- Eleanor V. E. Sharpston
Eleanor V. E. Sharpston (born
1955 ), QC,Advocate General at theCourt of Justice of the European Communities .The UK's Advocate General at the Court of Justice of the European Communities since
January 10 ,2006 , Eleanor Sharpston QC studied economics, languages and law atKing’s College, Cambridge (1973-77), followed by university teaching and research atCorpus Christi College, Oxford (1977-80). She was called to the Bar by theMiddle Temple in 1980 and was abarrister in private practice from 1980-87 and 1990-2005Queen's Counsel : 1999; Bencher of Middle Temple (2005). In the intervening years she worked as Legal Secretary (referendaire) in the Chambers of Advocate General, subsequentlyJudge , SirGordon Slynn nowLord Slynn of Hadley (1987-90). She was also a Lecturer in EC andcomparative law (Director of European Legal Studies) atUniversity College London (1990-92) and then a Lecturer in the Faculty of Law (1992-98), and subsequently Affiliated Lecturer (1998-2005), at theUniversity of Cambridge . She was Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for European Legal Studies of the University of Cambridge (1998-2005) and remains afellow of King’s College, Cambridge (since 1992).Eleanor Sharpston QC is also a member of the Irish Bar and the Gibraltar Bar. She has published books and articles on EU law. Having spent her childhood in
Brazil and then her adolescence and half her practising life in continental Europe, she speaks a number of European languages. Her off-duty activities include: playing classical guitar and violin, rowing and squash (in both of which she got University "blues"), sailing square riggers, skiing and scuba diving. [See: cv prepared for Durham University lecture 2006: http://www.dur.ac.uk/resources/deli/annuallecture/Sharpston_bio_2006.pdf]She served as joint head of Hailsham Chambers in London, with her colleague Michael Pooles QC, from 2003-2006. [See: cv prepared for Durham University lecture 2006: http://www.dur.ac.uk/resources/deli/annuallecture/Sharpston_bio_2006.pdf] . Amongst her many high-profile cases at the Bar she was perhaps best known for acting (together with her colleague Philip Moser) for the prosecution in the case of the
Metric Martyrs , "Thoburn v Sunderland City Council ". [case report at: http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Admin/2002/195.html]In
1991 she married David Lyon, a maritime historian and also a "Kingsman" whom she met through their mutual nautical interests. Their extremely happy and successful partnership was far briefer than either deserved. Both had just finished lecturing on a Caribbean cruise when he suffered a brain haemorrhage and died in a Miami hospital in2000 . [See: Obituary,The Independent , #April 27 ,2000 , online at: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20000427/ai_n14307265]Notes
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