Harpreet Singh Giani

2021-04-23T12:08:49Z

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'''Harpreet Singh Giani''' is an Indian-born lawyer based in London, England.

==Biography==
Harpreet Singh Giani was born in India into a [[Punjabi people|Punjabi]] [[Sikh]] family.{{fact|date=January 2020}} He is the son of noted [[Chandigarh]] lawyer [[Harinder Singh Giani]] and the grandson of the renowned [[Sikh]] scholar and calligraphist, [[Pratap Singh Giani]].{{fact|date=January 2020}}

Giani was educated at the DAV College, Chandigarh. He then obtained a bachelor's degree in law from [[Panjab University]] at [[Chandigarh]], and was admitted to the bar in 1999. After practising for a few years, he chose to pursue further studies and earned a Master of Business Laws degree from the [[National Law School of India University]], [[Bangalore]] (2004). He then took a Master of Laws (International Law) from the [[London School of Economics]] (2006). Immediately after taking the latter degree, he was called to the Bar of England and Wales in 2006 at [[Gray's Inn]]. Thus, he is one of a handful of lawyers enjoying the rights of audience in all courts in India (as an advocate) as well as in [[England & Wales]] (as a [[Barrister]]). In India, he is in independent practice in [[Chandigarh]] and in England & Wales, he practices from Libertas Chambers.{{fact|date=October 2020}}

Giani is also an alumnus of the [[Hague Academy of International Law]] (2003) and the [[International Institute of Higher Studies in Criminal Sciences]], Siracusa, Italy (2008) where he studied Shariat (Islamic) law.<ref>Chandigarh lawyer gets international fellowship [http://www.tribuneindia.com/2008/20080615/cth1.htm#16], ''The Tribune'', 15 June 2008.</ref> He was also the first ever Indian to intern in the [[International Criminal Court]] at The Hague. He is presently (2017) a Ph.D. candidate at the [[Indian Law Institute]], [[New Delhi]] and is researching the legality, availability, genesis and the application of the [[death penalty]] in India.{{fact|date=January 2020}}

On 5 December 2014 Giani was admitted into the [[Freedom of the City#Freedom of the City of London|Freedom of the City of London]]<ref>https://democracy.cityoflondon.gov.uk/documents/s42185/ITEM%209%20-%20Freedoms.pdf</ref>

==Publications==
* Books
** ''The Blood Bankers' Legal Handbook'' (2003)
* Newspaper Columns
** ''Byte by Byte'', Weekly Column in the Indian Express, 1994–1998
* Newspaper Op-Eds
** Dispensing Justice- Lawyers to blame for judicial mess.<ref>[http://www.tribuneindia.com/2008/20080703/edit.htm#6], ''The Tribune'', 3 July 2008.</ref>
** Different strokes - Curious stance against French secular initiative.<ref>[http://www.tribuneindia.com/2008/20080224/edit.htm#1], ''The Tribune'', 24 February 2008.</ref>
** The right to be born - State must take care of its citizens.<ref>[http://www.tribuneindia.com/2009/20090808/edit.htm#4], ''The Tribune'', 8 August 2009.</ref>
** Why court cases pile up - Giving stay orders as a routine is to blame.<ref>[http://www.tribuneindia.com/2009/20091026/edit.htm#4], ''The Tribune'', 26 October 2009.</ref>
** Whither rule of law? - Each acquittal is a blot.<ref>[http://www.tribuneindia.com/2008/20080315/edit.htm#4], ''The Tribune'', 15 March 2008.</ref>

==Controversy ==
{{Main|Liberhan Commission}}
The [[Liberhan Commission]] was appointed by the Government of India in December 1992 to inquire into the circumstances surrounding the demolition of the [[Babri Masjid]] earlier the same month. Six years after the commission was formed, Giani accepted the responsibility of serving as the Commission's Counsel. He joined the Commission in 1998, after the previous Counsel had resigned. Giani worked on the final report which was handed over to the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Home Minister P. Chidambaram by Justice Liberhan and Giani a further 11 years later, on 30 June 2009.<ref name="Report">{{cite web |date= 2009-06-30 |publisher=YouTube |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBcIOg-6_C4 |title=Liberhan Report handed to PM }}</ref> Giani remained the Commission's Counsel for over a year and a half, till the Commission was wound up with the submission of the report.

In the parliamentary debate in the lower house of the Indian Parliament, Members of Parliament [[Pinaki Mishra]] and [[Sushma Swaraj]] stated that they believed that the report had in fact been written by Giani rather than Chief Justice [[Manmohan Singh Liberhan]]. In the upper house of parliament, Member of Parliament [[Arun Jaitley]] similarly claimed <ref>[http://www.bjp.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6209&catid=69:speeches&Itemid=495 BJP Website -]</ref> that
{{cquote| Admittedly, it was Shri Giani who has analyzed the evidence, come to conclusions, edited the report, modified the language, added and modified the ideas. The judge seems only to have done the rest, if anything remained. The Liberhan – Giani report is the first Example of ‘Judgment Outsourcing’.}}

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://archive.is/20130116005540/http://33knowledge.com/across-all-areas/harpreet-singh-giani-joins-chambers/ Harpreet Singh Giani joins 33 Chancery Lane]
* [http://33knowledge.com/barristers/harpreet-singh-giani/ Professional bio]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Giani, Harpreet Singh}}
[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Members of Gray's Inn]]
[[Category:Panjab University alumni]]
[[Category:Alumni of the London School of Economics]]
[[Category:20th-century British lawyers]]
[[Category:British people of Punjabi descent]]

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Harpreet Singh Giani