Gopal Subramanium is a world-leading lawyer, international arbitrator, and distinguished jurist. He is Head of Chambers at the Chambers of Gopal Subramanium, a globally-operating chambers based in New Delhi, India. For over 30 years, he has acted in numerous cases that have shaped legislative principles on privacy, human rights and freedom of speech internationally.
Mr. Subramanium continues to act as lead counsel in several path-breaking matters. He has acted for companies including Amazon, Google, Novartis, and appeared as lead counsel for corporates in ICC and domestic arbitrations.
Mr. Subramanium served as Solicitor General of India from 2009 to 2011, during which period he was also Chairman of the Bar Council of India. From 2005 to 2009, he served as Additional Solicitor General of India. In 2009, Mr. Subramanium was conferred the National Law Day Award for Outstanding Jurist by the President of India.
Having trained under former Attorney General Soli Sorabjee, Mr. Subramanium was designated a Senior Advocate suo-motu by the Supreme Court in 1993, one of the youngest in India’s history to receive the designation, where he developed a reputation for his rigorous style. For over 30 years, he has acted in numerous cases that have shaped legislative principles on privacy, human rights and freedom of speech internationally.
In 1991-1992, Mr. Subramanium acted as counsel to the Judicial Commission headed by Justice J.S. Verma to inquire into security lapses leading to the assassination of the former Prime Minister of India, Mr. Rajiv Gandhi. In 1993, he acted as prosecuting counsel for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in India in the trial of persons accused of setting off a series of bomb blasts in Mumbai. He continues to serve as the CBI’s lead counsel until 2012 when appeals from the trial were heard by the Supreme Court.
In 2001, Mr. Subramanium acted as the Special Public Prosecutor in the case involving a terrorist attack on the Indian Parliament in 2001.
As Solicitor General in 2010, he successfully defended the conviction of the sole surviving terrorist of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. He also acted for petitioners in a historic case that held there is a fundamental constitutional right to privacy in India.
In 2013, Mr. Subramanium served on the JS Verma Commission, which recommended amendments to Indian laws to safeguard the safety and dignity of women and children. During the same year, he set up a UK office and was appointed an Associate Member at 3 Verulam Buildings.
In 2015, he was appointed a Supplementary Judge at the Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Tribunal.
Mr. Subramanium is a leading international commercial arbitrator who has appeared in several matters before the Indian Supreme Court and various High Courts concerning the arbitrability of disputes, the appointment of arbitrators, and challenges to arbitral awards.
Mr. Subramanium, while seeking enforcement of the International Arbitral Award in the dispute involving the sale of Ranbaxy to Daiichi Sankyo Company Limited, was one of the first Indian Senior Advocates to appear before the High Court of Singapore in April 2018. He then went on to become the first Indian Senior Advocate to appear before the Singapore Court of Appeal in February 2020.
He is Honorary Master of the Bench at The Honourable Society Gray's Inn. He studied Law at the University of Delhi from 1977 to 1980.
In March 2021, he was called to the Bar of England and Wales.
In October 2021, Subramanium was appointed an Honorary Fellow at the British Institute of International and Comparative Law.