Paul Mahoney, who spent 30 years as an administrator at the European court of human rights, is to be Britain's new judge on the Strasbourg court.
In the immediate aftermath of his election, a row erupted over the pattern of voting, with allegations that Conservatives had encouraged Russian and east European MPs to vote against another British human rights lawyers whose record was seen as being too liberal.
Mahony was not the favourite candidate for the position. He is 65 and may not be able to serve his full nine-year term under ECHR rules which stipulate that judges must retire at 70. The regulations are under review.
He was elected by the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe, polling nearly twice as many votes as his nearest rival, Ben Emmerson, QC. The final figures were Mahoney 83, Emmerson 48 and Raquel Agnello, QC, 27.
His success follows a campaign by rightwing British newspapers and politicians to denigrate Emmerson, a barrister specialising in human rights cases, who had been considered the leading contender.
Emmerson, 48, is currently a UN special rapporteur on counter-terrorism and human rights. Last week, he reported to the UN in Geneva on the need to investigate US drone strikes in Pakistan.
In 2003, Emmerson represented Abu Qatada, the Islamist cleric – along with a number of other Belmarsh inmates – at a hearing of the special immigration appeals commission arguing that they should not be detained without charge or trial. That professional association has been used by one tabloid to question his credentials.
Last weekend, the Mail on Sunday reported that the potential appointment of Emmerson had alarmed Conservatives. The Tory MP and lawyer Dominic Raab told the paper: "If you're trying to rein in the human rights industry you don't appoint its equivalent of [the trade union leader] Len McCluskey."
An Oxford University-educated barrister, Mahoney lectured in law at University College London for six years before practising for a short time at the bar in London during the 1970s. He has spent most of his career working for European institutions. He worked in the administration of the ECHR where he was deputy registrar then registrar between 1995 and 2005.
Since leaving the ECHR, he has served as a judge and president of the European Union civil service tribunal in Luxembourg. He has also worked in a judicial role at the European Space Agency in Paris.
Mahoney speaks French and some Italian and has written books and articles about human rights legislation.
The shortlist of three candidates was drawn up by the Ministry of Justice in London. The byzantine appointments procedure has involved secret interviews with MPs and peers in London as well as question sessions in Paris and Strasbourg.
Agnello, 48, who studied law at Sussex and Strasbourg universities, is a commercial litigation specialist. She became a QC in 2009, specialising in corporate insolvency and company litigation. She has appeared for the Pensions Regulator and is fluent in English, French, Portuguese and Swedish. She also sits in the high court part time as a deputy registrar in bankruptcy.
The UK vacancy at the court arises because the present incumbent, Sir Nicolas Bratza, who is also president of the ECHR, retires in the autumn.
Each of the 47 countries on the council has one judge on the court. Appointees enjoy a tax-free annual salary of £150,000.
Last week, the ECHR announced it was opening a special account and seeking contributions from member states to help recruit more lawyers to deal with the estimated backlog of 150,000 unresolved cases that have accumulated in Strasbourg. The UK, which already pays for 12% of the court's budget, has not revealed whether it will make make any further payments.
Political lobbying played a role in the appointments process in Strasbourg. The Labour MP Paul Flynn, who is on the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe, told the Guardian: "The Tories are very active on the council these days. Most of the socialist group voted for Ben Emmerson, for the right reasons.
"The Tories are in a group with the Russians and they were certainly putting pressure on the Russians for their candidate. It's a shame. Emmerson was a good candidate."
Lady Helena Kennedy raised the issue during a debate on legal reforms in the Lords on Wednesday evening. "I'm really shocked at what has happened to Ben Emmerson," she told The Guardian afterwards. "This really is the use of political leverage. The Conservatives at [the highest level] supported Ben, but at a lower level down the people who are hostile to human rights and and the whole court [in Strasbourg] decided to scupper him because they felt that he's someone who is too committed to the idea of human rights across Europe. It's a shocker when you look at the fact that it was Russians and Serbs who voted. They were obviously lobbied."
But Robert Walter, the Conservative MP who is chair of the 18-strong UK delegation to the Council of Europe, said Mahoney had been recommended by the assembly's judicial sub-committee.
"I voted for Paul Mahoney," he confirmed. "I thought he was the best candidate. The ECHR needs somebody who has a good working knowledge of the court, even if he can only do four years because of his age.
"These are four very important years for the court. There was no official line on this matter in our political group, but it was a matter that was on the agenda and we discussed it."
Walter is also chairman of the European Democrat Group on the Council of Europe, an alliance of conservative parliamentarians from the UK, members of Vladimir Putin's United Russia Party, Turkish conservatives and Czechs.
"I"m not a lawyer, but out of the three candidates, Mahoney appeared to be the most competent in court matters. He has a very long track record of working at the court. He will be able to hit the ground running and get on with the reforms," Walter said.
Mahoney speaks English and French, as well as some Italian. He has written books and articles about human rights legislation.
The shortlist of three candidates was drawn up by the Ministry of Justice in London. The byzantine appointments procedure has involved secret interviews with MPs and peers in London and well as question sessions in Paris and Strasbourg.
Agnello, 48, who studied law at Sussex and Strasbourg Universities, is a commercial litigation specialist. She became a QC in 2009, specialising in corporate insolvency and company litigation. She has appeared for the Pensions Regulator and is fluent in English, French, Portuguese and Swedish. She also sits in the high court part time as a deputy registrar in bankruptcy.
The UK vacancy on the court arises because the present incumbent, Sir Nicolas Bratza, who is also president of the ECHR, retires in the autumn.
Each of the 47 countries on the council has one judge on the court. Appointees enjoy a tax-free annual salary of £150,000.
Last week the ECHR announced it was opening a special account and seeking contributions from member states to help recruit more lawyers to deal with the estimated backlog of 150,000 unresolved cases that have accumulated in Strasbourg. The UK, which already pays for 12 per cent % of the court's budget, has not revealed whether it will make make any further payments.
Political lobbying played a role in the appointments process in Strasbourg. The Labour MP Paul Flynn, who is on the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe, told the Guardian: "The Tories are very active on the council these days. Most of the socialist group voted for Ben Emmerson, for the right reasons.
"The Tories are in a group with the sub-fascist Russians and they were certainly putting pressure on the Russians for their candidate. It's a shame. Emmerson was a good candidate."
But Robert Walter, the Conservative MP who is chair of the 18-strong UK delegation to the Council of Europe, said Mahoney had been recommended by the assembly's judicial sub-committee.
"I voted for Paul Mahoney," he confirmed. "I thought he was the best candidate. The ECHR needs somebody who has a good working knowledge of the court, even if he can only do four years because of his age.
"These are four very important years for the court. There was no official line on this matter in our political group but it was a matter that was on the agenda and we discussed it."
Walter is also chairman of the European Democrat Group on the Council of Europe, an alliance of conservative parliamentarians from the UK, members of Vladimir Putin's United Russia Party, Turkish conservatives and Czechs.
"I"m not a lawyer but out of the three candidates, Mahoney appeared to be the most competent in court matters. He has a very long track record of working at the court. He will be able to hit the ground running and get on with the reforms," he said.