The Society of Black Lawyers (SBL) is a British organisation of African, Asian and Caribbean lawyers. [1]
The SBL was founded in the United Kingdom by Rudy Narayan in 1969, as the Afro-Asian and Caribbean Lawyers Association. [2] By 1981, it was known as its current name. [3] It was co-chaired by Narayan and Sibghat Kadri. [4] [5]
It aims to promote the rights and welfare of lawyers of colour, [6] as well the rights of people of colour in the community who need legal protection or are facing harassment. [7] [8]
Since 1984, its chair has been Peter Herbert, a retired judge. [7] [6] [9] [ needs update ]
Philip Antony Jeyaretnam is a Singaporean judge, lawyer and author who has been serving as a Judge of the High Court of Singapore since 1 November 2021, having been first appointed to the Bench as a Judicial Commissioner on 4 January 2021. He has served as President of the Singapore International Commercial Court since 2 January 2023. Prior to his appointment to the Bench, he served as ASEAN chief executive officer and global vice-chair at Dentons. He also served as president of the Law Society of Singapore between 2004 and 2007. Jeyaretnam was also one of the youngest lawyers to be appointed Senior Counsel in 2003 at the age of 38.
Southall Black Sisters (SBS) is a non-profit organisation based in Southall, West London, England. This women's group was established in August 1979 in the aftermath of the death of anti-fascist activist Blair Peach, who had taken part in a demonstration against a National Front rally at Southall Town Hall. In 1980, SBS successfully campaigned against virginity testing in the UK, a policy that was being used to verify the authenticity of Asian marriages by checking the state of women's hymens.
Dame Jocelyn Anita Barrow was a British educator, community activist and politician, who was the Director for UK Development at Focus Consultancy Ltd. She was the first black woman to be a governor of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and was founder and Deputy Chair of the Broadcasting Standards Council.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is a non-departmental public body in Great Britain, established by the Equality Act 2006 with effect from 1 October 2007. The Commission has responsibility for the promotion and enforcement of equality and non-discrimination laws in England, Scotland and Wales. It took over the responsibilities of the Commission for Racial Equality, the Equal Opportunities Commission and the Disability Rights Commission. The EHRC also has responsibility for other aspects of equality law: age, sexual orientation and religion or belief. A national human rights institution, it seeks to promote and protect human rights throughout Great Britain.
Johann Christiaan Kriegler is a retired South African judge who served in the Constitutional Court of South Africa from February 1995 to November 2002. Formerly a practising silk in Johannesburg, he joined the bench as a judge of the Transvaal Provincial Division in 1984. He was also the first chairperson of the post-apartheid Independent Electoral Commission and Electoral Commission of South Africa.
Rahasya Rudra Narayan, commonly known as Rudy Narayan, was a barrister and civil rights activist in Britain. He migrated to Britain in the 1950s from Guyana.
Sir Gary Robert Hickinbottom is a British judge who currently serves as President of Welsh Tribunals and as Knight Principal of the Imperial Society of Knights Bachelor. In 2008, he became the fourth solicitor to be appointed a High Court judge, after Michael Sachs in 1993, Lawrence Collins in 2000, and Henry Hodge in 2004.
Sir Rabinder Singh, PC, styled The Rt. Hon. Lord Justice Singh, is a British Court of Appeal judge and President of the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, formerly a High Court judge of the Queen's Bench Division, a King's Counsel and barrister, formerly a founding member of Matrix Chambers and a legal academic.
Sisi Virginia Khampepe is a retired South African judge who served in the Constitutional Court of South Africa between October 2009 and October 2021. Formerly a prominent labour lawyer, she joined the bench in December 2000 as a judge of the Transvaal Provincial Division. She was also a member of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
Afua Hirsch is a British writer and broadcaster. She has worked as a journalist for The Guardian newspaper, and was the Social Affairs and Education Editor for Sky News from 2014 until 2017. She is the author of the 2018 book Brit(ish): On Race, Identity and Belonging, receiving a Jerwood Award while writing it.
Peter Herbert OBE is a British barrister and political activist. He was described by The Independent as "one of Britain's only non-white judges",
Women in law describes the role played by women in the legal profession and related occupations, which includes lawyers, paralegals, prosecutors, judges, legal scholars, law professors and law school deans.
Marc Wadsworth is a British black rights campaigner, broadcast and print journalist and BBC filmmaker and radio producer. He founded the Anti-Racist Alliance in 1991 and two years later, also helped set up the justice campaign for murdered black teenager Stephen Lawrence. Wadsworth launched an early citizen-journalism news portal, The-Latest.com. In 2008, Wadsworth's reporting triggered the resignation of Mayor of London Boris Johnson's spokesman.
The Anti-Racist Alliance (ARA) was a British anti-racist organisation formed in November 1991. It was established mainly by black activists in the Labour Party.
Labour Party Black Sections (LPBS), commonly known as Black Sections, was a caucus made up of Labour Party members of African, Caribbean, and Asian descent from 1983 to 1993. Its aims were campaigning against racism, demanded political representation of black and Asian members and establishing a group in the party.
Prior to the 20th Century, there were few women in law in the United Kingdom. Prior to the Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act 1919, women were not permitted to practice law in the United Kingdom. By 1931 there were around 100 female solicitors. The first female-only law partnership was founded in 1933. By 2019 51% of British solicitors were women.
Caroline Newman is a British solicitor, author, entrepreneur and diversity and equality advocate. In 2002, she was the first black solicitor to be elected to the Council of the Law Society of England and Wales. In 2014, Newman founded the African Women Lawyer’s Association (AWLA), which exists to promote the potential of women of African and Caribbean descent in the legal profession.
Ian Alexander Macdonald QC was a Scottish barrister who was "a pioneer of committed anti-racist legal practice" in the UK. During the 1970s he appeared in many notable political and human rights cases, including those involving the Mangrove Nine, the Angry Brigade, and the Balcombe Street siege. He took silk in 1988 and was leader of the British bar in immigration law for five decades until his death at the age of 80.
Sibghatullah Kadri QC was a British barrister and a Chair of the Society of Black Lawyers. He was the country's first Pakistani and Muslim Queen's Counsel barrister.