Sir Geoffrey Charles Vos (born 22 April 1955) is a British judge. Since January 2021, he has held the position of

Master of the Rolls The Keeper or Master of the Rolls and Records of the Chancery of England, known as the Master of the Rolls, is the President of the Court of Appeal (England and Wales)#Civil Division, Civil Division of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales a ...

, the head of civil justice in the court system of England and Wales.

Early life

Vos was born on 22 April 1955 to Bernard Vos and Pamela Celeste Rose. He was educated at

University College School ("Slowly but surely") , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent day school , religion = , president = , head_label = Headmaster , head = Mark Beard , r_head_label = , r_hea ...

, London and

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of th ...

Career

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 ...

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wal ...

in 1977, and took

Silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the coc ...

in 1993. He was the Chairman of the Chancery Bar Association from 1999 to 2001 and of the

Bar Council {{see also, Bar association A bar council ( ga, Comhairle an Bharra) or bar association, in a common law jurisdiction with a legal profession split between solicitors and barristers or advocates, is a professional body that regulates the profess ...

in 2007.

Judge

Between 2005 and 2009 he was a Judge of the Courts of Appeal of

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west F ...

and

Guernsey Guernsey (; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; french: Guernesey) is an island in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy that is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependency. It is the second largest of the Channel Islands ...

, and a Judge of the Court of Appeal of the Cayman Islands between 2008 and 2009. He sat as a Deputy High Court Judge from 1999 until 2009 and was appointed as a Justice of the High Court, assigned to the

Chancery division The High Court of Justice in London, known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Senior Courts of England and Wales. Its name is abbreviated as EWHC (England ...

, in October 2009. He was appointed as a

Lord Justice of Appeal A Lord Justice of Appeal or Lady Justice of Appeal is a judge of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, the court that hears appeals from the High Court of Justice, the Crown Court and other courts and tribunals. A Lord (or Lady) Justice ...

in 2013. He was President of the

European Network of Councils for the Judiciary The European Network of Councils for the Judiciary (ENCJ) is the European organization that unites the councils of the judiciary – national bodies in support of the Judiciary. From May 2018 the chairman is the Dutchman Kees Sterk. Presidents ch ...

between June 2014 and June 2016. He became

Chancellor of the High Court The Chancellor of the High Court is the head of the Chancery Division of the High Court of Justice of England and Wales. This judge and the other two heads of divisions (Family and Queens Bench) sit by virtue of their offices often, as and when ...

on 24 October 2016.

Master of the Rolls

Vos was appointed the Master of the Rolls on 11 January 2021, succeeding

Sir Terence Etherton Terence Michael Elkan Barnet Etherton, Baron Etherton, (born 21 June 1951) is a British retired judge and member of the House of Lords. He was the Master of the Rolls and Head of Civil Justice from 2016 to 2021 and Chancellor of the High Court ...

. In March 2021, Vos disclosed that the

Civil Justice Council The Civil Justice Council is a UK non-departmental public body that advises the Lord Chancellor on civil justice and civil procedure in England and Wales. It was established in 1998 under section 6 of the Civil Procedure Act 1997 and is sponsore ...

was "looking at the extent to which litigants should be forced to mediate and if so, in what circumstances". He admitted the idea is "highly controversial". In April 2021, Vos called for a greater use of digital technology to accelerate the dispute resolution process. In May 2021, he outlined his vision for digital justice reform in more detail, and the need to reform the overall system, rather than focusing only on the judicial decision-making process. Emphasising the need to focus on the whole picture, he said: "We should not allow the tail, however waggy, to wag the huge dispute resolution dog".

Notable decisions

Notable judicial decisions of Sir Geoffrey include: *

Personal life

Vos married Vivien Mary Fieldhouse, in 1984. Vos is a member of the

Oxford and Cambridge Club The Oxford and Cambridge Club is a traditional London club. Membership is largely restricted to those who are members of the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, including men and women who have a degree from or who are current undergraduates ...

and the Worcestershire Golf Club. He is a member of both the Liberal Jewish Synagogue, St John's Wood and the Herefordshire Jewish community.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vos, Geoffrey 1955 births Living people People educated at University College School Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Members of the Inner Temple Chancery Division judges Lords Justices of Appeal Knights Bachelor Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom