Alumni Seminar in India
13 February 2009 • New Delhi
Speaker biographies
Mr Soli Sorabjee
Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India and former
Attorney General of India
Soli Sorabjee was born in 1930 in Bombay, and after an education at
Government Law College, Bombay, was admitted to the bar in 1953. At
college, he was awarded the Kinloch Forbes Gold Medal in Roman Law and
Jurisprudence (1952).
In 1971, Sorabjee began representing the government as Senior Advocate to the
Supreme Court of India. He served Solicitor-General of India from 1977 to 1980. He was
appointed Attorney-General of India on 7 April 1998, a post he held until 2004.
In March 2002, Soli Sorabjee was awarded the Padma Vibhushan for his defence of the
freedom of expression and the protection of human rights. He worked on the Citizen's
Justice Committee which represented pro bono the 1984 Anti-Sikh massacre victims.
On the international circuit, he is Special Rapporteur to the United Nations Human Rights
Commission since 1997, and a member of the United Nations Sub commission on
Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities since 1998. Sorabjee served as
member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague from 2000 to 2006.
Sorabjee is also President of the United Lawyers Association, Vice-President of the
Human Rights Committee of the International Bar Association, Vice-President of the
Commonwealth Lawyers Association, Executive Committee member of the International
Association of Constitutional Lawyers and member of the Committee on Arms Control
and Disarmament Law of the International Law Association.
Dr Justice AR Lakshmanan, Chairman Law Commission of
India and former Judge Supreme Court of India
Born in 1942, Dr Justice AR Lakshmanan was enrolled as an Advocate in
1968 at Madras. He practiced in Civil Writs and Criminal matter both on
Original and Appellate sides of the High Court. He also worked as
Government Pleader of Tamil Nadu in the Madras High Court, and as
Legal Adviser and standing counsel to several Banks and various other institutions.
He was nominated as Senior Advocate by the Government of Tamil Nadu to impart
training to the selected Law Graduates belonging to the Backward Classes under the
Scheme, formulated by the Government of Tamil Nadu.
In 1990, he was appointed as a Permanent Judge of the Madras High Court, by the
President of India. Lakshmanan is the recipient of the “Shiromani Vikas Award” for
National Integration and Development from the Governor of Tamil Nadu, and the
recipient of the “Vijay Shree Award” for his professional excellence. The award was
instituted by the International Friendship Society of India, New Delhi.
Alumni Relations, SOAS
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Alumni Seminar in India
13 February 2009 • New Delhi
“Doctor of Laws” was conferred by the Governor of Tamil Nadu/ and Chancellor of
Annamali University, Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu on Justice AR Lakshmanan as an
eminent legal luminary, rendering distinguished services as an outstanding Judge and
Champion of Human Rights in October 2000. He has sworn in as Chief Justice, High
Court of A.P in November 2001, and was elevated as Judge to Supreme Court of India in
December 2002.
Anil Malhotra (LLM 1985)
Anil Malhotra is a practising Advocate in India since September
1983 at the Punjab and Haryana High Court at Chandigarh. He
regularly appears as Counsel in the Supreme Court of India at
New Delhi and before other Courts, Commissions, Boards and
Tribunals. He holds Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Laws
(Professional) degrees from the Punjab University, Chandigarh, India, and attained an
LLM degree from SOAS, University of London, in November 1985. He studied
comparative family law at the London School of Economics.
He has taught civil procedural laws and matrimonial remedies for six years as a part-time
lecturer at the Faculty of Laws, Punjab University, Chandigarh, India. For over 25 years he
has had extensive exposure in handling civil, matrimonial, criminal and overseas
litigation on behalf of non-resident Indians residing abroad. He represents a large
number of overseas clients in Indian courts and regularly opines on matters of Indian law
in cases arising in related matters in foreign jurisdictions. He has conducted a vast
variety of matters in Indian Courts pertaining to interpretation and application of foreign
Court Orders regarding divorce decrees, child abduction, custody, maintenance, adoption
and property related issues of non resident Indians. He interacts extensively with a
worldwide Indian population settled overseas in advising them regularly on all issues of
civil, matrimonial and criminal law. He is a member of Lawasia, International Law
Association, International Bar Association, Commonwealth Lawyers Association and
Indian Society of International Law besides being Country Representative (Family Law)
Lawasia.
He has co-authored book titled “Acting for Non-resident Indian Clients” (London 2005)
and has significant papers with international conference participations to his credit. He
writes a regular newspaper weekly column on family law and allied issues with about
100 articles to his credit. In January 2007, he was elected as Fellow of The International
Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, London. He was invited to speak at Wilton Park
conference on “Migration: Towards a Comprehensive Approach” at San Lorenzo de El
Escorial, Madrid, Spain in October 2007. He is the Indian family law Correspondent for
the International Family Law journal published by Jordan Publishing Limited, Bristol. As
an author he has to his credit substantial published work in international legal journals.
He is the Indian representative for Reunite Child Abduction Agency. He was invited by the
International Law Association as a Speaker to the 73rd Biennial Conference to be held at
Rio De Janerio, Brazil to speak in the session on Rights of Children on August 18, 2008,
where he made a presentation titled “India, Inter Country Parental Child Removal and the
Law.”
Alumni Relations, SOAS
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Alumni Seminar in India
13 February 2009 • New Delhi
Ranjit Malhotra (LLM 1993)
Ranjit Malhotra was the first Indian lawyer to be awarded the prestigious
Felix Scholarship to read for the LLM degree at the School of Oriental and
African Studies, University of London. He obtained his degree with merit
in 1993, specialising in immigration laws and South Asian family laws.
He is an India-based lawyer handling substantial international work. He is
a member of the International Bar Association and Regional
Representative for India of the Migration and Nationality Law Committee of the IBA as
also the regional and country representative for India and Deputy Chair of the Family Law
and Family Law Rights Section of Lawasia.
He is also a member of the Indian Society of International Law, Immigration Law
Practitioners Association, London, American Immigration Lawyers Association,
Washington, Reunite Child Abduction Agency in London, Indian Council of Arbitration at
New Delhi, the Inter Pacific Bar Association at Tokyo, Lawasia at Australia, Fellow of the
International Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, Commonwealth Lawyers Association at
London and International Law Association at London. He is also enrolled with The
International Association of Youth and Family Judges and Magistrates, and is the
Honorary Consular Correspondent for the Italian Embassy, New Delhi for the State of
Punjab and Chandigarh.
For the last several years, he has also been successfully nominated as one of the leading
immigration lawyers in the “International Who’s Who of Corporate Immigration Lawyers,”
worldwide directory published annually from London. Ranjit Malhotra has also been
appearing as an expert witness on Indian family law issues in the courts in England. He is
also a regular columnist on UK immigration law issues and international family law
issues for India’s largest financial newspaper “The Economic Times,” published in all
major metros in India.
Both Anil Malhotra and Ranjit Malhotra have been regularly authoring the India chapter
for “The International Survey of Family Law,” which is an annual publication published on
behalf of the International Society of Family Law.” They have also significantly
contributed to the private international law project undertaken by The Indian Society of
International Law, New Delhi. The report looking at proposed reforms for the Non
Resident Indian Community, has been recently published in the shape of a book.
Their firm, Malhotra & Malhotra Associates, is on the panel of lawyers for seven major
Embassies in New Delhi, including American Embassy, German Embassy, Austrian
Embassy, Australian High Commission, Canadian High Commission, British High
Commission and New Zealand High Commission at New Delhi.
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