Ian Duncan Burnett, Baron Burnett of Maldon, (born 28 February 1958) is a British judge and the current
Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales
Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...
.
Early life and education
Burnett was born on 28 February 1958. He was educated at
St John's College, Portsmouth
St John's College was a former independent day and boarding school located in Southsea, Hampshire, England. On 16 May 2022, the Governors of St John's College announced that the school would not re-open in September 2022 due to declining stude ...
, and studied jurisprudence at
Pembroke College, Oxford
Pembroke College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford, is located at Pembroke Square, Oxford. The college was founded in 1624 by King James I of England, using in part the endowment of merchant Thomas Tesdale, and was named after ...
, where he became an honorary fellow in 2008.
[BURNETT Hon. Sir Ian Duncan](_blank)
''Who's Who 2017
''Who's Who'' is a reference work. It is a book, and also a CD-ROM and a website, giving information on influential people from around the world. Published annually as a book since 1849, it lists people who influence British life, according to i ...
'', A. & C. Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2017; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2016.
Legal career
He was called to the bar at
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 1980, and became a bencher there in 2001. From 1982, he practised at Temple Garden Chambers, serving as head of chambers from 2003. He was made a
QC in 1998. He practised mainly in public and administrative law, acting on the inquiry into the 1987
Kings Cross fire
The King's Cross fire was a 1987 fire in a London Underground station with 31 fatalities, after a fire under a wooden escalator suddenly spread into the underground ticket hall in a flashover.
The fire began at approximately 19:30 on 18 Novembe ...
, the inquiry into the convictions of the
Guildford Four and Maguire Seven
The Guildford Four and Maguire Seven were the collective names of two groups whose convictions in Courts of England and Wales, English courts in 1975 and 1976 for the Guildford pub bombings of 5 October 1974 were eventually quashed after long cam ...
, the inquiries into the 1997
Southall
Southall () is a large suburban county of West London, England, part of the London Borough of Ealing and is one of its seven major towns. It is situated west of Charing Cross and had a population of 69,857 as of 2011. It is generally divided ...
and 1999
Ladbroke Grove rail crash
The Ladbroke Grove rail crash (also known as the Paddington rail crash) was a rail accident which occurred on 5 October 1999 at Ladbroke Grove in London, England, when two passenger trains collided almost head-on after one of them had passed a ...
es, and the inquests after the 1997 deaths of
Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her ac ...
, and
Dodi Fayed
Emad El-Din Mohamed Abdel Mena'em Fayed (; arz, عماد الدين محمد عبد المنعم الفايد, ʿImād ed-Dīn Muḥammad ʿAbd el-Munʿim el-Fāyid , 17 April 1955 – 31 August 1997), better known as Dodi Fayed ( ar, دودى ...
.
[
Burnett served as an Assistant ]Recorder
Recorder or The Recorder may refer to:
Newspapers
* ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper
* ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US
* ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a news ...
from 1998 to 2000, and then as a Recorder until 2008. He also served as a deputy Judge of the High Court from 2008. He was appointed as a Judge of the High Court in 2008, in the 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 ...
. Burnett 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 ...
on 7 November 2008. He sat in the Administrative Court
An administrative court is a type of court specializing in administrative law, particularly disputes concerning the exercise of public power. Their role is to ascertain that official acts are consistent with the law. Such courts are considered s ...
and was presiding Judge of the Western Circuit 2011–14. He was promoted to the Court of Appeal
A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...
in 2014, becoming 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 ...
.
It was announced in July 2017 that he would replace Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd
Roger John Laugharne Thomas, Baron Thomas of Cwmgiedd, (born Carmarthen, 22 October 1947) is a British judge. He served as Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales from 2013 to 2017.
Early life and education
Thomas was born in 1947 to Roger E ...
as Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales
Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...
from 2 October 2017.
Aged 59, he became the youngest Lord Chief Justice since Lord Parker of Waddington in 1958. On 12 October 2017, it was announced that Burnett would be awarded a life peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...
age. He was created Baron Burnett of Maldon, of Maldon
Maldon (, locally ) is a town and civil parish on the River Blackwater, Essex, Blackwater estuary in Essex, England. It is the seat of the Maldon District and starting point of the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation. It is known for Maldon Sea ...
in the County of Essex
Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...
, on 30 October 2017.
In November 2022, he announced his intention to stand down from his role as Lord Chief Justice from 30 September 2023.
Personal life
He married Caroline Ruth Monks in 1991, and they have one son and one daughter.
References
1958 births
Living people
People educated at St John's College, Portsmouth
Alumni of Pembroke College, Oxford
Members of the Middle Temple
Queen's Bench Division judges
Lords Justices of Appeal
Lord chief justices of England and Wales
Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Knights Bachelor
English King's Counsel
Life peers created by Elizabeth II
{{UK-law-bio-stub