Sir Geoffrey Bindman KC (1933-2025)
A tribute and our profound thanks
Geoffrey Bindman’s commitment to human rights over many, many years was exemplary and incalculable. He was a strong supporter of Journey to Justice and we were honoured to include him as a greatly valued and respected patron of our work.
Speaking at our launch in 2014, Geoffrey said, “The need to promote and realise human rights for all has never been more important.”
Proud of his roots in the North East, Geoffrey’s grandparents were Jewish immigrants from Lithuania to the UK. “My father was a doctor who worked mostly within mining communities. I felt impelled to follow in his footsteps and give service to people who needed it, but could not afford to pay. A good lawyer needs empathy and the ability to see issues from a client’s point of view.”
There is not enough room here to list all the ways in which Geoffrey was central to establishing crucial protections for thousands of people and the architecture of human rights in law in the UK. In 1974 he helped set up the law firm Bindman and Partners with the aim of “protecting the rights and freedoms of ordinary people” including activists and vulnerable people often attacked by the state and which is still foremost in the defence of human rights.
He was Chair of the British Institute of Human Rights, legal adviser to the Race Relations Board and to Amnesty International. He was a founder of the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture and patron of the Humanists Society. Geoffrey was knighted for his services to human rights in 2007.
Stephen Grosz, a friend and former colleague at Bindmans wrote, “Geoffrey was a tireless champion of equality and human rights, and an inspiration to generations of lawyers and campaigners.”
He was, above all, a kind, compassionate and generous man, a great friend to Journey to Justice from the very beginning.
After our tenth anniversary celebrations, at which he spoke again so powerfully, Geoffrey wrote, “It has been a privilege to support JtoJ and I am very impressed by the huge amount you have done and are doing to promote human rights. Don’t hesitate to let me know if I can be of any future help.”
Galvanised by his tremendous example, we will continue to work vigilantly, inspired by his support and example, to keep acting for human rights and social justice.
As everyone in the numerous tributes to him says, Geofrey’s life was magnificent and extraordinarily impactful. He is a huge loss to us all and we send our warmest wishes to his family.
