John Anthony Dyson, Lord Dyson, (born 31 July 1943) is a former British judge and

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

. He was Master of the Rolls and Head of Civil Justice, the second most senior judge in England and Wales, from 2012 to 2016, and a

Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom Justices of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom are the judges of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom other than the president and the deputy president. The Supreme Court is the highest court of the United Kingdom for civil and crimi ...

from 2010 to 2012. He was the first justice to be appointed who was not a peer.

Early life

Dyson has an East European Jewish heritage. His mother was Bulgarian and his paternal grandparents Lithuanian. He was born in Yorkshire and educated at

Leeds Grammar School Leeds Grammar School was an independent school founded 1552 in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Originally a male-only school, in August 2005 it merged with Leeds Girls' High School to form The Grammar School at Leeds. The two schools physicall ...

. He studied the piano with

Dame Fanny Waterman Dame Fanny Waterman (22 March 192020 December 2020) was a British pianist and academic piano teacher, who is particularly known as the founder, chair and artistic director of the Leeds International Piano Competition. She was also president of ...

. He then studied

classics Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

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 ...

. He was called to Bar at the

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 1968.

Legal career

Dyson

took silk In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or a ...

in 1982 and was appointed a

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 ...

in 1986. He became a

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 ...

of Middle Temple Inn in 1990. He was the head of

39 Essex Chambers 39 Essex Chambers is a long established barristers' chambers based in London with over 150 barristers, including 58 King's Counsel. The chambers offers expertise in commercial, common, construction, costs, environmental and planning, public and r ...

from 1986 to 1993. He was appointed to the Bench of the High Court on 30 March 1993, sitting 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 ...

, and received a

knighthood 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 church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

. In 1994, he was appointed chairman of the Equal Treatment Advisory Committee of the Judicial College. In 1998, he became presiding judge of the

Technology and Construction Court 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 ...

, a specialist part of the Queen's Bench Division. On 11 January 2001, Dyson 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 ...

, a judge of the

Court of Appeal of England and Wales The Court of Appeal (formally "His Majesty's Court of Appeal in England", commonly cited as "CA", "EWCA" or "CoA") is the highest court within the Courts of England and Wales#Senior Courts of England and Wales, Senior Courts of England and Wal ...

, in succession to Lord Justice Nourse, and was appointed 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 ...

. In 2003, he was promoted to Deputy Head of Civil Justice. Dyson was appointed a

with effect from 12 April 2010, and was sworn in on 19 April. His appointment brought the Supreme Court up to full strength by filling a vacancy that had existed since the court began work in October 2009. On appointment, he became the fourth Jewish judge of the 12 Supreme Court justices, alongside Lord Brown, Lord Collins and Lord Phillips. It was announced in December 2010 that, by Royal Warrant, all members of the Supreme Court, even if they did not hold a

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted noble ranks. Peerages include: Australia * Australian peers Belgium * Belgi ...

, were entitled to the judicial style and title "Lord" for life. Dyson was the first Supreme Court Justice to whom this applied, and he gained the courtesy title Lord Dyson. According to '' Standpoint'', he was said to have come a "close second" to

Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury David Edmond Neuberger, Baron Neuberger of Abbotsbury (; born 10 January 1948) is an English judge. He served as President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom from 2012 to 2017. He was a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary until the House of L ...

to succeed Lord Clarke of Stone-cum-Ebony as

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 ...

in 2009. In the event, Dyson was appointed Master of the Rolls with effect from 1 October 2012 as was widely expected following the announcement of Neuberger's appointment (also with effect from 1 October) as

President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom The President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom is equivalent to the now-defunct position of Senior Lord of Appeal in Ordinary, also known as the Senior Law Lord, who was the highest ranking among the Lords of Appeal in Ordinary (the ju ...

in July 2012. From 2012 to 2016, he was Chairman of the Magna Carta Trust and of the Advisory Council to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on National Records and Archives. He was chairman of the British Friends of the Hebrew University's legal group. Dyson retired and was replaced by 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 ...

as Master of the Rolls on 3 October 2016. He was Treasurer of

for 2017. He has returned to

to practise as an arbitrator and mediator.

Affiliations

In 2013, Dyson was awarded honorary degrees of LLD by Essex University and University College, London. In 2014, he was awarded an honorary degree of LLD by Leeds University. He is a visiting professor of law at Queen Mary, London and University College, London. He is an honorary fellow of Wadham College, Oxford and the Hebrew University, Jerusalem.

Personal life

He has been married to Jacqueline Levy since 1970. They have a daughter and a son. He has said that being Jewish is a core part of his identity.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dyson, John 1943 births Living people People educated at Leeds Grammar School Alumni of Wadham College, Oxford Judges of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom Knights Bachelor Masters of the Rolls Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom