Sir James Lawrence Munby (born 27 July 1948) is a retired English judge who was

President of the Family Division The President of the Family Division is the head of the Family Division of the High Court of Justice in England and Wales and Head of Family Justice. The Family Division was created in 1971 when Admiralty and contentious probate cases were remove ...

of the

High Court of England and Wales 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 ...

. He was replaced by Sir Andrew McFarlane on reaching the mandatory retirement age.

Early life

Munby was born on 27 July 1948. He was educated at

Magdalen College School, Oxford Magdalen College School (MCS) is a public school (English independent day school) in Oxford, England, for boys aged seven to eighteen and for girls in the sixth form. It was founded by William Waynflete about 1480 as part of Magdalen College, ...

and

Wadham College, Oxford Wadham College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street and Parks Road. Wadham College was founded in 1610 by Dorothy W ...

, where he is an

Honorary Fellow Honorary titles (professor, reader, lecturer) in academia may be conferred on persons in recognition of contributions by a non-employee or by an employee beyond regular duties. This practice primarily exists in the UK and Germany, as well as in m ...

. He was also an Eldon Scholarship winner.

Legal career

Munby 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 ...

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 1971 and practised as a barrister at New Square Chambers. He was appointed

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 1988 and as a High Court Judge on 2 October 2000, assigned to the

Family 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 ...

and authorised to sit in the Administrative Court. Munby was appointed as Chairman of the Law Commission on 1 August 2009, replacing Lord Justice Etherton. On 12 October of that year, he was appointed 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 ...

, receiving the customary appointment to the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

. His term as Chairman of the Law Commission expired in August 2012. On 11 January 2013, he succeeded Sir Nicholas Wall as

. Munby was the presiding judge when

Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer Charles Edward Maurice Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer, (born 20 May 1964), styled Viscount Althorp between 1975 and 1992, is a British peer, author, journalist, and broadcaster. He is the younger brother of Diana, Princess of Wales, and is the mat ...

divorced his second wife, Carolyn Freud. The Earl's barrister

Nicholas Mostyn Sir Nicholas Anthony Joseph Ghislain Mostyn KC (born 13 July 1957 in Lagos, Nigeria), styled The Hon. Mr Justice Mostyn, is a British High Court judge, assigned to the Family Division. Early life The son of a British American Tobacco executiv ...

advised his client that the case could be heard in private, which Munby rejected. The Earl was upset at the final settlement and unsuccessfully sued Mostyn.
In September 2015, Munby was the Presiding Judge in the Permission to Appeal hearing for the judgment of Deputy District Judge Michele O'Leary in the April 2015 case of Adler vs Broulidakis, finding that the Judgment of O'Leary should be appealed.
Munby instituted procedural changes which from January 2016 led to hearings in the Court of Protection being open to the public, save where a judge decides otherwise.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Munby, James 1948 births Living people People educated at Magdalen College School, Oxford Alumni of Wadham College, Oxford English King's Counsel Family Division judges Knights Bachelor Lords Justices of Appeal Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Presidents of the Family Division