Dinah Rose

Dinah Rose
KC
President of Magdalen College, Oxford
Assumed office
1 September 2020
Preceded bySir David Clary
Personal details
Born
Dinah Gwen Lison Rose

(1965-07-16) 16 July 1965 (age 58)
NationalityBritish
EducationCity of London School for Girls
Alma materMagdalen College, Oxford
City University
ProfessionBarrister

Dinah Gwen Lison Rose KC (born 16 July 1965) is a British barrister. She has been President of Magdalen College, Oxford since 2020. A member of Blackstone Chambers, she was named Barrister of the Year in The Lawyer Awards 2009.[1] In 2016, she was appointed a Deputy Judge of the High Court.[2]

Early life and education[edit]

Rose was born on 16 July 1965, and was educated at City of London School for Girls.[3] She studied modern history at Magdalen College, Oxford, and law at City University.[3][1]

Career[edit]

Legal career[edit]

She was called to the bar at Gray's Inn in 1989,[4] and took silk in 2006.[4] In a July 2009 interview with The Lawyer, she referred to Lord Lester QC as a mentor and described Lord Pannick QC as a huge influence.[5]

Notable cases[edit]

She has appeared in many high-profile cases, including representing "extraordinary rendition" victim Binyam Mohamed at his Court of Appeal hearing.[6][7]

Rose worked on the judicial review of the Attorney General's decision to drop the investigation into alleged bribes of Saudi officials by BAE Systems.[8]

Rose represented the family of a child who had been denied a place at the prominent Jewish comprehensive school, JFS, because his mother was not recognised as Jewish by the Office of the Chief Rabbi. The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom ruled that the denial of a place constituted unlawful race discrimination.[9]

She appeared for Julian Assange in Assange v Swedish Prosecution Authority before the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, in his unsuccessful appeal against extradition to Sweden.[10][11]

It was announced in October 2012 that Rose had been appointed by the BBC to investigate its culture and policies in relation to sexual harassment and bullying, following the Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal.[12][13] Respect at Work, for which 930 employees were interviewed, was published at the beginning of May 2013. Rose and her team found 37 cases of alleged sexual harassment by 35 persons between April 2006 and November 2012, but said cases of bullying were much more common, and were often not properly investigated by BBC management.[14] Rose said in June that a "very troubling" atmosphere existed between staff and their superiors at the BBC.[15]

Politics[edit]

In March 2013, Rose ended her party membership of the Liberal Democrats in protest at Nick Clegg's support for the coalition government's justice and security bill describing it as a "betrayal of the party's guiding principles".[16]

Presidency at Magdalen College[edit]

In February 2020, she was elected President of Magdalen College, Oxford, in succession to Sir David Clary: she is the first woman to hold the position.[17] She took up the post in September 2020, becoming the 43rd President of the college.[18]

Cayman Islands case[edit]

In January 2021, Rose was criticised by former Justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa and Oxford alumnus Edwin Cameron for acting for the Cayman Islands government in a case opposing the legalisation of same-sex marriage.[19] This was followed by mixed reactions within the student body, academia and the legal industry.[20][21][22][23]

Whilst Magdalen College's undergraduate body passed a motion affirming its support for her and rejecting calls for her to resign,[24] the university-wide LGBTQ+ Society and African & Caribbean Society released statements condemning what they termed a conflict of interest between her role as president and her role as a barrister.[25][26]

In May 2023, The Times newspaper apologised to Rose and agreed to pay her damages and her legal costs in respect of an article in the newspaper which suggested that she had not had a professional obligation to take the case on behalf of the Cayman Islands government, under the cab-rank rule.[27]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Dinah Rose QC". Blackstone Chambers. Archived from the original on 11 February 2011. Retrieved 24 January 2011.
  2. ^ "Section 9(4) Deputy High Court Judge appointments". Judicial Office UK. 16 November 2016. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  3. ^ a b "Rose, Dinah Gwen Lison". Who's Who 2020. 1 December 2019. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U245404. ISBN 978-0-19-954088-4. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  4. ^ a b "High-flying women on new QCs list". The Daily Telegraph. London. 20 July 2006. Retrieved 4 February 2012.
  5. ^ Dowell, Katy (13 July 2009). "Focus: Dinah Rose QC". The Lawyer. London. Retrieved 4 February 2012.
  6. ^ Tsang, Linda (26 February 2009). "Lawyer of the Week Dinah Rose". The Times. London. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
  7. ^ Dowell, Katy (11 February 2010). "Dinah Rose QC apologises to court for handing Sumption letter to press". The Lawyer. London. Retrieved 4 February 2012.
  8. ^ Krieger, Candice (9 July 2009). "Dinah Rose blossoms into a super-lawyer". The Jewish Chronicle. London. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  9. ^ "The Supreme Court – Decided Cases". Archived from the original on 16 February 2013. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
  10. ^ "Assange appeals 'invalid' warrant at Supreme Court". London: BBC News. 1 February 2012. Retrieved 4 February 2012.
  11. ^ Booth, Robert (1 February 2012). "Julian Assange extradition breaches legal principle, lawyer claims". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 4 February 2012.
  12. ^ Rance, Paul, "Interview: Dinah Rose QC", Chambers Student Guide 2012
  13. ^ "BBC confirms Dinah Rose QC to look at sexual harassment claims and practices". BBC Media Centre. 18 March 2014 [23 October 2012]. Archived from the original on 27 January 2020.
  14. ^ John Plunkett "BBC bullies 'creating climate of anxiety and fear'", The Guardian, 2 May 2013
  15. ^ Maggie Brown "BBC bullying is 'very troubling', says top lawyer", The Guardian, 19 June 2013
  16. ^ Mark Townsend and Daniel Boffey "Dinah Rose quits Liberal Democrats in protest at secret courts", The Observer, 9 March 2013
  17. ^ "Magdalen College News". Magdalen College. 28 February 2020. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
  18. ^ "A message from our new President". Magdalen College. University of Oxford. 10 September 2020. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
  19. ^ Childs, Kevin. "Oxford don accused of 'reinforcing violence against LGBTQ+ people'". The Independent. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  20. ^ Gearty, Conor. "The Case of Dinah Rose, Magdalen and the Bar". Conor Gearty. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  21. ^ Rozenberg, Joshua. "Leading barrister refuses to be intimidated". A Lawyer Writes. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  22. ^ Marcus, Gilbert. "Why Dinah Rose QC Had an Obligation to Give up the Homophobic Cayman Islands Brief: A Response to Lord Hendy QC". Oxford Human Rights Hub Blog. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  23. ^ Slingo, Jemma. "Lawyers rally round top QC under fire for taking Cayman case". Law Gazette. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  24. ^ Bhutani, Anvee (February 2021). "Magdalen JCR Passes Motion Over Dinah Rose Controversy". The Oxford Blue. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  25. ^ Society, Oxford University African & Caribbean. "Oxford ACS Statement on Dinah Rose QC". Oxford ACS Facebook Page. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  26. ^ Society, Oxford LGBTQ+. "Statement on Dinah Rose". Oxford University LGBTQ+ Society Facebook Page. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  27. ^ Siddique, Haroon. "The Times pays damages to lawyer over misleading article 16 May 2023". theguardian.com. Guardian. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
Academic offices
Preceded by President of Magdalen College, Oxford
2020 to present 		Incumbent
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