Roger Grenfell Toulson, Lord Toulson, PC (23 September 1946 – 27 June 2017) was a British lawyer and judge who served as a

Justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom.

Education

He was educated at

Mill Hill School Mill Hill School is a 13–18 mixed independent, day and boarding school in Mill Hill, London, England that was established in 1807. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. History A committee of Nonconformist ...

, to which he won the top scholarship for his year and was one of the most talented pupils, taking 'O' levels at 13, 'A' levels in Greek, Latin and Ancient History at 15, and breaking the school record for the mile at 16, at which age he left to go to

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's full name is The College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist and the glorious Virgin Saint Radegund, near Cambridge. Its common name comes fr ...

(MA, LLB), of which he later became an honorary fellow, before being called to the Bar by the

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 ...

in 1969.

Career

He joined the Western Circuit in 1970, and became a

Queen's Counsel 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 o ...

in 1986. In 1996 he became a judge of the

High Court of Justice 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 (Englan ...

, 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 ...

, receiving the customary knighthood. From 2002 to 2006 he sat as Chairman of the Law Commission of England and Wales. On 29 January 2007, he was promoted to the Court of Appeal, sworn of the Privy Council and appointed to the

Judicial Appointments Commission The Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) is an independent commission that selects candidates for judicial office in courts and tribunals in England and Wales and for some tribunals whose jurisdiction extends to Scotland or Northern Ireland. Sy ...

. Toulson was appointed as a Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom on 9 April 2013. By Royal Warrant, all members of the Supreme Court, even if they do not hold a peerage, are entitled to the judicial style and title "Lord" for life. Toulson was granted the courtesy style Lord Toulson. He retired from the court on 22 September 2016. As a judge Toulson was opposed to judicial interference in Government action. He expressed the view that "all human life is experimental, all forms of government are experimental. I think it would be a retrograde step if the courts, in the name of rights, prevent governments of whichever hue from engaging in legitimate social experimentation." Toulson was the co-author of a textbook on the English law of confidentiality. He died on 27 June 2017 at the age of 70, while in hospital for heart surgery.

Notable judicial decisions

Lord Toulson was involved in a number of notable decisions during his time as a judge. He referred to his judgment in as the most memorable. Other notable judicial decisions of Lord Toulson included: * * * * * * * * In Kennedy v Charity Commission

014 014 may refer to: * Argus As 014 * BIND-014 * 014 Construction Unit * Divi Divi Air Flight 014 * Pirna 014 * Tyrrell 014 The Tyrrell 014 was a Formula One car, designed for Tyrrell Racing by Maurice Philippe for use in the season. The cars wer ...

UKSC 20; 015AC 435, para 133 Lord Toulson said famously: “it was not the purpose of the Human Rights Act that the common law should become an ossuary”. Lord Toulson also gave the sole dissenting judgment in , a dissent of particular note, given his special interest in the law of confidentiality. He expressed the view that certain information about the private life of a celebrity had become so widely available that it could no longer be sensibly protected by injunctive relief, observing, "The court must live in the world as it is and not as it would like it to be."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Toulson, Roger 1946 births 2017 deaths Judges of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom People educated at Mill Hill School Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge Fellows of Jesus College, Cambridge Knights Bachelor 20th-century King's Counsel English King's Counsel Members of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council