position on the Queen’s Bench Division (QBD) in October and will preside over cases wearing a turban rather than the traditional judicial wig. Singh is the first male […]

Rabinder Singh QC has created history after becoming the first Sikh to be appointed as a High Court judge.

The 47-year-old is set to take up his position on the Queen’s Bench Division (QBD) in October and will preside over cases wearing a turban rather than the traditional judicial wig.

Singh is the first male from an ethnic background to be made a High Court judge and his appointment comes at a time when diversity in the judiciary is being looked at by a House of Lords select committee.

But his selection is far from being a response to a lack of representation from the BME community.

Singh has been seen as a high caliber appointment and someone who can inspire more members from the ethnic community to aim to get to his level.

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said,”The appointment of Mr Rabinder Singh QC, a talented and highly respected barrister, to the High Court, represents a real landmark in the drive to create a more diverse judiciary which continues to attract the highest quality candidates.”

Singh was one of the founding members of Matrix Chambers in 2000 and has been known as a staunch defender of human rights. In 2004, he successfully represented human rights group Liberty, in the House of Lords against the indefinite detention without trial of non-UK national suspected of terrorist activities.

A year later, Singh again was successful representing Liberty and the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants in the case against the UK government over the refusal of economic benefits to refugees.

Born in Bristol in 1964, Singh achieved a double first in law at the Trinity College University of Cambridge in 1985 and four years later he was called to the Bar by Lincoln’s Inn and was one of the Junior Counsel to the Crown (A Panel) until he took silk in 2002. He has also been the recipient of a number of awards including being named Barrister of the Year in 2001 by Lawyer magazine.

Singh was also given the award of Human Rights Lawyer of the Year (JUSTICE/Liberty) in 2006 and in 2010 was Human Rights and Public Law Silk of the Year (Chambers Bar Awards).

~ Source: www.obv.org.uk