Sir David Keene appointed to Queen's counsel selection panel

9 March 2010

Sir David Keene, a retired Lord Justice of Appeal, has been appointed to the Queen's Counsel Selection Panel, replacing Sir Paul Kennedy, as the judicial member of the independent panel, which assesses applicants for the position of Queen's Counsel. The award of Queen's Counsel is given to those who demonstrate excellence in advocacy in the higher courts, following objective assessment by the Panel.

The selection panel is independent, and also includes lay members, as well as senior barristers and solicitors. The judicial member of the Queen's Counsel Selection Panel must be a retired senior judge. He is appointed by the Chairman of the Bar and the President of the Law Society jointly, after consultation with the Lord Chief Justice.

Sir David Keene was called to the Bar in 1964 by the Inner Temple, of which he later became a bencher and, in 2006, the Treasurer. He became a Q.C. in 1980 and a Recorder in 1989. He practised mainly in public law cases and at planning inquiries, obtaining planning permission for a number of large projects including London City Airport, a second runway at Manchester Airport and several large regional shopping centres, including Blue Water Park in Kent and the Trafford Centre in Manchester. He was Chairman of the Planning Bar Association in 1994. In that same year, he became a High Court judge, QBD, in which capacity he sat also in the Administrative Court and the Employment Appeal Tribunal. In 2000, he was appointed to the Court of Appeal, from which he retired in 2009.

As well as serving on the Court of Appeal, Sir David Keene has been Chairman of the Judicial Studies Board, responsible for the training of judges and magistrates in England and Wales, and Chairman of its Advisory Committee on Equal Treatment. He is also an Honorary Fellow of Balliol College, Oxford.

Commenting on the appointment, Des Hudson, the Chief Executive of the Law Society, and David Hobart, the Chief Executive of the Bar Council, said:

'We are delighted that Sir David Keene has been appointed to the QC Appointments Selection Panel. With his distinguished career and broad range of experience, we believe his appointment will further strengthen the QC Appointments process. We look forward to another successful Silk round in 2010-11.'