Sir Edwin Frank Jowitt (born 1 October 1929)
ADR Chambers International. is a British former High Court judge. Notable cases overseen by Jowitt include the trial of the murderers of Ross Parker. Jowitt was educated at

Swanwick Hall School Swanwick Hall School is a mixed secondary school and sixth form located in Swanwick, Alfreton, Derbyshire, England. In 2004 Ofsted noted that the school had strong university links and had Training School status. History Grammar school It was ...

and

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

, where he earned his

LL.B. Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

He was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

as a member of

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...

in 1951. He became a

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...

in 1969 and was recorder of the

Crown Court The Crown Court is the court of first instance of England and Wales responsible for hearing all Indictable offence, indictable offences, some Hybrid offence, either way offences and appeals lied to it by the Magistrates' court, magistrates' court ...

from 1972 to 1980. He was a circuit judge from 1980 to 1987 and Senior Circuit Judge and honorary Recorder of Birmingham from 1987 to 1988. He was a judge of the High Court,

Queen's Bench Division The King's Bench Division (or Queen's Bench Division when the monarch is female) of the High Court of Justice deals with a wide range of common law cases and has supervisory responsibility over certain lower courts. It hears appeals on point ...

, from 1988 to 2000. He was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

in 1988. He was presiding judge of the Midland & Oxford Circuit from 1996 to 1999, was

Lent reader A reader in one of the Inns of Court in London was originally a senior barrister of the Inn who was elected to deliver a lecture or series of lectures on a particular legal topic. Two readers (known as Lent and Autumn Readers) would be elected annu ...

in 1997, and became a senior

bencher A bencher or Master of the Bench is a senior member of an Inn of Court in England and Wales or the Inns of Court in Northern Ireland, or the Honorable Society of King's Inns in Ireland. Benchers hold office for life once elected. A bencher can ...

in January 2000.Masters of the Bench: Sir Edwin Jowitt

. Following the recommendation of Canadian judge

Peter Cory Peter deCarteret Cory, (October 25, 1925 – April 7, 2020) was a puisne judge of the Supreme Court of Canada, from 1989 to 1999. Early life and education Born in Windsor, Ontario, the son of Andrew and Mildred (Beresford Howe) Cory, he was educ ...

that inquiries into murders in Northern Ireland be undertaken, Jowitt was appointed to chair the

Robert Hamill Inquiry The Robert Hamill Inquiry was set up in 2004 by the then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Paul Murphy. Background The Inquiry was established to investigate the death of Robert Hamill, following an incident in Portadown, County Armag ...

.Hamill murder inquiry adjourned
BBC News (May 24, 2005). Jowitt is interested in

fell walking Walking is one of the most popular outdoor recreational activities in the United Kingdom, and within England and Wales there is a comprehensive network of rights of way that permits access to the countryside. Furthermore, access to much unculti ...

. He married in 1959 and has five children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jowitt, Edwin 1929 births Queen's Bench Division judges Knights Bachelor Living people Alumni of the London School of Economics Members of the Middle Temple Circuit judges (England and Wales)