As A JUDGE of the Court of Appeal and president of the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, Sir Rabinder Singh plays a pivotal role in shaping British jurisprudence.
He has presided over complex, high-profile cases while upholding judicial restraint and the independence of the judiciary.
In February las year, Lord Justice Singh delivered one of his most consequential rulings, one that would fundamentally shape Britain's post-Brexit sanctions regime. The case involved Eugene Shvidler, a dual British-US citizen with an estimated net worth of £1.27 billion, who challenged sanctions imposed on him following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The case laid bare the tensions between individual rights and national security interests. Shvidler, sanctioned due to his association with Roman Abramovich, who the UK government has accused of benefitting financially from supporting the Russian government, and roles in Russian companies, argued that the measures had devastated his business operations and family life.
Singh’s ruling revealed his sophisticated approach to balancing executive authority with judicial oversight. “Sanctions often have to be severe and open-ended if they are to be effective,” he observed, acknowledging the harsh reality of such measures while affirming their necessity.
More significantly, Singh's judgment redefined the scope of judicial review in sanctions cases. Breaking from the High Court’s more restricted approach, he established that courts must conduct their own “analysis of the matter” on the proportionality of administrative actions taken by the state.
“Proportionality is, unlike conventional judicial review grounds, concerned with the substance of the matter, not the process by which the decision was reached,” he wrote.
“If, as a matter of objective analysis, there is a rational connection proved to the court's satisfaction, it is immaterial whether or not this featured in the reasoning process of the decision-maker at the time.”
The ruling's implications extended far beyond Shvidler's case. It maintained the government’s unbroken record of defending sanctions challenges while establishing a framework for future cases. Singh’s careful balancing act – affirming both judicial oversight and executive discretion – demonstrated his talent for navigating complex constitutional waters.
The judgment proved particularly significant in the post-Brexit landscape, where Britain was establishing its independent sanctions regime. Singh’s ruling gave the government considerable latitude in pursuing its foreign policy objectives through sanctions, while maintaining essential judicial safeguards.
And, as the president of the Investigatory Powers Tribunal since 2018, Singh navigates the complex intersection of national security and civil liberties.
“The function of the Tribunal is to enquire into and determine the lawfulness of any use of investigatory powers and to provide redress where appropriate,” he has said.
“We must do so impartially, operating as an independent body discharging judicial functions within the legislative framework.”
Born in Delhi in 1964 and raised in Bristol, Singh attended Bristol Grammar School on a local authority scholarship.
“Like many immigrants, my parents had to put up with verbal and even physical abuse,” Singh recalled in a 2022 acceptance speech for his honorary doctorate from Goldsmiths, University of London.
“Like many immigrants, they regarded education as the key to their children's future success. And like many immigrants they made sacrifices in order to support me with that hope in their hearts.”
His early inspiration came from an unlikely source – Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird.
“Atticus Finch talks about the law as the great equaliser,” Singh once reflected, drawing parallels between Finch's unwavering commitment to justice and his own developing legal philosophy.
After studying law at Trinity College, Cambridge, Singh’s intellectual horizons expanded during his LLM at the University of California, Berkeley. He began his career in academia, as a lecturer at the University of Nottingham, before being called to the Bar in 1989.
Singh’s academic excellence and commitment to law have been widely recognised. Following his honorary doctorate from Goldsmiths, University College London awarded him an honorary doctorate in September 2024.
He was a visiting professor of law at the London School of Economics from 2003 to 2009 and a visiting fellow at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford from 2016 to 2019; and has been an honorary professor of law at Nottingham University since 2007. His publications include The Future of Human Rights in the UK (1997); (as co-author with Sir Jack Beatson and others) Human Rights: Judicial Protection in the UK (2008); and The Unity of Law (2022).
He was appointed Queen’s Counsel (now King’s Counsel) in 2002 and became one of the youngest deputy High Court judges in 2003.
As the first Sikh judge in the Queen’s Bench Division in 2011 and the first person of colour appointed to the Court of Appeal in 2017, Singh has blazed a trail of diversity in the UK judiciary.
He counts Sir Mota Singh QC, Britain's first ethnic minority judge, as an inspiration.
“It is no exaggeration I think to say that Sir Mota Singh opened doors which enabled others like me to come through in a way which would have been very difficult if not impossible to imagine previously,” he said in a memorial lecture.
His father's wisdom would shape his approach to success and responsibility.
“I remember my father would say to me that, whatever became of me, I should never forget others who may not have been so fortunate and, in particular, that I should help them and not kick away the ladder after me,” he has said.
This ethos of remembering one’s roots and helping others climb the ladder of opportunity has remained central to Singh's career, reflected in his commitment to mentoring and broadening access to the legal profession.
