Johan van Zyl Steyn

Born and educated in South Africa, where he practiced law for 15 years, he settled in the UK in 1973 and started to practice as a barrister. He married Susan Leonore in 1977, having two sons and two daughters from a previous marriage.He became a judge in 1985.

In 1995, he was appointed a Law Lord and has since been prominent for his liberal views and espousal of human rights. He was a fierce critic of Augusto Pinochet's claim to stand immune from prosection. His record of open criticism of Camp X-ray at Guantanamo Bay led to pressure from the UK government that he make himself unavailable for the hearing on the indefinite detention of suspects under the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 that began on October 4, 2004.

He has remained one of the few senior jurists to support calls for modernisation of the English legal system and abolition of the role of Lord Chancellor.